Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania Section 1: Early Societies of Mesoamerica Directions: Read the entirety of the above section, including any additional text selections such as Eyewitness or Sources from the Past and examine all maps, charts, images, and diagrams. As you read and learn, complete the questions and tasks below to both demonstrate and preserve what you have learned. Chapter Focus After reading the Chapter Focus, one topic or theme I plan to keep an eye out for while reading is: Eyewitness: Chan Bahlum Spills Blood to Honor the Gods Ø Define crucial: Ø Was I the only one caught off guard by the first couple of sentences of this passage? How did reading this make you feel? Ø What was the purpose of these rituals according to Maya tradition? Ø Complete the chart below: The Americas How did humans first reach Oceania The Americas How did farming come to Oceania Early Societies of Mesoamerica Ø Draw a timeline of all of the important dates from the section. Remember to make the timeline itself first, evenly spaced out, and then plot the dates on that line. Olmecs v Early Agriculture in Mesoamerica Ø List the plants that early Mesoamericans cultivated, and circle the one they saw as most important.
Ø Compared to Afro-Eurasia, the Americas had far fewer domesticated animals. Describe the ways in which this placed the peoples of the Americas at a relative disadvantage. v Ceremonial Centers Ø One major difference between ceremonial centers and cities is that ceremonial centers: v Olmecs: The Rubber People Ø The first Olmec ceremonial center arose about Ø The Olmecs had an opposite problem from most of the civilizations we have already studied. Rather than having not enough water for their crops, they were concerned with having too much water. What kind of the system did they engineer to deal with this problem? v Olmec Society Ø Define authoritarian: Ø Define altar: Ø What responsibilities did common people have to their elite rulers in Olmec society? How did the environmental limitations of the region make such service necessary? Ø How were the Olmec Colossal Heads constructed? v Trade in Jade and Obsidian Ø The Olmecs used Jade in order to create and used Obsidian stone in order to create. This was partly because they had no access to any types of Ø What is really weird about how the Olmec Civilization declined? What possible theory could explain this? Ø What developments the later Mesoamerican civilizations borrow from the Olmecs Heirs of the Olmecs: The Maya v The Maya Ø Define terrace:
Name Date Class Period Ø Maya civilization extended into the modern countries of: Ø How did the Maya increase the fertility of their soil in areas with the tropical soil that did not retain fertility well? Ø Three ways that cacoa beans are used by the Maya: Cacao beans, from which chocolate is made. v Tikal Ø True or False? "The Maya society was all one enormous empire, with all of the cities united together politically as a single state. Explain below. Ø Which of the royal names did you like the best? v Maya Warfare Ø According to the textbook, scholars originally believed that Mayan society was very, but after deciphering new texts and finding new archaeological discoveries, they realize that: Ø What lesson can we take from this that we could apply to our understanding of the Indus Valley civilization? v Chichén Itzá Ø Define dampen: Ø Unlike the city-state of Tikal, in Chichén Itzá, what did they do with their captives of war? Temple of Kukulcan, AKA El Castillo, at Chichén Itzá v Maya Decline Ø What were some of the factors that led to the decline of the Mayan civilization? Make a simple bulleted list and underline those you think were the most significant. Maya Society and Religion Ø Using the content in this passage, create a best guess social hierarchy step pyramid diagram with all of the different social classes included in the space to the right. v The Maya Calendar Ø Why were there two different Maýa calendars? What was the difference between the two?
Ø In addition to keeping track of time, what else were the two Maya calendars used for? v Maya Writing Ø If writing was so widespread and so important in ancient Maya society, why are there only four books that still survive today? v Maya Creation Myths Ø Like societies in Afro-Eurasia (the eastern hemisphere), Mayan religion reflected the importance of agriculture. Give one example that shows this to be the case. v Sources from the Past: The Creation of Humanity According to the Popol Vuh Ø What do you think the moral of the story was meant to be for the Maya people? v Bloodletting Rituals Ø How and why did the Maya practice bloodletting? v The Maya Ball Game Ø If you lived at this time, would you want to be a player in the game? Why or why not? Heirs of the Olmecs: Teotihuacan Ø The valley of central Mexico was once home to many Ø Two ways that people living in the region benefited from the lakes were: v The City of Teotihuacan Ø Define theocracy: Ø Create a timeline of the major developments of the city of Teotihuacan: Ø Based on the limited available evidence, describe the type of government found in Teotihuacan. v The Society of Teotihuacan Ø It seems that the Teotihuacanos extended their influence to surrounding regions not so much by military expansion as by...
v Cultural Traditions Ø Sum up the passage in one sentence. v Decline of Teotihuacan Ø Complete the chart: Reasons for Decline Supporting Evidence Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania Section 2: Early Societies of South Americas Directions: Read the entirety of the above section, including any additional text selections such as Eyewitness or Sources from the Past and examine all maps, charts, images, and diagrams. As you read and learn, complete the questions and tasks below to both demonstrate and preserve what you have learned. Early Societies of South America Ø How was the development of agriculture by the early South Americans similar to the development of agriculture by the Natufians in the Levant? Early Andean Society and the Chavín Cult Ø Even though they existed contemporaneously, early Mesoamerican and Andean societies had almost no communication or connection to each other because: Ø On the map to the right, shade in the locations of early Mesoamerican and South American civilizations. Use Map 6.1 and 6.2 as a reference. v Early Agriculture in South America Ø List the main food crops, and circle the one that was most important. Ø What were the three purposes served by llamas and alpacas?
v The Chavín Cult Ø What religious similarities do you notice between the Chavín Cult and the religious traditions of Mesoamericans? How can you explain these similiarities? Ø New technology developments during this period ( to ) include: v Early Cities Ø Early Andean cities, which emerged around BCE, showed important urban features such as: Early Andean States: Mochica v Political and Economic Integration of the Andean Valleys Ø What actions did conquerors take to create and maintain unified states in the Andes? Ø Regional Contributions to the economy of the state: Highlands Central Valleys Coasts v The Mochica State Ø The Mochica State dominated Northern Peru from to Ø Since they had no system of, much of what we know about the Mochica comes from what we can learn from their, which show depictions of: Ø What factors led to the disappearance of the Mochica society around 1000 CE? NOTE: Given some of the graphic themes discussed in the previous section, I was surprised that the textbook made no mention of the fact that it was very common for the jars and ceramics to depict graphic sexual images. In fact, when I did a Google image search for Mochica, I had a hard time finding a good picture of the pottery to use that was PG-13 because such themes were so prominent in the pottery. Scholars debate the function and purpose of such ceramics, ranging from ritual, educational, or simply humor.
Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania Section 3: Early Societies of Oceania Directions: Read the entirety of the above section, including any additional text selections such as Eyewitness or Sources from the Past and examine all maps, charts, images, and diagrams. As you read and learn, complete the questions and tasks below to both demonstrate and preserve what you have learned. Early Societies of Oceania Ø Summarize the two waves of migration to Oceania: 50,000 Years Ago 5,000 Years Ago Early Societies in Australia and New Guinea Ø Complete the flow chart below: Originally, the people of Australia and New Guinea Around 10,000 years ago Aboriginal Australians New Guinea Peoples v Early Hunting and Gathering Societies in Australia Ø Since early Australians were hunter-gatherers and not farmers, they probably just didn t really understand plants very well. Refute this statement with evidence from the text. Try to use the claimevidence-justification model for presenting your argument if possible. v Austronesian Peoples Ø Modern Austronesian languages include: Ø What technologies and techniques were employed by the Austronesian seafarers to enable reliable maritime travel? v Early Agriculture in New Guinea Ø How did agriculture reach the indigenous people of New Guinea, and how did it further influence their society?
Ø Even though Australians had some exposure to agriculture from their interactions with Papua New Guineans, they never adopted it for themselves. Considering what you know about the geography of Australia and what you have learned about the lives of foragers and farmers, why do you think the Australians never adopted agriculture? The Peopling of the Pacific Islands Ø Pre-Austronesian Papua New Guineans and Australians could not reach the distant islands of the Pacific because: v Austronesian Migrations to Polynesia Ø Austronesian peoples were able to reach and settle distant Pacific islands because: Ø Create a timeline showing when Austronesian peoples reached and settled different Pacific islands: v Austronesian Migrations to Micronesia and Madagascar Ø How do you think historians know for certain that Austronesian peoples reached Madagascar? v The Lapita Peoples Ø Define self-sufficient: Ø What negative impact did the Lapita people have on some of the islands they inhabited? Ø If Lapita settlements were self-sufficient in terms of food supply, then why did they engage in longdistance trade? v Chiefly Political Organization Ø One unique aspect of life on these distant islands was that often, conflicts were settled not by violence, but instead by: Ø Describe the noteworthy characteristics of Polynesian government and society