HIS109Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Lidar, Lamanai, Inca Architecture
Mar. 20, 2017
ANT200 LECTURE 10
Hierarchical Societies
• Exclusionary
- Rule at apex
- Monopoly on power
Ex. Ancient Egypt
• Corporate
- Centralization of power is inhibited
Ex. Huey Tlatcani
Mesoamerica
• Shared Cultural traits
- Calendar
- Blood-letting ritual
- Ball game
- Urban centres
Built around pyramids (in particular 4 sided pyramids)
Formative Period (Preclassic)
• 2000 BCE-200 CE
• Fully sedentary villages
• No settlement hierarchy
• Pottery
The Olmec
• 3650 years ago
• Regal-ritual centres
• The “mother culture” of Mesoamerica
Zapotec: Monte Alban (2500 years ago)
• Upwards of 17,000 people living in and around the site
- Mostly elites and specialists
- Point is there are more and more people coming to live in these urban centres
• ***Bul
• Living in relative peace with surrounding society
• See evidence of a defensive wall being constructed later
• Most Mesoamerican societies don’t build walls
• Zapotec influence in surrounding area → first attempt at a territorial state/imperial power
in Mesoamerica
• Events in Teotihuacan made impacts on surrounding city states
Pyramid of the Sun
• Excavated under
• Tunnels and caves underneath monuments is recurring
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Mar. 20, 2017
Temple of the Feathered Serpent
• Managed to open up tunnels and discovered lots of artifacts
• Spots in the tunnel where mercury was deposited
Teotihuacan
• Grid like neighbourhoods that open in on central courtyards, usually contain shrine
• upwards of 50-100 people living in each complex (extended family?)
• The reorganization feels like a pull away from central ceremonial precinct
• Parts of the façade are removed, repainted in a new way
• Many archaeologists wonder if we are seeing other elite lineages, trying to take power
away from what had been an exclusionary power structure
• Its area of influence is enormous (reaches South America)
• You can source obsidian to its exact source, brought to Teotihuacan
• Incan architecture seen → incorporated into city of Maya
The Maya
• Early cities are built upon rivers
• Water shows up a lot in Maya ideology
Milpas
• Farmed using raised bed agriculture
• Also called: Milpas or Chinapas?
• Intensification of agriculture
• Depopulation of the countryside
Classic Maya
• 250 to 900 CE
• Temple of the Jaguar
• Evidence it suggest that the temples were rebuilt ever 20 or so years
• Temples were elite, seen as semi-divine
• Seen if not as deities then as gods on earth
• Priests acted as intermediary between gods and ancestors and people
Maya Cities and Teotihuacan Conquest
1. Copan
• Hieroglyphic stairway
• Popol Na: “mat house”
2. LiDAR at Caracol
• Light detection and ranging
- Belize
- 550-900 CE
3. Warfare and Human Sacrifice
Maya Calendar
• 365-day calendar
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Built around pyramids (in particular 4 sided pyramids) Formative period (preclassic: 2000 bce-200 ce, fully sedentary villages, no settlement hierarchy, pottery. The olmec: 3650 years ago, regal-ritual centres, the mother culture of mesoamerica. Zapotec: monte alban (2500 years ago: upwards of 17,000 people living in and around the site. Pyramid of the sun: excavated under, tunnels and caves underneath monuments is recurring. Temple of the feathered serpent: managed to open up tunnels and discovered lots of artifacts, spots in the tunnel where mercury was deposited. Its area of influence is enormous (reaches south america: you can source obsidian to its exact source, brought to teotihuacan. Incan architecture seen incorporated into city of maya. The maya: early cities are built upon rivers, water shows up a lot in maya ideology. Milpas: farmed using raised bed agriculture, also called: milpas or chinapas, depopulation of the countryside.
