Native American Groups and Spanish Encounters

Introduction

• Transition from Eastern Woodlands culture to Native American groups encountered by the Spanish.
• Focus on pre-contact societies in the American Southwest and Mexico.

Clovis People

• Genetic studies show almost all Native Americans are descendants of Clovis big game hunters.
• Clovis used spears, with the Clovis point being significant.

Emergence of New Hunting Technologies

• By the 7th century AD, the bow and arrow revolutionized hunting.
  • Allowed hunting from a distance, increasing efficiency and success.
• Led to more reliable food sources and sedentary societies.

Development of Sedentary Societies

• Settlements in one place began due to advancements in hunting and agriculture.
• Introduction of crops like maize and beans for a stable food source.
• Growth in populations.

Anasazi Culture

• Known for cliff dwellings like Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly.
• Thrived between the 600s and 1300s.
• Sometimes called the Basket Maker culture.

Spanish Encounter and Abandonment

• Spanish found abandoned Anasazi cliff dwellings in the 1500s.
• Possible reasons for abandonment:
  • Drought conditions affecting agriculture and water sources.
  • Forced relocation to areas with larger rivers.

Pueblo People

• Descendants of Anasazi, known as Pueblo by the Spanish.
• Sedentary, agricultural society with adobe structures.

Athabascan Migration

• Around the 1200s, groups from the north (Canada) migrated into the Southwest.
• Spoke Athabascan languages (e.g., Navajo, Apache).
• Nomadic raiders, possibly contributed to Anasazi consolidation.

Uto-Aztecan Migration

• Migrated from southern Mexico to the Great Basin and beyond.
• Known as Comanches in later history.

Mesoamerican Cultures

• Teotihuacan dominated the Valley of Mexico between the 2nd and 8th centuries.
  • Known for the Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl.
• Toltecs emerged after Teotihuacan, were a warrior culture.
  • Led by prince Topiltzin, transformed into god Quetzalcoatl.
• Collapse of Toltec society and rise of Chichimecas.

Aztec Empire

• Aztecs, originally from the mythical Aztlan, returned to Valley of Mexico.
• Guided by war god Huitzilopochtli.
• Established Tenochtitlan, a sophisticated city on Lake Texcoco.
• Practiced human sacrifice but had a developed culture.

Demographics Pre-1492

• Latin America: 25-45 million people.
• Anglo-America: 5-18 million people.
• Europe: 70-150 million people.
• Worldwide: 400-500 million people.

Global Context

• Populations in Europe led to congested conditions, motivating expansion.
• Post-1492, increased global interactions and colonization.