2. Classification of
Lithic Phase
(50,000bc-20,000bc): Nomadic, hunters/gatherers, precarious lifestyle, humans
group themselves in small bands/clans of 10 to 15; egalitarian society emerges. This “small” group allowed humans to be more
mobile when searching for food; infanticide was probably practice to maintain
the group small in order to survive and continue their hunting and gathering
culture; average age 22, topography/geography of area effects culture evolution;
hence, culture can be defined as: the
process of adapting to the environment.
Archaic Phase (12,000bc-7,000bc): A
worldwide warming trend sees the glacial periods end and the “land bridges”
recede. A steady influx of humans begins to migrate south towards the Central
Valley of Mexico (Clovis & Folsom cultures emerge in
Agricultural Revolution (ca 8,000bc): wild eatable
food is domesticated (maiz, tomato, beans, squash,
etc) Sedentary society emerge, leisure time increase, leadership component
develop (incipient theocratic states develop; they include militarist elements); rigid social structure ensure the “survival” society.
Rationale for the cohesiveness of society: The Prince and the Social
Contract. In the Prince power
must be secured by any means necessary to ensure the survival of the state; power
derives from the “top-down.”
Authoritarian/absolute rulers evolved.
In the “social contract” individual members
relinquish certain rights to the whole in order to coexist; power eminates form the “people.”
Preclassic (2000bc-100ad)
Olmecs:
East
coast
Fall
probably due to:
a.
Agricultural base was too weak: this land/labor intensive society dependent
highly on the slash and burn technique, consequently, an ongoing search for new
land to replace their exhausted and depleted farming land resulted in the
cultural distancing itself from central authority (La Venta,
San Lorenzo etc)
b.
Internal rebellion: Some argue that their rigid social structure may have
become too oppressive and the lower class sectors in society may have rebel
against the elite. Colossal head were
probably purposely buried and defaced;
c.
Invasion from northern tribes: Continues influx of tribes from the north (United
States Southwest) may have “disrupted” the more-sedentary south/central tribes; northern tribes (chicimecs=wild dogs in the Indian dialect Nahua) were highly militaristic/warrior cultures that may
have “overwhelmed” the sedentary and more pacifist southern tribes.
Classic (200ad-700ad)
first urban city, rigid centralized society of over 300,000; dichotomous
world order (life hinged on a balance of opposing forces: dark vs. light,
strength vs. weakness, man vs. women, Quetzalcoatl [benevolent diety] vs. Tezcatlipocal
[malevolent diety])
The
Maya: second classic culture; scientist of the
Postclassic (800ad-1521):
Toltecs (600ad to 900ad)
Capital city is Tula; highly militaristic
society, conquered-state syndrome, human sacrifice, Mixcoatl
(king who attempted to shift the Toltec word away from the Tezacatipocal
cultu to the Quetzalcoatl cult, he is assassinated) Topiltzin is son of Mixcoatl who
continues to in his father’s footsteps; he too tries to persuade the Toltec
elite to shift towards the Quezalcoatl philosophy of
peace and harmony; he flees Tula to avoid
assassination and preaches his philospophy to
surrounding native tribes; oral tradition suggests that he is deified and
becomes know as Tolpiltizin-Quetzalcoatl; around 900ad
his is “seen” assecending to heaven and vowing to
return to takes is “rightful” place in Toltec society; Tolpiltzin
is a light-skin (white) man with a beard; he was last seen on the east coast of
Mexico. Toltecs fall for the same reasons mentioned above.
Post Classic (1200ad to 1521ad)
Aztec (Mexica—children
of the maguey plant)
Capital city is Tenochtitlan, population
150,000, fatalistic, pessimistic, cyclical world view, rigid social structure,
ritual human sacrifice taken to extremes; they arrive from the north to the
central valley around 1100ad; found their capital in 1345ad; the use of chinampas [floating gardens] provide them with an
independent farming base, King Tenoch leads them to
their “promise land;” Huitzilipochtli is the diety that guides and protects the Aztecs; their
creationist story states that Huitzilipochti
protected his mother (Coatlicue) from death at the
hands of Coyolyauqui, in turn, Huitzilpochlit
oust the evil forces from the heavens and engages in a nightly battle to
protect the Aztec World (earth and the universe); one way to ensure that Huitzilipochtli maintains his strength is to ensure him a
supply of human sacrifice.
3.
a. The
Iberian World:
The Roman and Catholic traditions provide for the development a
“centralist state;” the Islamic “invasion” between 711ad and 1492ad prompted
the Christian enclaves in the northern Spain to consolidate their landholdings
and wealth; Aragon and Castile unify under the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and
Isabel; they unleash a full assault against Moorish Spain and finally subdue
the last Moslem strong hold of Granada in 1492; The momentum of this “reconquista” continues unto northern Africa and the New
World; The 3 G’s: God, Glory, and Gold move Spain and conquest and colonization
of the New World. (Portugal thrust itself unto Africa and India, in the process the
explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral inadvertently
“discovers” Brazil in 1500)
b.The Conquest of Mexica (Aztecs), 1519-1521ad
The
players:
King Moctezuma—mid 40’s, mystic king of
the Aztecs who was practically considered deified, he was immersed in the oral
tradition of the Toltecs which include the legend of Tolpiltzin-Quetzalcoatl; Omens occurred in Tenochtitlan prior to the Spanish arrival: A bird talks to Moctezuma,
the volcano Popocatepltl is active, the year is Ce Acatl (one reed) which marks
to probable arrival of Quetzalcoatl; the light-skin-bearded Tolplitlzin-Quetzalcoatl
was last seen on the east coast professing peace and love; Some Aztecs consider the Spaniards as gods
Hernan Cortez: early 30’s, ambitious, diplomatic, militarily experienced, and
outfits an expedition from
1. Spanish military superiority
2. Malintzin’s role
3. Psychological state: legend
of Tolplitzin-Quetzalcoatl, Cyclical world view, etc
4. Centralized State: Spaniards simply replace Aztec elite with
Spanish elite
5. Diseases: introduction of communicable diseases
devastated the native population (miseales, chicken
pox, small pox etc)
4. Retrospective on the
Conquest (three schools of thought)
a. Romantics: tragic human history; might does not make
right
b. Inevitable: part of the worldwide pattern of “rise and
fall” of societies
c. New Man/Woman: Painful birth of the Mestizo
(mixed race people)