Andean civilizations

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The Inca Empire and its road system encompassed most of the Andean civilization.

The Andean civilizations were South American

Caral or Norte Chico civilization of coastal Peru is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, dating back to 3500 BCE.[2]
Andean civilization is one of the six "pristine" civilizations of the world, created independently and without influence by other civilizations.

Despite the severe environmental challenges of high mountains and hyper-arid desert, the Andean civilizations domesticated a wide variety of crops, some of which, such as

manioc, chocolate, and coca, became of worldwide importance. The Andean civilizations were noteworthy for monumental architecture, an extensive road system
, textile weaving, and many unique characteristics of the societies they created.

Less than a century prior to the arrival of the

Timoto Cuica
of Venezuela remained outside the Inca orbit. The Inca Empire was a patchwork of languages, cultures and peoples. Spanish rule ended or transformed many elements of the Andean civilizations, notably influencing religion and architecture.

History

Reconstruction of one of the pyramids of Aspero

After the first humans — who were then arranged into

Caral-Supe civilization, emerged at 3500 BCE, and lasted until 1800 BCE. Also, distinct religious centres emerged, such as the Kotosh Religious Tradition in the highlands.[3]

Aerial photograph of one of the Nazca lines, taken in July 2015, that shows the design known as "The monkey"

This was followed by the Ceramic Period. Various complex societies developed at this time, such as

Moche civilisation, lasting from 100 to 700, Wari and Tiwanaku Empires, with both lasting from 600 to 1000, and Chimor
, lasting from 900 to 1470.

Machu Picchu, a mountainous settlement that was inhabited during the time of Tahuantinsuyu.

In later periods, much of the Andean region was conquered by the indigenous

Kingdom of Cuzco
, founded around 1230.

In the 16th century, Spanish colonisers from Europe arrived in the Andes, eventually subjugating the indigenous kingdoms and incorporating the Andean region into the Spanish Empire.

Uniqueness

A quipu
Coastal Andean Men's tunic, 13th–15th century

The civilization of the Andes was one of six in the world deemed by scholars to be "pristine", that is indigenous and not derived from other civilizations.[4] Due to its isolation from other civilizations, the indigenous people of the Andes had to come up with their own, often unique solutions to environmental and societal challenges.[5]

Andean civilization lacked several characteristics distinguishing it from the pristine civilizations in the

Caral/Norte Chico of the third millennium BCE.[7]

Andean civilizations also lacked wheeled vehicles and draft animals. People on land traveled only by foot and the transport of goods was only by humans or

riding animals for adults.[5]

Moreover, Andean civilizations faced severe environmental challenges. The earliest civilizations were on the hyper-arid desert coast of Peru. Agriculture was possible only with irrigation in valleys crossed by rivers coming from the high Andes, plus in a few fog oases called lomas. In the Andes, agriculture was limited by thin soils, cold climate, low or seasonal precipitation, and a scarcity of flat land. Freezing temperatures may occur in every month of the year at altitudes of more than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), the homeland of many of the highland Andean civilizations.[9]

Finally, the Andean civilizations lacked money. Copper axe-monies (also called "naipes")[10] and Spondylus shells[11] functioned as mediums of exchange in some areas, especially coastal Ecuador, but most of the Andes area had economies organized on reciprocity and redistribution rather than money and markets. These characteristics were especially notable during the Inca Empire but originated in much earlier times.[12]

Agriculture

Agricultural terraces (andenes) were widely built and used for agriculture in the Andes.

Agriculture in South America may have begun in coastal Ecuador with the domestication of

Las Vegas culture.[13]

Some scholars believe that the earliest civilizations on the Peruvian coast initially relied more upon maritime resources than agriculture during the formative period of their societies.

guinea pigs
.

The challenges of the environment required sophisticated agricultural technology.

horses and cattle.[19] Agriculture on the desert coast required the development of irrigation. In the mountains, the elevation, cold climate and steep terrain required a range of technological solutions such as terraces (andén), exploitation of microclimates, and selective breeding. Due to the climatic uncertainties, farmers traditionally farmed several crops at several elevations and exposures. At a macro level, societies and states did the same with the vertical archipelago, establishing colonies at different elevations and locations to increase the possibilities of agricultural success.[20][21]

Archaeological cultures

Caral

The Caral pyramids in the arid Supe Valley, some 20 km from the Pacific coast

The

Olmec
by nearly two millennia.

Valdivia

Mortar, Jaguar Valdivia, South Coast (4000 BCE to 1500 BCE)

The

Las Vegas culture and thrived on the Santa Elena peninsula near the modern-day town of Valdivia, Ecuador
between 3500 BCE and 1800 BCE.

Chavín

Formative Epoch 1200–300 BCE (Larco Museum Collection
, Lima)

The

Chavin de Huantar was an important ritual centre for Chavin Culture, dating to around 1,500 BCE.[24]

Nazca

The Condor, Nazca Lines, created by the Nazca culture

The

Ica Region
was named for this people.

Moche

The Moche culture is world-renowned for its pottery, in picture a Condor from about 300 CE.

The

ceramics, gold work, monumental constructions (huacas) and irrigation systems.[25] Moche history may be broadly divided into three periods – the emergence of the Moche culture in Early Moche (CE 100–300), its expansion and florescence during Middle Moche (CE 300–600), and the urban nucleation and subsequent collapse in Late Moche (CE 500–750).[26]

Chachapoyas

Walls of Soloco fortress, Chachapoyas, Peru.

The Chachapoyas, or the 'Cloud People', were an Andean civilization living in cloud forests of the Amazonas region of present-day northern Peru. The Incas conquered the Chachapoyas shortly before the arrival of the Spanish in Peru. The first firm evidence of their existence dates back to around 700 CE, although it is possible that they built a settlement called Gran Pajáten where some ceramics have been dated to 200 BCE. The largest Chacapoyan site discovered so far is

Kuelap
. A number of mummified burial sites have also been discovered.

Wari

Pikillaqta administrative center, built by the Wari civilization in Cusco

The

Cuzco en route to Lake Titicaca
.

Tiwanaku

The "Gate of the Sun" built by the Tiwanaku culture

La Paz. The site was first recorded in written history by Spanish conquistador and self-acclaimed "first chronicler of the Indies" Pedro Cieza de León. Leon stumbled upon the remains of Tiwanaku in 1549 while searching for the Inca capital Qullasuyu.[27] Some have hypothesized that Tiwanaku's modern name is related to the Aymara term taypiqala, meaning "stone in the center", alluding to the belief that it lay at the center of the world.[28] However, the name by which Tiwanaku was known to its inhabitants may have been lost, as the people of Tiwanaku had no written language.[29][30]

Historical cultures

Chimú

caballitos de totora
(1100–1400 CE)

The

Chimú were the residents of Chimor, with its capital at the city of Chan Chan, a large adobe city in the Moche Valley of present-day Trujillo, Peru. The culture arose about 900 CE. The Inca ruler Topa Inca Yupanqui led a campaign which conquered the Chimú around 1470 CE.[31]

This was just fifty years before the arrival of the Spanish in the region. Consequently, Spanish chroniclers were able to record accounts of Chimú culture from individuals who had lived before the Inca conquest. Similarly,

archaeological evidence suggest Chimor grew out of the remnants of Moche culture
; early Chimú pottery had some resemblance to that of the Moche. Their ceramics are all black, and their work in precious metals is very detailed and intricate.

Aymara kingdoms

The Aymara kingdoms were a group of lordships located in the Altiplano. The kingdoms were established around 1151 after the collapse of the Tiwanaku Empire until they were absorbed into the Inca Empire in 1477.

Inca Empire

View of Machu Picchu built by the Incas

The Inca Empire, or Incan Empire[32] (Quechua: Tawantinsuyu), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.[33] The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco. The Inca civilization arose from the Peruvian highlands sometime in the early 13th century, and the last Inca stronghold was conquered by the Spanish in 1572. From 1438 to 1533 CE, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including Peru, southwest Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, northern Chile, and a small part of southwest Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of the Old World.

Diaguita

The Diaguita culture formed in 1000 CE after emerging from the Las Ánimas culture. The Calchaquí tribe fought against expansion by both the Inca Empire and the Spanish Empire until they surrendered to Spanish rule after their defeat in the Calchaquí Wars in 1665.

Muisca

Guatavita Lake

The

zipa. Both confederations were located in the highlands of modern-day Cundinamarca and Boyacá (Altiplano Cundiboyacense) in the central area of Colombia's Eastern Ranges
.

Timoto-Cuica

Mérida, Venezuela

Timoto–Cuica people was composed primarily of two tribes, the Timotes and the Cuicas, that inhabited in the

Muisca people of the Andes, who spoke a Chibcha language. The Timoto-Cuicas were not only composed of the Timoto and the Cuica tribes, but also the Mucuchíes, the Migures, the Tabares, and the Mucuñuques. Timoto-Cuica society was complex with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks.[34]
Their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs.

They were peaceful, for the most part, and depended on growing crops. Regional crops included potatoes and

ullucos.[35] They left behind works of art, particularly anthropomorphic ceramics, but no major monuments. They spun vegetable fibers to weave into textiles and mats for housing. They are credited with having invented the arepa, a staple in Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine
.

Gallery

  • Cover of Huánuco Pampa
    Cover of Huánuco Pampa
  • Lithic decorations in the Gran Pajatén
    Lithic decorations in the Gran Pajatén
  • Facade of the main temple of Cerro Sechín
    Facade of the main temple of Cerro Sechín
  • Mausoleum in Huilcahuaín
    Mausoleum in Huilcahuaín

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pre-Columbian civilizations - Andean, Inca, Moche | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  2. S2CID 10172918
    .
  3. .
  4. ^ Upton, Gary and von Hagen, Adriana (2015), Encyclopedia of the Incas, New York: Rowand & Littlefield, p. 2. Some scholars cite 6 or 7 pristine civilizations.
  5. ^ a b McEwan 2006, p. 5.
  6. .
  7. ^ Hirst, K. Kris. "Quipu – South America's Ancient Undeciphered Writing System". ThoughtCo. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  8. ^ "Llamas as Pack Animals". Buckhorn Llama Co. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  9. ^ Guillet, David and others (1987), "Terracing and Irrigation in the Peruvian Highlands," Current Anthropology, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 409–410. Downloaded from JSTOR.
  10. ^ Smith, M.E. (1993). "Axe-Monies and Their Relatives" by Dorothy Hosler; Heather Lechtman; Olaf Holm. (Review). Ethnohistory, 40(1), pp. 148–149
  11. ^ Carter, Benjamin. "Spondylus in South American Prehistory" in Spondylus in Prehistory: New Data and Approaches. Ed. Fotis Ifantidis and Marianna Nikolaidou. BAR International Series 2216. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2011: 63–89.
  12. ^ Fagan, Brian M. (1996), The Oxford Guide to Archaeology, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 343
  13. ^ "Domestication History of the Squash Plant", https://www.thoughtco.com/domestication-history-of-the-squash-plant-172698, accessed 19 Jun 2018
  14. ^ Moseley, Michael. "The Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization: An Evolving Hypothesis". The Hall of Ma'at. Archived from the original on 2015-08-18. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  15. .
  16. ^ Stevens, William K., "Rediscovering the Lost Crops of the Inca," The New York Times, October 31, 1989
  17. ^ Piperno, Dolores r. (2011), "The Origins of Plant Cultivation and Domestication in the New World Tropics: Patterns, Process, and new Developments," Current Anthropology, Vol. 52, No. 54, pp. S457–S459 Downloaded from JSTOR.
  18. .
  19. ^ Diamond, Jared (1999), Guns. Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., pp. 83–113
  20. ^ D'Altroy 2003, pp. 27–35.
  21. ^ McEwan 2006, pp. 23–27, 83–85.
  22. ^ The name is disputed. English-language sources use Norte Chico (Spanish: "Little North") per Haas et al. (2004). Caral or Caral-Supe are more likely to be found in Spanish language sources per Shady. This article follows usage in recent English-language sources and employs Norte Chico, but the title is not definitive. Peruvian Norte Chico should not be confused with the Chilean region of the same name.
  23. ^ "Sacred City of Caral-Supe". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  24. ^ "Chavín de Huántar, Peru – A Pre-Columbian World Heritage Treasure". Global Heritage Fund. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  25. .
  26. ^ Bawden, G. 2004. "The Art of Moche Politics", in Andean Archaeology. (ed. H. Silverman). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
  27. .
  28. .
  29. . Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  30. ^ "Profile: Fabricio R. Santos – The Genographic project". Genographic Project. National Geographic. Archived from the original on 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  31. ^ Kubler, George. (1962). The Art and Architecture of Ancient America, Ringwoods: Penguin Books London Ltd., pp. 247–274
  32. ^ Also Inka Empire; see Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift for more information regarding this spelling difference
  33. ^ Terence D'Altroy, The Incas, pp. 2–3.
  34. ^ a b Mahoney 89
  35. ^ "Venezuela." Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine Friends of the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. (retrieved 9 July 2011)

Further reading

External links