Ancient American Civilizations
Cultural development can be separated into three categories of increasing intellect and complexity. Tribal is the lowest form of civilization, Chiefdom the intermediate level, and finally the state level, which represents the highest form of civilization in Ancient America.
The tribal band represented the basic primitive level of civilization. In Ancient America, the tribal level was a loose association of bands or villages. The ties between these villages represented a “tribe.” Many of these early groups sustained life in difficult environments, in which climate extremes were usually always present. These climate conditions such as extreme heat, wetlands,
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The intermediate level of civilization is the chiefdom. This level also relied on subsistence farming, like the tribal, but in much larger villages and more intensively. The populations were dense and had lost the tribal form of self-government. The chiefdom civilization now used a board of members, in which a chief and his group of secondary chiefs ruled the area. In Ancient America, ranking in the Chiefdom civilization was an essential aspect of organization. Members of the villages were ranked according to their blood relation of the highest chief. The dominant chief required donations and payments, in which he usually redistributed to officials and warriors. By doing so, he gained power and created a substantial following. In Ancient America, many chiefdoms existed in the surrounding Caribbean area (Panama, Costa Rica, Puerto Rica, Jamaica, etc) and the Cauca Valley of Columbia. The Chibcha (Muisca) chiefdom, in eastern Columbia, used terracing and planting beds (moisture control) to maintain their subsistent lifestyle. They also cultured potatoes, in addition to maize. In this chiefdom, many crafts such as pottery, and weaving were well developed. The Muisca lived in densely populated villages ranging from a few hundred occupants to several thousand. Each village had a representing post and customary pole-and-thatch housing. The Muisca also had social
1. How did these societies utilize environmental resources in their daily lives? List two examples from each region.
As Indian groups started to settle in the Mississippi floodplain, their cultures and political systems began to intertwine, creating a complex sociopolitical structure (Page, 70). The largest polity to arise out of this area, known as the American Bottom, was Cahokia. At its height, it resembled a city, extending over five square miles, mounds and structures that towered over smaller dwellings, and a population, that some believe to have been the largest, north of Mexico, for its time (Page, 70). Estimates predict several thousand lived at the site of Cahokia, many of them elites, whose particular talents or skills, earned them the privileged title (Pauketat). Beyond its boundaries were smaller groups and
Current American society is constantly affected by events from the past, but sometimes what society thinks is in the past is not so far behind. The way Native Americans were treated historically continually plays a part in current American society. Due to the racism and stereotypes carried throughout society the Native American cultural circle is constantly under fire.
The American West is one of the most famous and important part of the American history. The American West or another name the American Frontier started off in the late-1700 and ended in mid-1940. Although that part of history ended, but the influence and the old west culture is still around today. So let get into the history of the American West, of what made the West what it is and how all the forces molded the West.
The civilizations of America, Africa, and Europe each had their own political, economic, and religious systems that changed drastically when people from each continent encountered one another. In the Americas, the Native Americans had developed large and massive empires that would come to marvel the world. In Africa, there were are also large empires, home to millions of people. Western Europe on the other hand did not have any large empires or well organized societies. However, this would all change when the Europeans came in contact with the people in the Americas and Africa. It would be the Europeans that rose up while the other races fell.
Geography had a tremendous impact on early civilizations, the topography of the different regions played a key role in their development and formation. This statement by Fernand Braudel “ Geography is the stage in which humanity’s endless dramas are played out” (Getz et al., Exchanges, 26) is a very moving and telling description. The terrain, whether it is natural or man made is not the end all, be all. It does however affect the stage a great deal. Mountainous areas act as blockades, which keep the societies independent, plains open up the area, and rivers enable everything to move around freely. 2
The Cahokia Indians were settled near modern-day St. Louis, Missouri close to the Mississippi River. Some archaeologist believe that the Cahokia once had 20,000 Natives and over 100 mounds in their village. The reason they believe in these outstanding growth in people was the land around them. Situated with land with great
Have you ever wondered where some of the things we use every day come from? Well, everything around us from the roads, the calendars, to the columns on the White House are ancient inventions that we use everyday. Ancient civilizations from the Eastern Hemisphere have invented these items. Some of the inventions that they made change our daily lives. Three inventions that impact our lives today are architecture, the calendar, and the roads invented by Romans.
An interesting question to ask oneself about ancient civilizations is “How did the various governments keep their respective populations under control?” By taking a look at some of the literature and forms of art, one can get an idea of the crafty techniques used by leaders to control the populace. The concept of social control has been around as long as civilizations have been. This can be seen in the Roman stoic ideals portrayed in the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Four Noble Truth’s teachings in India, and the emphasis on harmony in China with the Chinese Bronze Bell. It’s interesting to see the ways works of art and even religious texts were used to control the common people.
However, with the remains of their pieces of tools and other goods across the lands in different villages it can be speculated that some groups of Native Americans had social relations with others, or had mobile groups spread across the lands. For example, the clovis was an instrument used for hunting by the Paleo-Indian groups. The Clovis and Folsom peoples, and has been found in animal and village remains across the land. Judging that their groups traveled a lot this means that they built social connections with other groups. Leaving behind many small villages of fewer people for archaeologists to excavate. Additionally, social constrictions are seen in the people who follow after the Paleo-Indian peoples who focused more on hunting and gathering, but relied heavily more on natural foods such as fruits and nuts. As a result of this gathering technique for food supply, more villages were formed beginning with the archaic peoples. I believe this had led to the evolution of larger populations in native villages as I had read throughout Plog’s book that the villages got bigger with the increased use farming agricultural goods such as maize and beans. Rather than small campsites, villages rose as a result such as the Shabik’eschee peoples in Chaco Canyon. The development of village life led to new cultural customs such as cremation of the dead and preserved
Americas history is what defines us and who we are as a country. We were built on hard work, sacrifice, wanting to be free and independent to be who we want to. Now a-days, we seem to have fallen away from this. Everything is given to us so easily on our computer and through technology that we have no need to work hard anymore. This is the downfall in humanity because as we keep going, life will continue to get easier and we won’t want to do anything. History is our hope so that we can learn from what we did in our past and how things were done then.For starters, we can see what mistakes we did and make sure we don’t do them again. If we continue to the same thing over and over again, there’s no way for our society to improve from this. Our
Unity within colonies was extremely strong because it was assembled in a primal urge for survival. The colonists were in this entirely new land, so it was natural they would stick together to the familiar, and therefore build strong bonds and loyalty to their colony. Exclusion also excellently describes early America because of the way colonies expelled their own people if they did not follow the colony's strict rules' of life. The primary source documents; "City upon a Hill", "Ann Hutchinson's Trial", "Founding Of The Iroquois League", and "The Mayflower Compact" are all brilliant examples of this contradictory yet surprisingly honest view of early American history. Early American History should be remembered as
Will racism ever come to an end or will its path go on infinitely? For the most part, the majority of people respect those who are different either in color, race, and/or heritage; however, there are those few that hold bigoted views towards people who are different than they are. The movie American History X by Tony Kaye displays an example of people who hold bigoted views. Derek, a Neo-Nazi leader, must contend with his actions relating to his past racist views and actions. This powerful movie explores its characters thoroughly and gives reasons why people become so callous and turn towards a racist group. It also exposes insight to problems that plague America when it comes to racism in
Many decades ago, northern Central America and southern Mexico cultures developed complex political and social ranks. Researchers today know this region as Mesoamerica, known for its rich soil, abundant amount of rainfall, and agriculture. (Judge & Langdon, 2012) The Mesoamericans, Aztec and Mayan tribes, developed into complex civilizations for multiple reasons. These societies were advanced and complex for their time in areas, such as architecture, agriculture, militarism, and education. Each had unique religion and political systems as well. The rise and fall of both were due to several factors.
The 15th century was a turning point in the world's history, since the ocean, which was previously seen as an obstacle to reach beyond, was turned out to be a medium to unify the continents. The discovery of ocean is mainly referred as the "oceanic revolution" and it put the study of history in a global context, for power relations were no longer limited to national histories. At the time the Ottoman Empire was the leading figure in terms of power, since it was dominant in the Mediterranean which, as Bender states, formed the core of the world's economy. The Europeans, feeling inferior against the power and the wealth of Islamic world, saw the ocean as an alternative way to claim power. As Haring suggests Ocean Sea' became "the medium