An Explosion of Complexity: South America Flashcards
What are the Pre-Inca Civilizations of South America?
Moche: 1700 BP – 1300 BP. No evidence of writing. Had rulers and pyramids. Social stratification and monumental works. Gold, turquoise artifacts, llamas.
Nasca: 1600 BP – 1300 BP. Community was around same time as Moche but was a distinct culture, different location but nearby. Geoglyphs represent various animals or geometrical figures.
What is Trepanation?
Surgery associated with pre-Inca civilization. Also seen in different parts of the world. People were still alive afterwards → evidence of healing on the bone.
Hole in skull
Did not use metal tools
Used obsidian → lava stone
What are the basics of the Inca Civilization?
Dated from 1200-1532 AD. Ended with arrival of the Spanish, centred around the city of Cuzco. Had rulers that claimed to be descended from the Sun. Taxes, field workers, army (social stratification).
What was the Incan Social Strata?
The Inca (the name given to the supreme ruler)
The sons and grandsons of the Inca
Other people of role blood
Inca aristocrats
People involved with different functions to keep the empire running
Inca by privilege
People whose cultures were ‘taken in’ by the Inca
Peasants
What was special about the Inca Roads?
Major road system that switched back through the Andes. How were the roads built? A lot were built by pre-Incan societies.
Inca created more roads to connect things → uniting the empire.
Used by the government to move messages between cities in a short amount of time – Incan runners.
What is Khipu?
Incan writing through strings/knots.
What is special about Incan Textiles?
They were a highly treasured commodity, used for trade. Trade was important as there was no real currency. They represented the cultural identity; Incan mummies often have textiles associated with them.
What type of Incan artifacts are found?
Gold bowls with motifs/designs, silver llamas (llamas are extremely important).
What is important about Incan Mummies?
They had really good preservation, the sacrifices were mostly children and occurred before extreme events. The sacrifices were treated very well.
Who is Lullaillco Maiden?
Death age 13, one of the best preserved Incan mummies. Recovered in Argentina, the analyzed hair showed a diet change a year before death. Possible indication that the children were chosen a significant time before death and were given higher quality food.
What is special about Lima?
Known to be an Inca Cemetery, found in the outskirts of Peru. The current people needed the land, but the cemetery had been used for 100 years. Over 1000 burial bundles were recovered.
What is special about Machu Picchu?
“Old Peak”, not discovered by the Spanish. No historical documents were found. Bingham and crew excavated beneath the more prominent structures and no artifacts were recovered. Locals indicated that there were burial chambers on the mountain slope. They were identified and items recovered. In Machu Picchu there were habitation and public sites; the Sacred Plaza is a public site. There was also a residential district.
Who is Hiram Bingham?
Director of the expedition to search for evidence of Incan ruins in 1911. After the arrival of the Spanish, it was known that a small population of the Incan lived in a ‘lost city’ → what he was looking for. Local people were aware of Machu Picchu, spent months clearing the vegetation and conducting excavations.
What is Wayna Picchu?
Above Machu Picchu, Temple of the Moon → Excavator name. Part of the natural cave, no evidence of habitation. Perhaps used for ritual purposes.
What is Intihautana?
Connected to the importance of the sun; positioned at the highest point of Machu Picchu.
What is the Temp of the Three Windows?
Machu Picchu; windows were thought to connect the present, underground, and heaven. Three layers, three windows.
What is the Temple of the Sun?
Machu Picchu; connection with equinox and structure/windows. Only for the elite.
What is special about Incan Masonry?
Stones were precisely shaped so everything fit together without mortar/cement. The structures can survive earthquakes. They used lintels for archways.
What were the Agricultural Terraces of Machu Picchu?
Machu Picchu is believed to only have been used for part of the year, by elites/rulers. Terraces were there to sustain the population, they have different layers of soil and the rocks kept the soil warm.
What types of water features did Machu Picchu have?
The Incan believed that water was just coming from the mountain. There was a water source nearby, and there were canals and irrigation systems to bring water to the site. There was a sewage system, water fountains. The Urubamba River circled all three sides of the mountain.
What is Kwäday Dän Tsínchi?
Long ago person found, remains found in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park, BC. Dated to 1720-1853 CE.
