How the Indians got Here
A western idea about time• Objective• Universal• Linear
migration• migration occurs in waves during
"ice ages" • by 9k y.a. whole continent
inhabited.• 600 generations of migration
Migration routes
"Neolithic Revolution"
• first corn 7k y.a. in Mexico
slash and burn• rotating crop areas• maintenance of relatively fixed
residence• milpas system in Jungle.
The growth of towns• towns mean
increased agricultural produce
– terrace farming: – chinampas or
floating gardens• specialization and
division of labor• implies
organization and some hierarchy
Cities and Empires• Theocratic society
– Olmecs: 3k ya first: • calendar, writing and
pyramid in hemisphere
– Teotehuanecos 2.6 k ya • city of over 200k pop
& 4 major temple complexes
• Maya– Toltec/Mississippian– Aztec/Inca
The Critique of this story
• Ignores Indian views of the world– Indian world is spiritual– Indian identity not universal, but local– Indian cosmologies frequently circular
• Forces Indians into Western categories
– Indians seen as pre-history– Non-Mexican civilizations incomplete– biased sources about Indian histories.
The Ethno-Historical view• integrate better info about Indian
culture• credence to Indian understanding
of past
