Social+Classical+Americas

Classical America Social Ben Kachian

__Religion, Writing, and Innovation in Society__
 * Rulers exercised civil and religious power.
 * State marriages were important and women had a relatively large mount of rights, but were primarily responsible for the preparation of food and all matter of domestic obligations.
 * There was constant warfare in society.
 * The popular Maya belief in great cycles of creation and destruction of the universe, this had a very large influence on society.
 * The Maya had a complex religious system with many deities, they emphasized on the unity of all things. These deities had a monumental influence on society and how it was governed.
 * Captives were made slaves, and patrilineal families probably formed the basis of social life.

__Origins of American Societies__
 * Ancient Asian hunters entered the Americas and created many diverse societies which eventually grew into complex civilizations.
 * The migrants from Asia that arrived during the last Ice Age when the ocean level fell were most likely the first inhabitants of America.
 * These hunters followed the mastodons, mammoths, and other large game across this route.
 * A fluctuation in global temperature about 10,000 years ago caused the ice that made up the "Land Bridge" to melt, the land migrations subsequently stopped.
 * The Americas appear to have been settled by a variety of different people.

__Types of American Indian Societies__
 * Ancient American societies can be distinguished on the basis of their economic and political organization.
 * Some cycles of cultural advancement and sometimes of empire building took place in certain societies.
 * In American Indian societies, there was little hierarchy or specialism of skills.
 * Societies were generally organized around family groups or clans.
 * There were many similarities between different American societies such as similarities in organization, substance, technology, and belief.
 * Civilizations generally developed based on intensive agriculture.

5 IDs

1. Religion in American Indian Society 2. Innovation and Inventions in Society 3. Politics in Classical American Society (Hierarchy) 4. Agriculture in Classical American Society 5. The Differing Roles of Men and Women in Classical American Society

Compare/ Contrast Question:


 * Compare and contrast any two Classical American civilizations of your choice (Maya vs Toltec, for example)**