Transcript AP World History

AP World History
The Americas and Oceania
600 C.E. – 1450 C.E.
Geographic Isolation
• Civilizations in the Americas and Oceania
developed independently of those in Afro-Eurasia
– Culturally unique – no diffusion
• Advanced in many ways though
– Trade networks, elaborate art, religions, military, social
structures, etc…
• No contact or knowledge of “other” world until
Columbus
Mesoamerica
• Mesoamerica = shared cultural heritage
• Includes lands of Mexico and Central America
• Olmecs  Mayans  Toltecs  Aztecs (Mexica)
Mayan Civilization
• Pre-Classic Period c. 2000 B.C.E to 250 C.E.
• Classic Period c. 250 C.E. to 900 C.E.
• Series of independent city-states with shared culture
across Yucatan Peninsula
• Trade networks between states
– Jaguar pelts, jade, etc…
• Advanced mathematicians, astronomers
– Accurate calendar used for marking religious observances
– First to use the concept of zero
• Civilization declines by 900 C.E. as cities are abandoned
– Too much warfare?
– Environmental degradation due to over-farming?
– Collapse of trade routes?
Mayan Civilization
Aztec (Mexica) Civilization
• Migratory people who settle on
Lake Texcoco in central Mexico in
1345 C.E.
– Legend of eagle, serpent, and
cactus
• Build capital of Tenochtitlan
• Used chinampas to develop
agriculture around Tenochtitlan
Aztec (Mexica) Civilization
• Aztec Chinampa:
Aztec (Mexica) Civilization
• Continuous empire based on
military conquest
– Seized land and slaves from conquered
lands
– Subjects pay annual tribute to emperor
in Tenochtitlan
• Established trade networks between
regions of empire
– May have extended north to SW
United States
Aztec (Mexica) Civilization
• Adopted polytheistic religious
beliefs
• Gods made the world work through
personal sacrifice
– Blood flow led to the irrigation of crops
– Practiced human sacrifice for good
harvests, courage in war, and to please
gods
• Sacrificed humans to appease war
god, Huitzilopochtli
– Priests carried out sacrifice by cutting
out human heart
Incan Empire
• Carved out in the Andes Mtns. of South
America c. 1250 C.E.
• Pachacuti expands empire across 2,500 miles
• Gov’t led by military leaders
– Capital at Cuzco
Incan Empire
• Never developed writing
– Used quipu to track population,
taxes, etc…
– No cultural diffusion from
Mesoamerica
• Empire connected through vast
system of roads/trails
– Used for trade, moving military, and
passing information using relay runners
Oceania
• During the early periods of history (c. 8000 B.C.E
to 600 C.E), Austronesian peoples had slowly
settled across the various islands of Oceania
Oceania
• Used double-hulled canoes or outrigger canoes to
sail across open-ocean
• Expert navigators, astronomers, sailors
Oceania
• The extent of Oceania:
Oceania
• Because of the expanse of the Pacific Ocean,
there was limited contact between societies
– Some trade networks between islands – axes, pottery,
shells, mats, canoes, etc…
• Settlements arose in Easter Island (Rapa Nui),
New Zealand, Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, and
the Hawaiian Islands
– Islanders typically grew yams, sweet potatoes,
breadfruit, bananas, coconuts, and taro
– Domesticated pigs and dogs
Oceania
• Some evidence of cultural
diffusion
– Islanders from Easter Island visited
South America and adopted the
sweet potato
– Spread across Polynesia and
transformed the environment as
more cultures adopted it and began
cultivating it
Oceania
• Over time, populations of the
islands of Polynesia and other
Oceanic regions rose due to
agriculture
– Distinct social classes emerge
– States often ruled by chiefs in charge
of political affairs
• Religions varied between islands,
but often reflected close ties to the
environment and nature
Oceania
• Pacific island societies do not have access to
technologies of continental people until the arrival
of explorers beginning in the 16th century
– They did manage to exploit their environments and:
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Establish productive agricultural economies
Build elaborate and organized societies
Engage in trade with their neighbors when possible
Populate most of the islands ranging from New Zealand
to Hawaii