Why Did Civilizations

Form?

Gordon Childe had

specified the features he
believed had contributed
to the evolution of early
civilizations

all had a stimulating effect

and were themselves the
products
of
changes
initiated
by
previous
Neolithic activities.

 however, the things he

proposed childe for
emergence in a civilization
was not applicable to all
early civilizations of the
world, especially those of
the new world as the
Mayans, Aztecs and Incas
in the same way, only
childe had taken these
conclusions by studying
the civilizations of the
Near East

In the twentieth century,

most archaeologists also
agreed that descriptive
approaches such as Childe
were inadequate, perhaps
because they pose (or they
could not explain) why and
how the earliest civilizations
arose and when and where
they did.
a good general explanation
should only be applied as
effectively to all civilizations,
including those in the New
World

Environmental
Explanations
Environmental determinism:
This theory is summarized in
the weather ( weather
conditions of a place over time )
defines whether a race is high,
low , intelligent, less intelligent,
or even certain skills : academic
, sports , etc.
people , culture and everything
else obey the same laws of nature

Cultural determinism:
posits that realities , behaviors
and processes of individuals
are determined by the culture
of ownership , the culture of
bone origin.

Cultural explanations.

New World Civilizations.

the emergence of the
first civilizations of the
Americas was primarily
through agriculture
these plants became
the primary means of
subsitencia in most of
these civilizations , but
still eating animals
kept as camelids in the
Andes

similarities and differences between the

civilizations of the old and new world.

the civilizations of the Americas

were comparable to those of the
Old World, mainly in the fields of
economics based on agriculture,
the powerful leaders, human
labor invested in large-scale
constructions, etc.

differences were found

between the use of
domesticated animals played
only a small part of agriculture
in the New World, just as the
role of the metal was limited,
and the wheel had no important
role.

Lowland Mesoamerica.

Olmec were considered the

mother culture of Mesoamerican
civilization. However, it is
unclear the process that gave
rise to artistic style identified
with this culture , nor the extent
to which cultural traits that are
revealed in the archaeological
evidence of the Olmecs are
creating the nuclear area.
Other archaeologists argue that
political organizations were
Olmec chiefdoms, not states,
and they were just part of a
network of chiefdoms
interacting with early states.

 the most compelling reason for

the emergence of the earliest
Mesoamerican archaeological
evidence State can not be found
in the lowlands, but in the great
Zapotec center of Mount Albam.

In addition to the ceremonial

architecture, the Olmecs
produjieron notable
monumental sculptures and
smaller size, well-crafted jade
stones and other attractive

Classic Maya.

A thousand years before

the event of the conquest
and colonization of
America by Europeans
Mayan civilization began a
stage of development and
flowering that would last
about six and a half
centuries. That stage of
Maya history, located
between 250 and 900 AD,
which is called is called
Classic period.

The formal architecture of

large-scale dominated the
larger cities. Tikal, with over
50,000 inhabitants, had
more than 3,000 structures
in the central single
enclosure.
Religion was a key element
of Maya society, as it was in
all early civilizations.
Architecture and art were
devoted to the worship of
the divine kings and worship
of perhaps hundreds of
major and minor deities

Highland Mexico
Valley of Mexico is a high plateau
bordered by mountains and
volcanic peaks to the west, south
and east, rich agricultural soils of
the Valley of Mexico is watered
by several rivers and large lakes.
This spacious semi-arid valley,
now dominated by the city of
Mexico, was the setting in which
they develop several states and
major prehistoric civilizations.
Teotihuacn was the first citystate in mexico dominate this
valley became one of the largest
urban centers in the New World

after
the
collapse
of
Teotihuacan Arose another
powerful
and influential
culture in the valley, the
Toltecs
The Toltecs also briefly
enjoyed a commercial and
military
company
expanded through trade
and
tribute
networks,
colonization efforts, and
probably the conquest.
subsequently emerged the
Aztec Empire.

Andean civilizations.

Alrededor de 3,200 a 2,850 los

pueblos de la sierra peruana y la
costa norte se reunieron en un
fervor religioso que llev a un
grado de unidad cultural de esta
vasta regin. Subyacente su
unidad era una especie de
autoridad centralizada, con una
ideologa compartida de las
personas, especialmente
expresadas a travs de su arte
ritual.
Chavn, un centro cvicoceremonial intrigante situada en
un valle alto andino, es el
ejemplo arqueolgica ms
conocida de esta iconografa

 Around 3.200 to 2.850 the

peoples of the Peruvian
highlands and northern coast
gathered in a religious fervor
that led to a degree of cultural
unity of this vast region.
Underlying his unit was some
kind of centralized authority,
with a shared ideology of the
people especially expressed
through their ritual art.
Chavin, an intriguing civicceremonial center located on a
high Andean valley, is the best
known archaeological example of
this iconography

Early States.
The Moche or Mochica culture, is
an archaeological culture of
ancient Peru that developed
between 200 and 700 d. C. in the
Moche River valley.

were the best potters of ancient

Peru due to the fine and elaborate
trabajo they made in their ceramics
They represented divinities, men,
animals and significant scenes
concerning ceremonial themes and
myths that reflected their world.
The inhabitants of the Moche culture
had great experience as fishermen,
this proves the old ships that used
so far and still produce called reed
horses.

Tiwanaku was the center of the

Tiahuanaco civilization, a pre-Inca
culture that based its economy on
agriculture and livestock, and covering
the territories of the Collao plateau
between western Bolivia, southern
Peru, northwestern Argentina and
northern Chile, regions from which
radiated its technological and religious
influence into her other contemporary
civilizations.
The Chimu culture developed in the
same territory where centuries before
the Mochica culture existed.
The founder of the Chimu kingdom
was Tacaynamo. The Chimu were an
expansionist state centralized with
clear class divisions, heritage
managers and a complex bureaucracy.

The Inca civilization was the last of

the great pre-Columbian civilizations
that retained its independent status
(Inca Empire) during the conquest of
America. With the expansion of the
empire, it was absorbing new cultural
expressions of the peoples annexed
to settle at the current territories of
Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile,
Colombia and Ecuador.

From the sacred city of Cuzco,

consolidated a State managed to
synthesize the artistic, scientific and
technological knowledge of their
predecessors. Based on a concept of
state expansion, the Tawantinsuyo
got the knowledge and the
potentiometer.