The History Book Club discussion

This is the Pre-Columbian thread.



This thread is about the following:

"The Pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic to European colonization during the Early Modern period.

While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus' voyages of 1492 to 1504, in practice the term usually includes the history of American indigenous cultures until they were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or even centuries after Columbus' initial landing.

Pre-Columbian is used especially often in the context of the great indigenous civilizations of the Americas, such as those of Mesoamerica (the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacano, the Zapotec, the Mixtec, the Aztec, and the Maya) and the Andes (Inca, Moche, Chibcha, Cañaris).

Many pre-Columbian civilizations established characteristics and hallmarks which included permanent or urban settlements, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, and complex societal hierarchies.

Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first permanent European arrivals (c. late 15th–early 16th centuries), and are known only through archaeological investigations. Others were contemporary with this period, and are also known from historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Maya, had their own written records.

However, most Europeans of the time largely viewed such texts as heretical, and much was destroyed in Christian pyres. Only a few hidden documents remain today, leaving modern historians with glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge.

According to both indigenous American and European accounts and documents, American civilizations at the time of European encounter possessed many impressive accomplishments.

For instance, the Aztecs built one of the most impressive cities in the world, Tenochtitlan, the ancient site of Mexico City, with an estimated population of 200,000. American civilizations also displayed impressive accomplishments in astronomy and mathematics.

Where they persist, the societies and cultures which are descended from these civilizations may now be substantively different in form from that of the original. However, many of these peoples and their descendants still uphold various traditions and practices which relate back to these earlier times, even if combined with those that were more recently adopted."

Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Colu...

This thread deals with the following:

Aztecs · Incas · Mayas · Olmecs · Teotihuacan

Please feel free to add books, images pertaining to Ancient History of the Pre-Columbian Americas, and/or urls, etc that pertain to this subject area. No self promotion please.

Here is a listing of most of the Pre-Columbian cultures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...

Here is a good table regarding the cultural periods of Peru.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Inca...

Pre-Columbian Trans - Oceanic Contact

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Colu...

Population History of American Indigenous People:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Colu...

Overview of Pre-History of the Central Andes (fairly good site)

http://www.tiwanakuarcheo.net/10_preh...

Pre-Columbian Textiles:

http://www.museocaprai.it/en/tecnica_...

McGinniss Publishing - Pre-Columbian Websites:

http://www.precolumbian.us/

Some Recommendations: (In Progress)

David J. Meltzer

Thank you for opening this thread, Bentley. I don't know much about this area, but it is fascinating.

You are welcome Joe.

Beginnings to 1500 C.E.:

http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/Enc...

Jeff wrote: "I have this book on my bookshelf, but don't know much about it other than what the title suggests. I'm currently wandering through ancient Rome and Gettysburg (wrap your head around that!), but th..."

Jeff;

I read this a while back and was facinated. It really gave me a different view of what was going on here in the Americas 500+ years ago. It was also interesting to see how much civilization was here propr to Columbus.

I'm going to stop now before I get into spoilers.

It will be a good read so I encourage moving it to the top.

Yes - Jim....it is somewhat later on the historical timeline (smile).

This is such an exciting topic because there is so much new scholarship!

I recommend .

I haven't finished it yet. (I read it in the rain and now it's too mildewed, and I need to get a new copy) But before I destroyed my copy it was really good!

Please tell me if I posted the book and author correctly.

Shannon, you were pretty close, the book cover is great and then the author's photo. You only forgot the author's link which is the author's name in text.

by Charles C. Mann

I'm so glad I found this thread, I was hoping to find something in this area. I'm currently reading...

by Emil W. Haury (no picture)

I have only just started reading this, it's taking me awhile to get through it, due to constantly taking notes and looking up words in my by Warwick Bray(no picture).

It goes into depth about the Mogollon Culture, that makes up the Ansazi, Hohokam, Mogollon, Sinagua and Patayan Indians that date around 200 AD-1000 AD. That area is located around southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Emil Haury named the Mogollon culture after the area. The tribes that followed that culture are the Hopi and the Zuni. It also talks about how much maize played a huge role in developing the societies and helping them progress. Again, I haven't gotten too far into the book yet, but so far it's a truly fascinating read.

If you would like to know more about Emil Haury as well, here's a link to learning more about him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Haury

Thank you Jennifer for your adds. And the Wikipedia article.

I've been wanting to read this book for some time; "The Last Days of the Incas" by Kim MacQuarrie.

by Kim MacQuarrie
Description:
In 1532, the fifty-four-year-old Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led a force of 167 men, including his four brothers, to the shores of Peru. Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, the Inca rulers of Peru had just fought a bloody civil war in which the emperor Atahualpa had defeated his brother Huascar. Pizarro and his men soon clashed with Atahualpa and a huge force of Inca warriors at the Battle of Cajamarca. Despite being outnumbered by more than two hundred to one, the Spaniards prevailed -- due largely to their horses, their steel armor and swords, and their tactic of surprise. They captured and imprisoned Atahualpa. Although the Inca emperor paid an enormous ransom in gold, the Spaniards executed him anyway. The following year, the Spaniards seized the Inca capital of Cuzco, completing their conquest of the largest native empire the New World has ever known. Peru was now a Spanish colony, and the conquistadors were wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.
But the Incas did not submit willingly. A young Inca emperor, the brother of Atahualpa, soon led a massive rebellion against the Spaniards, inflicting heavy casualties and nearly wiping out the conquerors. Eventually, however, Pizarro and his men forced the emperor to abandon the Andes and flee to the Amazon. There, he established a hidden capital, called Vilcabamba. Although the Incas fought a deadly, thirty-six-year-long guerrilla war, the Spanish ultimately captured the last Inca emperor and vanquished the native resistance.

Kim MacQuarrie lived in Peru for five years and became fascinated by the Incas and the history of the Spanish conquest. Drawing on both native and Spanish chronicles, he vividly describes the dramatic story of the conquest, with all its savagery and suspense. MacQuarrie also relates the story of the modern search for Vilcabamba, of how Machu Picchu was discovered, and of how a trio of colorful American explorers only recently discovered the lost Inca capital of Vilcabamba, hidden for centuries in the Amazon.

This authoritative, exciting history is among the most powerful and important accounts of the culture of the South American Indians and the Spanish Conquest.

Reviews:
"With vivid and energetic prose, Emmy Award–winner and author MacQuarrie (From the Andes to the Amazon) re-creates the 16th-century struggle for what would become modern-day Peru. The Incas ruled a 2,500–mile-long empire, but Spanish explorers, keen to enrich the crown and spread the Catholic Church, eventually destroyed Inca society. MacQuarrie, who writes with just the right amount of drama ("After the interpreter finished delivering the speech, silence once again gripped the square"), is to be commended for giving a balanced account of those events. This long and stylish book doesn't end with the final 1572 collapse of the Incas. Fast-forwarding to the 20th century, MacQuarrie tells the surprisingly fascinating story of scholars' evolving interpretations of Inca remains. In 1911, a young Yale professor of Latin American history named Hiram Bingham identified Machu Picchu as the nerve center of the empire. Few questioned Bingham's theory until after his death in 1956; in the 1960s Gene Savoy discovered the real Inca center of civilization, Vilcabamba. Although MacQuarrie dedicates just a few chapters to modern research, the archeologists who made the key discoveries emerge as well-developed characters, and the tale of digging up the empire is as riveting as the more familiar history of Spanish conquest." - Publishers Weekly

"The Incas were members of the group of Quechuan peoples of Peru, who established an empire from northern Ecuador to central Chile before the Spanish conquest. MacQuarrie reminds his readers that nearly 500 years ago, 168 Spaniards arrived in what is now Peru and collided with an Incan empire of 10 million people. The author, who lived in Peru for five years, chronicles the adventures of Hiram Bingham, who, in 1911, discovered Machu Picchu and believed it was the Incan capital. MacQuarrie also recounts the search by Gene Savoy, the American explorer who found Vicabamba, the true capital. He describes the adventures of other conquistadors and puppet kings, the rebellion of 1535, and other military attempts to conquer the Indians. MacQuarrie, a four-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, researched Spanish and Incan chronicles. The result is a first-rate reference work of ambitious scope that will most likely stand as the definitive account of these people." - Booklist

"This is a wonderful book about one of the most epic struggles of history, a conquest that transformed a continent." - Wade Davis, Anthropologist and Explorer-in-Residence National Geographic Society, and author of One River

"A colorful, superbly crafted historical narrative that masterfully demonstrates that when cultures collide, unforeseen and tragic consequences follow....also a memorable adventure story, revealing the modern Indiana Jones-type characters that unearthed, and continue to discover, lost parts of the Inca Empire. Last Days of the Incas is historical writing at its best." - Broughton Coburn, author of Everest: Mountain Without Mercy

"The Last Days of the Incas surprises, delivers history, and reads like a great yarn. I've read yards of books on the Incas, but this one took me out of the classroom and into that long-lost world." - Keith Bellows, Editor in Chief, National Geographic Traveler

"The story of the European conquest of the fascinating and fabulously rich empire of the Incas is one of history's most engaging and tragic episodes...Thanks to The Last Days of the Incas, Kim MacQuarrie's superbly written new treatment of the subject, it is now accessible to the much broader audience it deserves." - Vincent Lee, author of Forgotten Vilcabamba

"In this thrilling informative work...MacQuarrie also manages to spin the oft-told story of the discovery of Machu Picchu into narrative gold." - Entertainment Weekly

"Thoroughly and entertainingly recounted...MacQuarrie excels." - Jonathan Keats, Forbes

I love this period of history. I'm going to check out 1491!

Doug: don't forget to cite the book anytime you mention it:

Charles C. Mann

Sorry, I didn't realize I needed to if it was already in the thread.
by Charles C. Mann

Doug wrote: "Sorry, I didn't realize I needed to if it was already in the thread.
by Charles C. Mann"

No problem, Doug. The software lists how often it is mentioned so it helps.

Good add Kathy, thank you.

Thank you for the great adds Kathy.

Thanks Kathy

Some great adds Kathy, thank you.

That is a very interesting post Kathy!

The Atlantic World: A History, 1400-1888


by Douglas R. Egerton(no photo)


Summary

Before the voyage of Columbus in 1492, the Atlantic Ocean stood as a barrier to contact between the people (and their ideas and institutions), plants, animals, and microbes of Eurasia and Africa on the one hand and the Americas on the other. Following Columbus's voyage, the Atlantic turned into a conduit for transferring these things among the four continents bordering the ocean in ways that affected people living on each of them.

The appearance of The Atlantic World marks an important achievement, for it stands out as the first successful attempt to combine the many strains of Atlantic history into a comprehensive, thoughtful narrative. At the core of this ground-breaking and eloquently written survey lies a consideration of the relationships among people living in Europe, Africa, and the Americas, with a focus on how these relationships played important roles--often the most important roles--in how the histories of the people involved unfolded. The ways of life of millions of people changed, sometimes for the better but often for the worse, because of their relationship to the larger Atlantic world. And unlike existing texts dealing with one or another aspect of Atlantic history, The Atlantic World does not subjugate the history of Africa and South America to those of the "British Atlantic" or Europe.

With historians and other scholars beginning to reconceptualize the Atlantic World as a dynamic zone of exchange in which people, commodities, and ideas circulated from the mid-fifteenth century until the dawn of the twentieth century, the interconnections between people along the Atlantic rim create a coherent region, one in which events in one corner inevitably altered the course of history in another. As this book testifies, Atlantic history, properly understood, is history without borders--in which national narratives take backstage to the larger examination of interdependence and cultural transmission.

Conceived of and produced by a team of distinguished authors with countless hours of teaching experience at the college level, this thoughtfully organized, beautifully written, and lavishly illustrated book will set the standard for all future surveys intended as a core text for the new and rapidly growing courses in Atlantic History

Why don't you tell us about each book.

See how Kathy has set each book up.

She puts the title in bold

Skips one blank line

Then she adds the citation like you did.

Then she skips one blank line

Then she adds the word Synopsis: and puts that word in bold

Then she skips a line

And then she adds the goodreads write up making sure that the paragraphs and spacing look OK.

This way anybody looking at the book knows right away what it is and what the book is about.

Crossroads of the Empire: The Europe-Caribbean Connection 1492- 1992


(no image)Crossroads of Empire: The Europe-Caribbean Connection 1492-1992 edited by Alan Cobley(no photo)

Pay special attention to chapters Two and Three:

Chapter Two: The Caribbean Before and After Columbus by Karl Watson (no photo)

Excerpt

There is some confusion in the naming of the various cultural groups which inhabited the Caribbean islands. The Greater Antilles were populated by an Arawakan speaking people- hence known as Arawaks, but also referred to as Taino. There is evidence of an earlier less culturally developed people, identified as the Ciboney. The Lesser Antilles were first populated by Arawaks and a subsequent group of people known as the Caribs- this sequence and names are entrenched in the literature. Yet the people known as Caribs did not use that name themselves. They call themselves the Kalingo.


Chapter Three: Kalingo (Carib) Resistance to the European Invasion by Hilary Beckles(no photo)


Excerpt

This study seeks to specify some of the political and military responses of the Kalingo people (known in the colonial documentations as Caribs) to the European invasion as they sought to maintain control over lands and lives in the the islands of the Lesser Antilles. The examination makes reference to the immediate post-Columbian decades, and touches briefly upon the early eighteenth century of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 but is concerned primarily with the period 1624 to 1700 when Kalingos were confronted by considerate military pressure from English and French colonising agents. During this period Kalingos in the Windward and Leeward Islands launched a protracted war of resistance to colonisation and slavery. They held out against the English and French until the mid-1970's, protecting some territory, maintaining their social freedom and determining the economic and political history of the region in very important ways.

Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800

Pay special attention to Part One especially Chapters One and Two:
The Birth of An Atlantic World
The Development of Commerce between Europeans and Africans

by John Thornton(no photo)

Summary

Focusing especially on the causes and consequences of the slave trade, in Africa, in Europe, and in the New World, this book explores Africa's involvement in the Atlantic world from the 15th through the 18th centuries. Author John Thornton examines the dynamics that made slaves so necessary to European colonizers. This new edition contains an added chapter on 18th-century developments.

Marren, good job in 42 - that is it exactly. Great job in 39 too. Interesting excerpts too.

I took the first paragraphs from each chapter as the excerpts. As you would say, rather do.....(smile)

Yes good but remember this thread is about pre-columbian americas - ancient history (so for this thread literally it would mean the history before 1492 but then there is another interpretation that it could be decades later if - it denotes the entire history of American indigenous cultures until those cultures were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or centuries after Columbus's first landing - I am not so sure that we are talking as late as 1800!

-------------------------------------------------------

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during the Early Modern period.

While the phrase "pre-Columbian era" literally refers only to the time preceding Christopher Columbus's voyages of 1492, in practice the phrase usually is used to denote the entire history of American indigenous cultures until those cultures were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or centuries after Columbus's first landing.

For this reason the alternative terms of Precontact Americas, Pre-Colonial Americas or Prehistoric Americas are also in use. In areas of Hispanic America the term usually used is Pre-Hispanic.
Many pre-Columbian civilizations established hallmarks which included permanent settlements, cities, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, major earthworks, and complex societal hierarchies. Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first permanent European and African arrivals (c. late 15th–early 16th centuries), and are known only through archaeological investigations. Others were contemporary with the colonial period, and were described in historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Maya, had their own written records. Because many Christian Europeans of the time viewed such texts as heretical, men like Diego de Landa destroyed many texts in pyres, even while seeking to preserve native histories. Only a few hidden documents have survived in their original languages, while others were transcribed or dictated into Spanish, giving modern historians glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas continue to evolve after the pre-Columbian era. Many of these peoples and their descendants continue traditional practices, while evolving and adapting new cultural practices and technologies into their live

Ok, I made a note of that. However, what is the cut off date? Should it before anything after the commencement of the Transatlantic Slave Trade?

For this thread we are dealing with ancient history - and pre Columbian is referring to before Columbus (1492) but if the people were conquered or influenced by by Europeans decades or centuries after his first landing they are counting it from the time it began - But I still do not feel that it means up to and including 1800 or beyond. I think that 1492 is the safe date.

Duly noted

Kathy, you are on a roll here. Thank you.

Thanks for all of the adds on the Ancient History threads Kathy

That is an interesting article Kathy. It was odd how they got rid of the bodies and actually burned the bodies and used the same area.

Mmmmm Kathy... The date of that book by Van Sertima, if quoted correctly, does not make any sense at all. By 1310 most major cultures of Mesoamerica had had their zenith and nadir (Olmecs, Toltecs, Zapotec, the First Maya Empire...) The Meshica founded Tenochtitlan in 1345... In order to have had some noticeable effect on the Mesoamerican cultures the Africans should have come way before, and in much larger numbers.

Thanks Kathy, will quote properly in the future. I do not know how much this topic interests people, but a fair amount is known about the peoples of Mesoamerica, not only because of the vast archaeological records, but also because a sizable amount of written materials were not burnt, or were produced immediately after the conquest, as you quoted from Leon Portilla, mong many instances. More than enough is known to appreciate that even if African expeditions came into Mesoamerica in 1310, their effect could not have been very important. There is simply very little evidence of it. Miguel León-Portillaa

A Pre-Columbian World

edited by Jeffrey Quilter (no photo)

Synopsis:

The articles in this book conceptualize the ancient New World through new and varied approaches, from iconography to the history of anthropology. The many essays in this volume explore the vast vista of the Pre-Columbian world, including representations of history, memory, and knowledge in Andean visual imagery and Pre-Columbian narrative, the ideology of rain making, and Maya beliefs about animal transformations.

Moundbuilders of the Amazon: Geophysical Archaeology on Marajo Island, Brazil

(no image) Moundbuilders of the Amazon: Geophysical Archaeology on Marajo Island, Brazil by Anna Curtenius Roosevelt (no photo)

Synopsis:

Using a variety of remote sensing techniques, Roosevelt documents the existence of a major moundbuilding culture possessing monumental architectural skills and a rich artistic tradition. This culture thrived on the lowland tropical floodplain of Marajo Island at the mouth of the Amazon river in Brazil from approximately 400 AD to 1300 AD.

I learned about this archaeological site in my Coursera.org course called "Archaeology's dirty little secrets" and found it very interesting:

El Zotz

El Zotz (Spanish pronunciation: [el sots]) is a Mesoamerican archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region around 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of the major center of Tikal and approximately 26 kilometres (16 mi) west of Uaxactun. It is so called because of the large number of bats living in caves in the nearby cliffs (the original Mayan name was Pa'Chan). The site is located within the San Miguel la Palotada National Park bordering the Tikal National Park in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala. It is a large Classic Period site and contains many unexcavated mounds and ruins.

El Zotz shared its Emblem Glyph with the powerful city of Yaxchilan in Chiapas, Mexico, and it is likely that the Yaxchilan royal dynasty had its origin in El Zotz.

The tallest temple structure is approximately 45 m (148 ft) high and is known as "El Diablo" (the devil), allegedly because the sides of the temple are dangerously steep. Conservation work has been carried out here by the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, including the construction of a rudimentary campsite for tourists. The area has caves and swamps and is a protected biotope. It is known for the hundreds of thousands of bats that fly out from under the cliffs at sunset.


map of El Zotz

What it looks like:



Read more on: El Zotz

Source: Wikipedia

Thank you very much for your help here, Samantha. :)

No problem! :) I'll try to catch some time to help more. :)

The Lords of Tikal: Rulers of an Ancient Maya City

by Peter D. Harrison (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Maya metropolis of Tikal was once one of the greatest cities in the world, and today it has become one of the most visited Maya sites.Drawing upon more than thirty years of excavation and research, Peter D. Harrison gives a vivid account of the turbulent history of Tikal. Strategically located, the city served as a major center of trade and as an architectural style-setter for the central Peten region of the Maya Lowlands. The apogee of power and wealth was achieved between A.D. 692 and 800 under the reigns of three generations of the Jaguar Claw clan, whose ruling lords built the Great Temples that symbolize the character and individuality of the city. Some of these Great Temples served as mortuary structures, and the contents of the tombs -- from mosaic masks and jade jewelry to beautiful ceramics and alabaster bowls -- hint at the richness of life as a lord of Tikal.Making full use of the remarkable recent breakthroughs in translating the Maya's own hieroglyphic record, Professor Harrison summarizes what is known to date of this mysterious city and its rulers.

Cahokia and the Hinterlands: Middle Mississippian Cultures of the Midwest

by Thomas E. Emerson

Synopsis:

Cahokia and the Hinterlands explores cultural interactions among Cahokians and other Middle Mississippian populations across the Midcontinent, covering topics as diverse as economic modeling, craft specialization, settlement patterns, agricultural and subsistence systems, and the development of social ranking. Proposing sophisticated and innovative models for the growth, development, and decline of Mississippian culture at Cahokia and elsewhere, this volume also provides insight into the rise of chiefdoms and stratified societies and the development of trade throughout the world.