The Americas in 1500
Introduction
- Discussion on the American continents on the eve of the Age of Exploration
- Focus on significant religious, political, and cultural transformations
- For Spaniards, the Americas were a 'new world', but for native inhabitants, it was their ancestral homeland
- Native populations lived in the Americas for over 10,000 years, numbering in the millions and were highly diverse
Diversity of Native Populations
- Spoke hundreds of languages and dialects, fashioned thousands of distinctive cultures
- Some built permanent communities, others followed seasonal migration patterns
- Varied alliances: some maintained peace, others were often at war
- Trade networks vs self-sufficiency
- Wide variety in cultural expressions, art, music, spiritual and religious practices
Migration Histories
- Archaeologists and anthropologists provide migration histories from Africa to the Americas (20,000 years ago)
- Last global ice age trapped water in glaciers, lowering sea levels
- Land bridge between Asia and North America (Bering Strait)
- Migration between 12,000 and 20,000 years ago
- Glaciers receded 14,000 years ago, opening new corridors
Settlements and Agriculture
- Northwest: Settlements near salmon-rich rivers
- Plains: Communities followed bison herds
- Agriculture arose globally 9,000 to 5,000 years ago
- Mexico and Central America: Maize (corn) led to settled populations (around 1200 BC)
- Corn’s significance: calorie-rich, storable, multiple harvests per year
- Spread and cultural significance of Central American crops in North America
Social and Cultural Traits
- Indigenous North Americans shared broad traits
- Spiritual power as part of everyday life
- Kinship and social organization
- Kinship through maternal ties (matrilineal systems)
- Significant influence of mothers in social structures
- Women’s marital and sexual freedoms
Central and South American Empires
Maya Civilization
- Complex civilization with large populations, religious temples, written language, mathematics, accurate calendar
- Mostly collapsed before European arrival due to droughts and unsustainable agriculture
Aztec Civilization
- Originated in northern Mexico, built a vast empire in the Valley of Mexico
- Capital city: Tenochtitlan (founded 1325)
- Artificial islands, massive pyramid temple
- Population around 250,000
- Aztecs dominated central-southern Mesoamerica
- Taxation and tribute system with subject peoples
- Unrest among subjugated peoples, exploited by European conquerors
Inca Empire
- Vast mountain empire along the Andes
- Capital: Cusco
- Territory: Ecuador to central Chile and Argentina
- Terrace farming, extensive road networks
- Managed around 12 million people
- Similar instability and unrest as the Aztecs
Impact of European Contact
- Native Americans unprepared for European/ African diseases
- No immunities to diseases like smallpox, typhus, influenza, etc.
- Plagues decimated native populations
- Additional impact: war, slavery, and epidemics
- Estimated 90% population decline within 150 years of European contact
Native American Resilience
- Despite destruction, found ways to resist, accommodate, and adapt
- Continued cultural and value-based influence in the America