Aim: How much did geography affect early Mesoamerican and African civilizations?

Period 1: Technological and Environmental Transformations, to c. 600 B.C.E.

Key Concept 1.3. The Development and Interactions of Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies

Mesoamerica GeographyMesoamerica (Mexico and Central America)is divided into highland

areas (1,000+ meters above sea level) and lowland areas (between 1,000 meters and sea level). Lowland areas tend to be hot and

tropical, while highland regions are generally much cooler.

The Olmecs 1775 – 400 BCE

“Olmec” has been translated to mean “rubber people” or “mouth of the jaguar” in Nahuatl (a language also spoken by the Aztecs who settled in the area much later). They were the first

major civilization in Mesoamerica, and therefore often referred to as the “mother civilization” of later pre-Columbian civilizations. They lived close to the Gulf of Mexico.

Olmec Government & Economy

Olmec Culture, Religion, & Society

City-states ruled by priest-kings.3 main cities: La Venta in Tabasco, Laguna de los Cerros in Veracruz, and San Lorenzo in Tenochtitlan.

Art with images of jaguarsCarved giant stone heads with large lips and noses; possibly to revere rulers. Wore helmets for the Mesoamerican ballgame.First civilization in Mesoamerica to build step pyramidsCreated a calendar, but no writing system

Olmec Heads

Mother Culture, or Only a Sister?“The simmering pot of mother-sister controversy was stirred anew by Dr. Jeffrey P.

Blomster, an Olmec archaeologist at George Washington University… Dr. Blomster's team analyzed the chemistry of 725 pieces of pottery decorated in the Olmec style... They determined that most of these were not imitations of the Olmec style made by local potters. In a significant number of pots, the clay matched the chemistry of material found around San Lorenzo. "The evidence is overwhelming that San Lorenzo, the first Olmec capital, was doing the exporting," Dr. Blomster said. "The Olmecs were disseminating their culture to others.“… But Dr. Diehl, a proponent of the mother school and the author of "The Olmec," published last year, said in an interview that the "connections we are seeing may not have lasted more than a generation, perhaps the time of a particular ruler, and at most, not more than a century or century and a half.“ … Dr. Grove disputed Dr. Blomster's conclusions, saying that the research demonstrated only that Olmec pottery was traded, not that the trade disseminated Olmec political and religious concepts around the region…” – John Noble Wilford, NY Times March 15, 2005

What would it mean if the Olmec pottery was only traded? Would that mean that the Olmecs were not a “mother culture” of Mesoamerica? Would it really matter?

Teotihuacan“It was massive, one of the first great cities of the Western Hemisphere. And its origins are a mystery. It was built by hand more than a thousand years before the swooping arrival of the… Aztec in central Mexico. But it was the Aztec… who gave it a name: Teotihuacan… Teotihuacan reached its zenith between 100 B.C. and A.D. 650. It covered 8 square miles and supported a population of a hundred thousand… "It was the largest city anywhere in the Western Hemisphere before the 1400s“… Oddly, Teotihuacan, which contains a massive central road (the Street of the Dead) and buildings including the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon, has no military structures—though experts say the military and cultural wake of Teotihuacan was heavily felt throughout the region.” –www.natgeo.com [*Scholars are still unsure if the Toltec or another culture built it.]

Pyramid of the Sun

Teotihuacan, Mexico

Chavin Civilization 1200 BCE – 200 CEGovernment &

EconomyCulture, Religion, &

SocietyRuled by Priest-KingsEconomy based on hunting, fishing, and irrigation used to farm

Polytheistic, with a pantheon of GodsFirst distinctive art style in Peru made from metals, including goldMost famous archaeological structure was the complex at Chavin de Huantar

Chavin de Huantar

Chavin de Huantar

Chavin Art

III The Empire of Nubia/Kush 3000 BCE – 300s CE

A) Nubia/Kush was an ancient African empire that grew along the upper Nile river valley. It’s northern neighbor was Egypt, which led to a lot of cultural diffusion.

B) By 1500 BCE, Egypt had conquered Nubia. However, in 730 BCE Nubia was able to conquer Egypt (for 60 years).

C) In the 4th century CE, King Ezana of Aksum conquered Nubia

"Having traversed this part in forty days as I have said, you take a boat again and so travel for twelve days until you come to a

great city called Meroë, which is said to be the capital of all Ethiopia." - Herodotus

A Nubian Pharaoh

The Empire of Nubia/Kush 3000 BCE – 300s CE Continued…

D) While the Nubians had many things in common with the Egyptians, there were some differences.

Ancient Egyptians Nubians Polytheistic Polytheistic but not all of their

gods were the same as the

Egyptian ones System of writing: hieroglyphics

on papyrus System of writing: developed an

alphabet much later Built pyramids to house their

mummified pharaohs. 81 Egyptian pyramids have been found.

Built pyramids, but smaller than

those of Egypt. 228 Nubian

pyramids have been found.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics vs. the Nubian Alphabet

The Egyptian Pyramids at Giza vs. Nubian Pyramids

Are the Nubian pyramids more alike or

different from the Egyptian pyramids?

Nubia Today

The Aswan Dam was completed in 1970. It controls the flooding of the Nile River, and produces hydro-electric power. Unfortunately it displaced many Nubians, forcing them to move from their traditional homes. Today most Nubians are Egyptian, though many have kept their own language and cultural traditions.

Focus Questions1. How did geography influence early Mesoamerican civilizations [Olmec,

Teotihuacan, and Chavin]? Which civilization had the greater geographical advantage? What were their main achievements?

2. How did geography influence Nubian civilization? What were their main achievements?

3. Was Nubian culture more similar or dissimilar to ancient Egyptian? 4. Why is it that most people are aware of ancient Egypt but not of Nubia? Does

Nubian civilization deserve equal status?

Key VocabularyAswan DamChavinChavin de HuantarKing EzanaKushMesoamericaNahuatlNubiaOlmecsPre-ColumbianTeotihuacan