Nubian, Olmec, and Chavin Civilizations

Nubia, 3100BCE – 350CE

• Aswan and Khartoum

• Trade center – Sub – Saharan Africa and Mediterranean

• Resources: gold, copper, stones

• Nile, irrigation, trade (boats/caravans to avoid cataracts)

• Bantu migrations- farmers in the Sahel migrate East and South

Early Cultures and Egyptian Domination, 2300 – 1100 BCE

• Old Kingdom Egypt sought riches that came through Nubia

• Middle Kingdom – Egypt more aggressive, wanted more control (forts), mostly peaceful

• 1750 BCE Kingdom of Kush – huge mud brick monuments

• Belief in afterlife (possessions sacrificed/buried)• New Kingdom – Egypt destroyed Kush, ruled

over Nubia, exploited for gold• Egypt imposed culture (elites, military,

manufactured goods, towns, gods)

QUESTIONS:

• Review core/periphery terms. Was Nubia ever a core civilization?

• How did the technological and cultural influences of Egypt affect the formation of Nubia?

Kingdom of Meroe, 800 BCE – 350 CE

• 1200 BCE - Egypt loses control over Nubia (Napata and Meroe)

• Brief control over Egypt, lost when they challenged the Assyrians, Egyptian cultural influence continued

• 4th c. BCE – Meroe (trade, agriculture), sub – Saharan culture, new language, new deities

• Matrilineal system (queens involved in warfare, diplomacy, monumental buildings)

• City of Meroe huge, reservoirs, iron smelting• Collapsed 4th c. BCE (nomads on camels, loss of

trade)

http://www.answers.com/main/Record2?a=NR&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FImage%3ASudan%2520Meroe%2520Pyramids%25202001.JPG

QUESTIONS:

• Compare/contrast what we know about the role of women in Egyptian and Nubian society.

• What was the importance of trade to the native civilizations that emerged along the Nile south of Egypt?

Early American Civilizations

• Arrival of humans to Americas contested (35,000 to 13,000 BCE) – isolated

• Environment (Guns, Germs, and Steel thesis – see page 9 in textbook)

• Elites organized population to change environment for their needs

• 1000 BCE – Olmec (Mesoamerica) and Chavin (Andes)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chavin-small.png

Olmecs 1200BCE – 400BCE

• Located in Mexico (near Veracruz)• Grew corn beans and squash primarily• Vast trade networks, encompassing very diverse

areas, but small territory relative to land available- no empire/political unification

• Each center seems to have fallen due to a violent rebellion (defaced monuments)

• Colossal mounds used in religious ceremonies, importance of animal motifs, calendar/writing

• Clear social structure, elites controlled labor pool (increased food production), merchants

OLMEC ART

Question:

• Compare the Olmec Empire to the River Valley civilizations. What similarities/differences can you find: socially, politically, economically, and religiously.

Chavin 900 – 250 BCE

• Very diverse environment (Andes mountains, jungles, coastal plains)

• Maize, quinoa, potatoes, LLAMAS• Center of regional trade• System of reciprocal labor obligations

(monumental structures and irrigation)• American metallurgy first developed in Andean

region• Not conquered or brought down by rebellion• Rulers were buried with lots of gold, etc.• Similar religious beliefs as Olmecs- jaguars,

priests/shamans, etc.

http://www.photogrammetry.ethz.ch/research/student/images/chavin.gif

QUESTIONS

What role did nature and the environment play in the development of early civilizations in the Americas? (What geographic challenges did American civilizations face that Euro-Asian civilizations did not?)