US history. First Europeans in America

In fact, already from the first trip of Columbus and acquaintance with the natives of the islands of the West Indies, a bloody history of interaction between the native inhabitants of America and Europeans began to take shape. Caribs were exterminated - allegedly for their commitment to cannibalism. They were followed by other islanders for refusing to perform slave duties. The first witness of these events, the outstanding humanist Bartolome Las Casas, was the first to tell about the atrocities of the Spanish colonialists in his treatise “The Shortest Reports on the Destruction of the Indies”, published in 1542. The island of Hispaniola “was the first where Christians entered; here the beginning of the extermination and death of the Indians was laid. Having devastated and devastated the island, the Christians began to take away the wives and children from the Indians, forced them to serve themselves and used them in the most bad way ... And the Indians began to look for means by which they could throw the Christians out of their lands, and then they took up arms ... Christians on horseback, armed with swords and spears, mercilessly killed the Indians. Entering the villages, they did not leave anyone alive ... ”And all this for the sake of profit. Las Casas wrote that the conquistadors "came with a cross in their hand and an insatiable thirst for gold in their hearts." Following Haiti in 1511, Diego Velazquez conquered Cuba with a detachment of 300 men. The natives were destroyed mercilessly. In 1509 an attempt was made to establish two colonies on the coast of Central America under Olons de Ojeda and Diego Niques. The Indians objected. 70 of Ojeda's companions were killed. Died from wounds and diseases and most of Nikuez's companions. The surviving Spaniards near the Gulf of Darien founded a small colony "Golden Castile" under the leadership of Vasco Nunez Balboa. It was he who, in 1513, with a detachment of 190 Spaniards and 600 Indian porters, crossed the mountain range and saw the wide Gulf of Panama, and beyond it the boundless southern sea. Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama 20 times, built the first Spanish ships for navigation in the Pacific Ocean, discovered the Pearl Islands. The desperate hidalgo Francisco Pizarro was part of the detachments of Ojeda and Balboa. In 1517, Balboa was executed, and Pedro Arias d "Aville became the governor of the colony. In 1519, the city of Panama was founded, which became the main base for the colonization of the Andean Highlands, about the fabulous wealth of whose countries the Spaniards were well aware of. In 1524-1527 In 1528, Pizarro went to Spain for help and returned to Panama in 1530, accompanied by volunteers, including four of his half-brothers. During 1531 - 1533. detachments of Pizarro, Alvarado and Almagro fought through the ridges and valleys of the Andes. The prosperous state of the Incas with a highly developed general culture, the culture of agriculture, handicraft production, water conduits, roads and cities was defeated, untold riches were captured. The Pizarro brothers were knighted, Francisco became the marquis, governor of the new possession. In 1536, he founded the new capital of the possession - Lima. The Indians did not accept defeat, and for several more years there was a stubborn war and the destruction of the recalcitrant.

In 1535 - 1537. a detachment of 500 Spaniards and 15,000 porter Indians, led by Almagro, made a very difficult long raid through the tropical Andes from the ancient Inca capital of Cusco to the city of Co-kimbo south of the Atacama Desert. During the raid, about 10 thousand Indians and 150 Spaniards died from hunger and cold. But more than a ton of gold was collected and transferred to the treasury. In 1540, Pizarro commissioned Pedro de Valdivia to complete the conquest of South America. Valdivia crossed the Atacama Desert, reached the central part of Chile, founded a new colony and its capital Santiago, as well as the cities of Concepción and Valdivia. He ruled the colony until he was killed by the rebellious Araucans in 1554. The southernmost part of Chile was examined by Juan Ladrillero. They passed the Strait of Magellan from west to east in 1558. The contours of the South American mainland were determined. Attempts were made to deep reconnaissance in the interior of the mainland. The main motive was the search for El Dorado. In 1524, the Portuguese Alejo Garcia with a large detachment of Guarani Indians crossed the southeastern part of the Brazilian plateau, went to the tributary of the Parana River - the river. Iguazu, discovered a grandiose waterfall, crossed the Laplata lowland and the Gran Chaco plain and reached the foothills of the Andes. In 1525 he was killed. In 1527 - 1529. S. Cabot, who at that time was in the service in Spain, in search of a "silver kingdom" climbed high up La Plata and Parana, organized fortified towns. The townships did not last long, and no abundant silver deposits were found. In 1541, Gonzalo Pizarro, with a large detachment of 320 Spaniards and 4,000 Indians from Quito, crossed the eastern chain of the Andes and went to one of the tributaries of the Amazon. A small ship was built and launched there, a team of 57 people, led by Francisco Orellana, was supposed to scout the area and get food. Orellana did not return back and was the first to cross South America from west to east, sailing along the Amazon to its mouth. The detachment was attacked by Indian archers, who were not inferior in courage to men. The myth of Homer about the Amazons received a new registration. Travelers in the Amazon first encountered such a formidable phenomenon as a pororoka, a tidal wave that rolls into the lower reaches of the river and can be traced for hundreds of kilometers. In the dialect of the Tupi-Guarani Indians, this stormy water shaft is called "amazunu". This word was interpreted by the Spaniards in their own way and gave rise to the legend of the Amazons (Sivere, 1896). The weather favored Orellana and his companions, they also made a voyage by sea to the island of Margarita, on which the Spanish colonists had already settled. G. Pizarro, who did not wait for Orellana, with a thinned detachment, was forced to storm the ridge again in the opposite direction. In 1542, only 80 participants in this transition returned to Quito. In 1541 - 1544. the Spaniard Nufrio Chavez with three companions again crossed the South American mainland, this time from east to west, from southern Brazil to Peru, and returned the same way.

The history of the country is inextricably linked with its literature. And, thus, studying, it is impossible not to touch on American history. Each work belongs to a particular historical period. So, in his Washington, Irving talks about the Dutch pioneers who settled along the Hudson River, mentions the seven-year war for independence, the English king George III and the first president of the country, George Washington. In order to make parallel connections between literature and history, in this introductory article I want to say a few words about how it all began, because those historical moments that will be discussed are not reflected in any works.

Colonization of America 15th - 18th century (brief summary)

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
An American philosopher, George Santayana

If you are asking yourself why you need to know history, then know that those who do not remember their history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.

So, the history of America began relatively recently, when in the 16th century people arrived on the new continent discovered by Columbus. These people were of different skin colors and different incomes, and the reasons that prompted them to come to the New World were also different. Some were attracted by the desire to start a new life, others sought to get rich, others fled from the persecution of the authorities or religious persecution. However, all these people, representing different cultures and nationalities, were united by the desire to change something in their lives and, most importantly, they were ready to take risks.
Inspired by the idea of ​​​​creating a new world from scratch, the first settlers succeeded in this. Fantasy and dream become reality; they, like Julius Caesar, they came, they saw and they conquered.

I came, I saw, I conquered.
Julius Caesar

In those early days, America was an abundance of natural resources and a vast expanse of uncultivated land inhabited by a friendly local population.
If you look a little more back in time, then, presumably, the first people who appeared on the American continent were from Asia. According to Steve Wingand, this happened about 14 thousand years ago.

The first Americans probably wandered over from Asia about 14,000 years ago.
Steve Wiengand

Over the next 5 centuries, these tribes settled on two continents and, depending on the natural landscape and climate, began to engage in hunting, cattle breeding or agriculture.
In 985 AD, warlike Vikings arrived on the continent. For about 40 years they tried to gain a foothold in this country, but yielding in superiority to the indigenous people, in the end, they abandoned their attempts.
Then, in 1492, Columbus appeared, followed by other Europeans, who were attracted to the continent by greed and simple adventurism.

Columbus Day is celebrated on October 12 in America in 34 states. Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.

Of the Europeans, the Spaniards were the first to arrive on the continent. Christopher Columbus, being an Italian by birth, having received a refusal from his king, turned to the Spanish king Ferdinand with a request to finance his expedition to Asia. It is not surprising that when, instead of Asia, Columbus discovered America, all of Spain rushed to this outlandish country. France and England followed the Spaniards. Thus began the colonization of America.

Spain got a head start in the Americas, mainly because the aforementioned Italian named Columbus was working for the Spanish and got them enthusiastic about it early on. But while the Spanish had a head start, other European countries eagerly sought to catch up.
(Source: U.S. history for dummies by S. Wiegand)

At first, meeting no resistance from the local population, the Europeans behaved like aggressors, killing and enslaving the Indians. The Spanish conquerors, who plundered and burned Indian villages and killed their inhabitants, were especially cruel. Following the Europeans, diseases also came to the continent. So the measles and smallpox epidemics gave the process of extermination of the local population a stunning speed.
But from the end of the 16th century, powerful Spain began to lose its influence on the continent, which was greatly facilitated by the weakening of its power, both on land and at sea. And the dominant position in the American colonies passed to England, Holland and France.

Henry Hudson founded the first Dutch settlement in 1613 on Manhattan Island. This colony, located along the Hudson River, was called New Netherland, and its center was the city of New Amsterdam. However, later this colony was captured by the British and transferred to the Duke of York. Accordingly, the city was renamed New York. The population of this colony was mixed, but although the British prevailed, the influence of the Dutch remained quite strong. Dutch words have entered the American language, and the appearance of some places reflects the "Dutch architectural style" - tall houses with sloping roofs.

The colonialists managed to gain a foothold on the continent, for which they thank God every fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate their first year in a new place.

If the first settlers chose the north of the country mainly for religious reasons, then the south for economic reasons. Without ceremony with the local population, the Europeans quickly pushed him to unsuitable lands for life or simply killed them.
The practical English were especially firmly established. Quickly realizing what rich resources this continent conceals, they began to grow tobacco in the southern part of the country, and then cotton. And to get even more profit, the British brought slaves from Africa to cultivate plantations.
Summing up, I will say that in the 15th century Spanish, English, French and other settlements appeared on the American continent, which began to be called colonies, and their inhabitants became colonists. At the same time, a struggle for territories began between the invaders, and especially strong hostilities were fought between the French and English colonists.

Anglo-French wars were also going on in Europe. But that is another story …

Having won on all fronts, the British finally established their superiority on the continent and began to call themselves Americans. Moreover, in 1776, 13 British colonies declared their independence from the English monarchy, which was then headed by George III.

July 4 - Americans celebrate Independence Day. On this day in 1776, the Second Continental Congress, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, adopted the United States Declaration of Independence.

The war lasted 7 years (1775 - 1783) and after the victory, the English pioneers, having managed to unite all the colonies, founded a state with a completely new political system, whose president was the brilliant politician and commander George Washington. This state was called the United States of America.

George Washington (1789-1797) - the first president of the United States.

It is this transitional period in American history that Washington Irving describes in his work

And we will continue the topic Colonization of America" in the next article. Stay with us!

The first English settlement in America appeared in 1607 in Virginia and was named Jamestown. The trading post, founded by members of the crews of three English ships under the command of Captain K. Newport, served at the same time as an outpost on the path of the Spanish advance to the north of the continent. The first years of the existence of Jamestown were a time of endless disasters and hardships: disease, famine and Indian raids took the lives of more than 4 thousand of the first English settlers of America. Ho, already at the end of 1608, the first ship sailed to England, carrying a cargo of timber and iron ore. In just a few years, Jamestown turned into a prosperous village thanks to the extensive plantations of tobacco previously cultivated only by the Indians laid there in 1609, which by 1616 became the main source of income for the inhabitants. Tobacco exports to England, which in 1618 amounted to 20 thousand pounds in monetary terms, increased by 1627 to half a million pounds, creating the necessary economic conditions for population growth. The influx of colonists was greatly facilitated by the allocation of a 50-acre plot of land to any applicant who had the financial means to pay a small rent. Already by 1620 the population of the village was approx. 1000 people, and in all of Virginia there were approx. 2 thousand
lovek. In the 80s. 15th century exports of tobacco from two southern colonies - Virginia and Maryland rose to 20 million pounds.
The virgin forests, which stretched for more than two thousand kilometers along the entire Atlantic coast, abounded with everything necessary for the construction of dwellings and ships, and the rich nature satisfied the needs of the colonists for food. The increasingly frequent calls of European ships into the natural bays of the coast provided them with goods that were not produced in the colonies. The products of their labor were exported to the Old World from the same colonies. But the rapid development of the northeastern lands, and even more so the advancement into the interior of the continent, beyond the Appalachian mountains, was hampered by the lack of roads, impenetrable forests and mountains, as well as the dangerous neighborhood with Indian tribes hostile to aliens.
The fragmentation of these tribes and the complete lack of unity in their sorties against the colonists became the main reason for the displacement of the Indians from the lands they occupied and their final defeat. The temporary alliances of some Indian tribes with the French (in the north of the continent) and with the Spaniards (in the south), who were also worried about the pressure and energy of the British, Scandinavians and Germans advancing from the east coast, did not bring the desired results. The first attempts to conclude peace agreements between individual Indian tribes and the English colonists who settled in the New World also turned out to be ineffective.
European immigrants were attracted to America by the rich natural resources of a distant continent, which promised rapid material prosperity, and its remoteness from European strongholds of religious dogmas and political predilections. Not supported by the governments or official churches of any country, the exodus of Europeans to the New World was financed by private companies and individuals, driven primarily by an interest in generating income from the transportation of people and goods. Already in 1606, the London and Plymouth companies were formed in England, which actively

Signing of the Mayflower Agreement
engaged in the development of the northeast coast of America, including the delivery of English colonists to the continent. Numerous immigrants traveled to the New World with families and even entire communities at their own expense. A significant part of the new arrivals were young women, whose appearance was met with sincere enthusiasm by the unmarried male population of the colonies, paying the cost of their "transportation" from Europe at the rate of 120 pounds of tobacco per head.
Huge, hundreds of thousands of hectares, plots of land were allocated by the British crown to the representatives of the English nobility as a gift or for a nominal fee. Interested in the development of their new property, the English aristocracy advanced large sums for the delivery of their recruited compatriots and their arrangement on the lands received. Despite the extreme attractiveness of the conditions existing in the New World for newly arriving colonists, during these years there was a clear lack of human resources, primarily for the reason that only a third of the ships and people embarking on a dangerous journey - two a third died on the way. He was distinguished by hospitality and the new land, which met the colonists with unusual frosts for Europeans, harsh natural conditions and, as a rule, the hostile attitude of the Indian population.
At the end of August 1619, a Dutch ship arrived in Virginia, bringing the first black Africans to America, twenty of whom were immediately bought by the colonists as servants. Negroes began to turn into lifelong slaves, and in the 60s. 17th century slave status in Virginia and Maryland became hereditary. The slave trade has become a permanent feature of commercial transactions between East Africa
and the American colonies. African chieftains readily traded their men for textiles, household items, gunpowder, and weapons imported from New England and the American South.
In December 1620, an event took place that went down in American history as the beginning of the purposeful colonization of the continent by the British - the Mayflower ship arrived on the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts with 102 Calvinist Puritans, who were rejected by the traditional Anglican Church and did not later find sympathy in Holland. The only way to preserve their religion, these people, who called themselves pilgrims, considered moving to America. While still aboard a ship crossing the ocean, they entered into an agreement between themselves, called the Mayflower Compact. It reflected in the most general form the ideas of the first American colonists about democracy, self-government and civil liberties. These notions were developed later in similar agreements reached by the colonists of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and in later documents of American history, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Having lost half the members of their community, but surviving in a land they had not yet explored in the harsh conditions of the first American winter and the subsequent crop failure, the colonists set an example for their compatriots and other Europeans, who arrived in the New World already prepared for the hardships that awaited them.
After 1630, at least a dozen small towns arose in Plymouth Colony, the first New England colony that later became the colony of Massachusetts Bay, in which the newly arrived English Puritans settled. Immigration wave 1630-1643 Delivered to New England approx. 20 thousand people, at least 45 thousand more, chose the colonies of the American South or the islands of Central America for their residence.
For 75 years after the appearance in 1607 on the territory of the modern USA of the first English colony of Virgie

12 more colonies arose - New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The credit for founding them did not always belong to subjects of the British crown. In 1624, on the island of Manhattan in Hudson Bay [named after the English captain G. Hudson (Hudson), who discovered it in 1609, was in the Dutch service], Dutch fur traders founded a province called New Netherland, with the main city of New Amsterdam. The land on which this city developed was bought in 1626 by a Dutch colonist from the Indians for $24. The Dutch never managed to achieve any significant socio-economic development of their only colony in the New World.
After 1648 and up to 1674, England and Holland fought three times, and during these 25 years, in addition to hostilities, there was a continuous and fierce economic struggle between them. In 1664, New Amsterdam was captured by the British under the command of the king's brother Duke of York, who renamed the city New York. During the Anglo-Dutch War of 1673-1674. The Netherlands managed to restore their power in this territory for a short time, but after the defeat of the Dutch in the war, the British again took possession of it. From then until the end of the American Revolution in 1783 from r. Kennebec to Florida, from New England to the Lower South, the Union Jack flew over the entire northeast coast of the continent.

History of the peoples of the American continent before their meeting with Europeans in the 16th century. developed independently and almost without interaction with the history of the peoples of other continents. Written records of ancient America are very scarce, and those available have not yet been read. Therefore, the history of the American peoples has to be restored mainly from archaeological and ethnographic data, as well as from oral tradition recorded during the period of European colonization.

By the time the Europeans invaded America, the level of development of its peoples was not the same in different parts of the continent. The tribes of most of North and South America were at different stages of the primitive communal system, and among the peoples of Mexico, Central America and the western part of South America, class relations were already developing at that time; they created high civilizations. It was these peoples that were the first to be conquered; Spanish conquerors in the 16th century destroyed their states and culture and enslaved them.

America's initial settlement

America was settled from Northeast Asia by tribes related to the Mongoloids of Siberia. In their anthropological type, the American Indians and, to an even greater extent, the Eskimos who moved to America later, are similar to the population of North and East Asia and are included in the large Mongoloid race. The development of the vast expanses of the new continent with alien natural conditions, alien flora and fauna presented difficulties for the settlers, the overcoming of which required great effort and a long time.

The resettlement could have begun at the end of the Ice Age, when there was obviously a land bridge between Asia and America at the site of the current Bering Strait. In the post-glacial era, the resettlement could also continue by sea. Judging by the geological and paleontological data, the settlement of America took place 25-20 thousand years before our time. The Eskimos settled along the Arctic coast in the 1st millennium AD. e. or even later. The tribes of hunters and fishermen who migrated in separate groups, whose material culture stood at the level of the Mesolithic, moved in search of prey, as can be concluded from archaeological sites, from north to south along the Pacific coast. The similarity of some elements of the culture of the indigenous population of South America with the culture of the peoples of Oceania gave rise to the theory of the settlement of the entire American continent from Oceania. There is no doubt that the connections of Oceania with South America in antiquity took place and played a certain role in the settlement of this part of America. However, some similar elements of culture could develop independently, and the possibility of later borrowings is not ruled out. For example, the sweet potato culture spread from South America to Oceania, banana and sugar cane were brought to America from Asia.

Ethnographic and linguistic data indicate that the movements of the ancient Indian tribes took place over vast areas, and often the tribes of one language families were settled between the tribes of other language families. The main reason for these resettlements was, obviously, the need to increase the land area in an extensive economy (hunting, gathering). However, the chronology and the specific historical situation in which these migrations took place remain still unexplored.

1. North America

By the beginning of the XVI century. The population of North America consisted of a large number of tribes and nationalities. According to the types of economy and historical and ethnographic community, they were divided into the following groups: coastal hunters and fishermen of the Arctic zone - Eskimos and Aleuts; fishermen and hunters of the northwest coast; hunters of the northern strip of present-day Canada; farmers of eastern and southeastern North America; buffalo hunters are prairie tribes; wild seed gatherers, fishermen and hunters are the tribes of California; peoples with developed irrigated agriculture in the southwest and south of North America.

Tribes of the arctic coast

The main type of industrial activity of the Eskimos was hunting for seals, walruses, whales, polar bears and arctic foxes, as well as fishing. The weapons were darts and harpoons with movable bone tips. A spear thrower was used. Fish were caught with bone hooks. The walrus and the seal delivered almost everything the Eskimo needed: meat and fat were used for food, fat was also used for heating and lighting the dwelling, the skin served to cover the boat, and a canopy was made from it for the inside of the snow hut. The fur of bears and arctic foxes, the skins of deer and musk ox were used to make clothes and shoes.

The Eskimos ate most of their food raw, which protected them from scurvy. The name Eskimo comes from the Native American word "eskimantik", which means "eating raw meat."

Indians of the northwest coast

Typical of this group were the Tlingit. Their main source of livelihood was fishing; salmon fish was their main food. The lack of plant foods was compensated by the collection of wild berries and fruits, as well as algae. For each type of fish or marine animals, there were special harpoons, darts, spears, nets. The Tlingit used bone and stone polished tools. Of the metals, they knew only copper, which they found in native form; it was cold forged. Hammered copper tiles served as a medium of exchange. Pottery was unknown. Food was cooked in wooden vessels by throwing red-hot stones into the water.

This tribe did not have any agriculture or animal husbandry. The only domesticated animal was the dog, which was used for hunting. The way in which the Tlingits obtained wool is interesting: they drove wild sheep and goats into fenced places, sheared them and released them again. Capes were woven from wool, later shirts were made from woolen fabric.

The Tlingit lived part of the year on the ocean. Here they hunted sea animals, mainly sea otters. The houses were built from logs cut with stone adze, without windows, with a smoke hole in the roof and a small door. In the summer, the Tlingit went up the rivers to fish for salmon and gather fruits in the forests.

The Tlingit, like other Indians of the northwest coast, developed an exchange. Dry fish, powdered, fish oil and furs were exchanged for cedar products, spear and arrowheads, as well as various bone and stone jewelry. Slaves-prisoners of war were also exchanged.

The main social unit of the northwestern tribes was the genus. The clans, named after totem animals, united in phratries. Separate tribes stood at different stages of the transition from the maternal clan to the paternal; among the Tlingits, at birth, the child received the name of the maternal clan, but in adolescence he was given a second name - according to the paternal clan. At the conclusion of the marriage, the groom worked for the bride's parents for a year or two, then the young went to the husband's clan. The particularly close relationship between maternal uncle and nephews, partial maternal inheritance, the relatively free position of women - all these features indicate that the tribes of the northwest coast retained significant vestiges of matriarchy. There was a home community (barabora) that ran a common household. The development of exchange contributed to the accumulation of surpluses from the elders and leaders. Frequent wars and the capture of slaves further increased their wealth and power.

The presence of slavery is a characteristic feature of the social system of these tribes. The folklore of the Tlingit, as well as of some other northwestern tribes, paints a picture of a rudimentary form of slavery: the slaves were owned by the entire tribal community, or rather its subdivision, the barabors. Such slaves - several people per barabora - did household chores and participated in fishing. It was a patriarchal slavery with collective ownership of prisoner-of-war slaves; Slave labor did not form the basis of production, but played an auxiliary role in the economy.

Indians of Eastern North America

The tribes of the eastern part of North America - the Iroquois, Muscogee tribes, etc. - lived settled, were engaged in hoe farming, hunting and gathering. They made tools from wood, bone and stone, and used native copper, which was processed by cold forging. They didn't know iron. The weapons were a bow with arrows, clubs with a stone pommel and a tomahawk. The Algonquian word "tomahawk" then referred to a curved wooden club with a spherical thickening at the combat end, sometimes with a bone tip.

The wigwam served as the dwelling of the coastal Algonquian tribes - a hut made of trunks of young trees, the crowns of which were connected together. The domed frame formed in this way was covered with pieces of tree bark.

Among the tribes of eastern North America at the beginning of the 16th century. dominated by the primitive communal system.

The most typical for the entire group of eastern tribes were the Iroquois. The lifestyle and social structure of the Iroquois were described in the second half of the 19th century. the famous American scientist Lewis Morgan, who reconstructed the main features of their system before colonization.

The Iroquois lived around Lakes Erie and Ontario and on the Niagara River. The central part of the territory of the present state of New York was occupied by five Iroquois tribes: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk. Each tribe had its own dialect. The main source of existence of the Iroquois was hoe agriculture of the slash-and-burn type. The Iroquois grew corn (maize), beans, peas, sunflowers, watermelons, marrows, and tobacco. They collected wild berries, nuts, chestnuts, acorns, edible roots and tubers, mushrooms. Maple sap was their favorite delicacy, it was boiled down and consumed in the form of molasses or hardened sugar.

In the area of ​​the Great Lakes, the Indians collected wild-growing rice, which formed dense thickets along the muddy shores. To harvest the crops, they went out in boats, moving with the help of long poles. The women sitting in the canoe grabbed bundles of rice stalks, bent them with their ears down and, hitting them with chopsticks, upholstered the grains that fell to the bottom of the boat.

An important role was played by hunting deer, elk, beaver, otter, marten and other forest animals. Especially a lot of prey was obtained from driven hunting. Fishing in spring and summer.

The tools of the Iroquois were hoes and axes made of polished stone. Knives and arrowheads and spears were made from native copper. Pottery was developed, although without the potter's wheel. For the manufacture of clothing, the Iroquois processed skins, especially deer, making suede.

The dwelling of the Iroquois was the so-called long houses. The basis of these houses was made up of wooden posts driven into the ground, to which plates of tree bark were tied with the help of bast ropes. Inside the house there was a central passage about 2 m wide; here, at a distance of about 6 m from one another, foci were located. Above the hearths in the roof there were holes for the exit of smoke. Along the walls were wide platforms, fenced off on both sides by piers. Each couple had a separate sleeping area about 4 m long, open only to the hearth. For every four rooms located opposite each other in pairs, one hearth was arranged, on which food was cooked in a common cauldron. Usually in one such house there were 5-7 hearths. There are also shared storage areas adjacent to the house.

The "Long House" clearly shows the nature of the smallest social unit of the Iroquois - Ovachirs. Ovachira consisted of a group of blood relatives, descendants of one progenitor. It was a matriarchal tribal community in which production and consumption were collective.

Land - the main means of production - belonged to the clan as a whole, Ovachirs used the plots allotted to them.

A man who entered into marriage went to live in the house of his wife's ovachira and participated in the economic work of this community. At the same time, he continued to maintain belonging to his tribal community, performing social, religious and other duties with his relatives. The children belonged to the ovachira and the mother's family. Men hunted and fished together, cut down the forest and cleared the soil, built houses and protected the villages from enemies. Ovachira women jointly cultivated the land, sowed and planted plants, harvested crops and stored supplies in common pantries. The oldest woman was in charge of agricultural and household work, she also distributed food supplies. Hospitality was widespread among the Iroquois. In the Iroquois village there could not be hungry as long as there were supplies in at least one house.

All power within the ovachira belonged to women. The head of the ovachira was the ruler, who was chosen by the mothers. In addition to the ruler, women-mothers chose a military leader and a "foreman for peacetime." The latter was called sachem by European authors, although "sachem" is an Algonquian word and the Iroquois did not use it. The rulers, sachems and war chiefs made up the council of the tribe.

Already after the beginning of the colonization of America, but before the contact of the Iroquois with Europeans, around 1570, five tribes of the Iroquois formed an alliance: the League of the Iroquois. Legend attributes its organization to the mythical Hiawatha. At the head of the League was a council, which was made up of sachems of the tribes. Not only sachems came to the council, but also ordinary members of the tribe. If an important issue had to be decided, then the entire tribes of the League gathered. The elders sat around the fire, the rest were placed around. Everyone could participate in the discussion, but the final decision was made by the Council of the League; it had to be unanimous. Voting was by tribe; each tribe thus had a veto. The discussion proceeded in strict order, with great solemnity. The Iroquois League reached its peak in the 70s of the 17th century.

Forest hunting tribes of Canada

Tribes of several language families lived in the forests of modern Canada: Athabaskan (Kuchin, Chaipewai), Algonquian (part of the Ojibwe-Chippewa, Montagne-Naskapi, part of the Cree) and some others. The main occupation of these tribes was the hunting of caribou, elk, bear, wild sheep, etc. Fishing and the collection of wild seeds were of secondary importance. The main weapons of the forest tribes were bows and arrows, clubs, clubs, spears and knives with stone tips. The Forest Indians had dogs that were harnessed to a useless wooden sled - a toboggan; they carried luggage during migrations. In the summer they used shuttles made of birch bark.

The Indians of the forests of the North lived and hunted in groups representing tribal groups. During the winter, separate groups of hunters moved through the forest, almost never meeting one another. In summer, groups gathered in traditional places of summer camps, located along the banks of the rivers. There was an exchange of hunting products, tools and weapons, festivities were held. Thus, intertribal ties were maintained, and barter trade developed.

Prairie Indians

Numerous Indian tribes lived on the prairies. Their most typical representatives were the Dakota, Comanche, Arapah and Cheyenne. These tribes put up a particularly stubborn resistance to the European colonialists.

Despite belonging to different language families, the Prairie Indians were united by common features of economic activity and culture. The main source of their livelihood was bison hunting. Bison provided meat and fat for food, fur and leather for clothes and shoes, and also for covering huts. Prairie Indians hunted on foot Only in the second half of the XVIII century. The Indians tamed the horse. Once brought by the first colonists from Europe, these animals, partially feral, formed herds of the so-called mustangs. The Indians caught and drove around them.) with dogs using a bow and arrow. The hunt was collective. Individual hunting was prohibited. Those who violated the ban were severely punished.

Prairie Indians did not know metal, they used stone axes and hammers, flint knives, scrapers and arrowheads. Combat weapons were bows, spears and clubs with stone pommel. They used round and oval shields made of bison skin.

Most of the prairie tribes lived in a conical buffalo-skin tent. In the camp, which was a temporary settlement, tents were set up in a circle - it was more convenient to repel sudden attacks of enemies. The tent of the tribal council was erected in the center.

Prairie Indians lived in tribes divided into genera. At the time of the arrival of the Europeans, some tribes still had a matriarchal organization. Others have already made the transition to the paternal lineage.

California Indians

The California Indians were one of the most backward indigenous groups in North America. A characteristic feature of this group was extreme ethnic and linguistic fragmentation; the tribes of California belonged to several dozen small language groups.

The Indians of California did not know either settlement or agriculture. They lived by hunting, fishing and gathering. Californians invented a way to remove tannin from acorn flour and baked cakes from it; they also learned how to remove the poison from the tubers of the so-called soaproot. They hunted deer and small game with a bow and arrow. Driven hunting was used. The dwelling of the Californians was of two types. In summer they lived mainly under canopies made of branches covered with leaves, or in conical huts made of poles covered with bark or branches. In winter, semi-underground domed dwellings were built. Californians wove waterproof baskets from young tree shoots or roots, in which they boiled meat and fish: the water poured into the basket was brought to a boil by immersing hot stones in it.

The Californians were dominated by a primitive communal system. The tribes were divided into exogamous phratries and clans. The tribal community, as an economic collective, owned a common hunting area and fishing grounds. The Californians retained significant elements of the maternal clan: the large role of women in production, maternal kinship, etc.

Indians of Southwest North America

The most typical of this group were the Pueblo tribes. Archaeological data allow us to trace the history of the Pueblo Indians to the first centuries of our era. In the 8th century The Pueblo Indians were already engaged in agriculture and created a system of artificial irrigation. They planted corn, beans, pumpkins and cotton. They developed pottery, but without the potter's wheel. Ceramics was distinguished by the beauty of form and the richness of the ornament. They used a loom and made fabrics from cotton fiber.

The Spanish word "pueblo" means village, community. The Spanish conquerors named this group of Indian tribes after the villages that struck them, which were one common dwelling. The dwelling of the pueblo consisted of a single mud-brick building, the outer wall of which enclosed the whole village, making it inaccessible to attack from outside. The living quarters descended in ledges into the fenced yard, forming terraces, so that the roof of the lower row served as a yard platform for the upper one. Another type of pueblo dwellings are caves dug into the rocks, also descending in ledges. Up to a thousand people lived in each of these villages.

In the middle of the 16th century, during the period of the invasion of the Spanish conquerors, the villages of the pueblos were communities, each of which had its own territory with irrigated lands and hunting grounds. The cultivated land was distributed among the clans. In the XVI-XVII centuries. the maternal race still predominated. At the head of the clan was the "oldest mother", who, along with the male military leader, regulated intra-tribal relations. The household was conducted by a consanguineous group, consisting of a woman - the head of the group, her unmarried and widowed brothers, her daughters, as well as the husband of this woman and the husbands of her daughters. The household used the plot of ancestral land allotted to it, as well as the granary.

Spiritual culture of the Indians of North America

The dominance of tribal relations was also reflected in the religion of the Indians - in their totemistic beliefs. The word "totem" in the Algonquian language literally meant "his kind." Animals or plants were considered totem, according to the names of which the genera were called. Totems were considered, as it were, relatives of members of this genus, having a common origin with them from mythical ancestors.

The beliefs of the Indians were permeated with animistic ideas. The more advanced tribes had a rich mythology; from the host of the spirits of nature, the supreme spirits were singled out, to whom the control of the world and the destinies of people was attributed. In cult practice, shamanism dominated.

The Indians knew the starry sky, the location of the planets well and were guided by them in their travels. Having studied the surrounding flora, the Indians not only ate wild plants and fruits, but also used them as medicines.

The modern American Pharmacopoeia borrowed a lot from folk Indian medicine.

The artistic creativity of the North American Indians, in particular their folklore, was very rich. In fairy tales and songs, the nature and life of the Indians were poetically depicted. Although the heroes of these tales were often animals and forces of nature, their life was drawn by analogy with human society.

In addition to poetic works, the Indians also had historical legends that were told by elders at meetings. Among the Iroquois, for example, when a new sachem was established, one of the elders told the assembly about the events of the past. During the story, he was sorting out a bunch of white and purple beads, carved from shells, fastened in the form of wide strips or sewn in the form of a pattern onto strips of fabric. These bands, known to Europeans by the Algonquian name wampum, were commonly worn as decorations. They were worn in the form of belts or bandages over the shoulder. But wampum also played the role of a mnemonic: when telling, the speaker ran his hand along the pattern formed by the beads, and, as it were, recalled distant events. Wampum was also transmitted through messengers and ambassadors to neighboring tribes as a sign of authority, served as a kind of symbol of trust and obligation not to break promises.

The Indians developed a system of conventional signs with which they transmitted messages. With signs carved on the bark of trees or made up of branches and stones, the Indians reported the necessary information. Messages were transmitted over a long distance with the help of bonfires, smoking during the day, burning with a bright flame at night.

The pinnacle of the spiritual culture of the Indians of North America was their rudimentary writing - pictography, picture writing. The Dakota wrote chronicles or calendars drawn on leather; the drawings conveyed in chronological order the events that took place in a given year.

2. South and Central America, Mexico

Vast areas of South America were inhabited by tribes with primitive technology, belonging to various language families. Such were the fishermen and gatherers of Tierra del Fuego, the hunters of the steppes of Patagonia, the so-called pampas, the hunters and gatherers of eastern Brazil, the hunters and farmers of the Amazonian and Orinoco forests.

firemen

The Fuegians were among the most backward tribes in the world. Three groups of Indians lived on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago: the Selknam (she), the Alakalufs, and the Yamana (Yagans).

The Selknam lived in the northern and eastern parts of Tierra del Fuego. They hunted the guanaco llama and collected the fruits and roots of wild plants. Their weapons were bows and arrows. On the islands of the western part of the archipelago, the Alakalufs lived, engaged in fishing and collecting shellfish. In search of food, they spent most of their lives in wooden boats, moving along the coast. Bird hunting with bows and arrows played a lesser role in their lives.

The Yamanas lived by collecting shellfish, fishing, hunting seals and other marine animals, as well as birds. Their tools were made of bone, stone and shells. A bone harpoon with a long belt served as a weapon in sea fishing.

Yamanas lived in separate clans, called ukurs. This word denoted both the dwelling and the community of relatives that lived in it. In the absence of members of this community, their hut could be occupied by members of another community. The meeting of many communities was rare, mostly when the sea washed up on the shore of a dead whale; then, provided with food for a long time, the Yamanas held festivities. There was no stratification in the Yaman community, the oldest members of the group did not exercise power over their relatives. A special position was occupied only by healers, who were credited with the ability to influence the weather and cure diseases.

pampa indians

By the time of the European invasion, the Pampa Indians were walking wandering hunters. In the middle of the 18th century, the inhabitants of the pampas, the Patagonians, began to use horses for hunting.) The main object of hunting and a source of food were guanacos, which were hunted from a bola - a bunch of belts with weights attached to them. There were no permanent settlements among the pampas hunters; in temporary camps, they erected canopy tents from 40-50 guanaco skins, which served as housing for the entire community. Clothing was made from leather; The main part of the costume was a fur coat, which was tied at the waist with a belt.

The Patagonians lived and roamed in small groups of blood relatives, uniting 30-40 marriage couples with their offspring. The power of the leader of the community was reduced to the right to give orders during transitions and hunting; chiefs hunted along with others. The hunt itself was collective in nature.

Animistic beliefs occupied a significant place in the religious ideas of the Pampas Indians. The Patagonians peopled the world with spirits; the cult of dead relatives was especially developed.

Araucans lived in south central Chile. Under the influence of the Quechua tribes, the Araucans were engaged in agriculture and bred llamas. They developed the manufacture of fabrics from the wool of the llama-guanaco, pottery and silver processing. The southern tribes were engaged in hunting and fishing. The Araucanians became famous for their stubborn resistance to European conquerors for over 200 years. In 1773, the independence of Araucania was recognized by the Spaniards. Only at the end of the XIX century. the colonialists took possession of the main territory of the Araucans.)

Indians of Eastern Brazil

The tribes of the group that lived on the territory of Eastern and Southern Brazil - Botokuda, Canella, Kayapo, Xavant, Kaingang and other smaller ones, were mainly engaged in hunting and gathering, making transitions in search of game and edible plants. The most typical of this group were the Botokuds, or Boruns, who, before the invasion of European colonialists, inhabited the coast, and were later pushed back into the interior of the country. Their main tool was a bow, with which they hunted not only small animals, but also fish. Women were engaged in gathering. The dwelling of the Botokuds was a barrier from the wind, covered with palm leaves, common to the entire nomad camp. Instead of dishes, they used wicker baskets. A peculiar decoration of the botokuds were small wooden discs inserted into the slits of the lips - “botok” in Portuguese. Hence the name botokudov.

The social structure of the Botokuds and the tribes close to them is still poorly studied. It is known, however, that in their group marriage the bond between the sexes was regulated by the laws of exogamy. The Botokuds maintained a maternal kinship account.

In the XVI century. The "forest Indians" of Brazil resisted the Portuguese invaders, but it was crushed.

Indians of the Amazon and Orinoco rainforests

During the initial period of European colonization, northeastern and central South America was inhabited by numerous tribes belonging to different linguistic groups, mainly Arawak, Tupi-Guarani, and Caribs. They were mostly engaged in slash-and-burn agriculture and lived settled lives.

In the conditions of the tropical forest, wood served as the main material for the manufacture of tools and weapons. But these tribes also had polished stone axes, which served as one of the main items of intertribal exchange, since there were no suitable stone rocks on the territory of some tribes. Bone, shells, shells of forest fruits were also used to make tools. Arrowheads were made from animal teeth and pointed bone, bamboo, stone and wood; the arrows fledged. A witty invention of the Indians of the tropical forests of South America was the arrow-throwing pipe, the so-called sarbican, which was also known to the tribes of the Malay Peninsula.

For fishing, boats were built from tree bark and single-tree dugouts. Weaved nets, nets, tops and other gear. They beat the fish with a spear, shot at it with bows. Having achieved great skill in weaving, these tribes used a wicker bed - a hammock. This invention, under its Indian name, spread all over the world. The Indians of the tropical forests of South America also owe mankind the discovery of the medicinal properties of cinchona bark and the emetic root of ipecac.

The rainforest tribes practiced slash-and-burn agriculture. The men prepared the plots, made fires at the roots of the trees and cut the trunk with stone axes. After the trees dried up, they felled, the branches were burned. Ash served as fertilizer. Landing time was determined by the position of the stars. Women loosened the ground with knotty sticks or sticks with shoulder blades of small animals and shells planted on them. They grew cassava, corn, sweet potato, beans, tobacco, and cotton. The Forest Indians learned to cleanse the poison from cassava by squeezing the juice containing hydrocyanic acid, drying and roasting the flour.

The Indians of the Amazon and Orinoco basins lived in tribal communities and led a common household. In many tribes, each community occupied one large dwelling, which made up the entire village. Such a dwelling was a round or rectangular structure, covered with palm leaves or branches. The walls were made of pillars intertwined with branches, they were lined with mats and plastered over. In this collective dwelling, each family had its own hearth. The community collectively owned hunting and fishing grounds. The products obtained by hunting and fishing were divided among all. In most tribes, before the invasion of Europeans, the maternal clan prevailed, but there has already been a transition to the paternal clan. Each village was a self-governing community with an elder leader. These tribes by the beginning of the XVI century. there was not yet not only a union of tribes, but also a common intra-tribal organization.

The artistic creativity of the described Indian tribes was expressed in dances performed to the sounds of primitive musical instruments (horns, pipes), in games that imitated the habits of animals and birds. Love for jewelry was manifested in the body coloring with a complex pattern using vegetable juices and in the manufacture of elegant attire from multi-colored feathers, teeth, nuts, seeds, etc.

Ancient peoples of Mexico and Central America

The peoples of the southern part of the northern continent and Central America created a developed agricultural culture and, on its basis, a high civilization.

Archaeological data, finds of stone tools and the skeleton of a fossil man, indicate that a man appeared on the territory of Mexico 15-20 thousand years ago.

Central America is one of the earliest areas of cultivation of corn, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, green peppers, cocoa, cotton, agave, and tobacco.

The population was distributed unevenly. The areas of settled agriculture - in central Mexico and the highlands of southern Mexico - were densely populated. In areas with a predominance of shifting agriculture (for example, in the Yucatan), the population was more dispersed. Large expanses of northern Mexico and southern California were sparsely inhabited by wandering hunting and gathering tribes.

The history of the tribes and peoples of Mexico and Yucatan is known from archaeological finds, as well as from the Spanish chronicles of the time of the conquest.

The archaeological period of the so-called Early cultures (until the 3rd century BC) was the time of the Neolithic, the period of gathering, hunting and fishing, the time of the domination of the primitive communal system. During the period of the Middle Cultures (III century BC - IV century AD), agriculture arose in the form of slash-and-burn, shifting. During this period, differences in the level of development of tribes and peoples of different parts of Mexico and Yucatan begin to make themselves felt . In central and southern Mexico and the Yucatán, class societies had already emerged during this period. But the development didn't stop there. On the brink of our era, the peoples of these regions of America have risen to a higher level.

Mayan

The Maya are the only American people to have left written records.

At the beginning of our era in the southern part of the Yucatan, northeast of Lake Peten Itza, the first city-states began to form. The oldest known monument - a stone stele in the city of Washaktun - is dated 328 AD. e. Somewhat later, cities arose in the valley of the Wamasinta River - Yashchilan, Palenque and in the extreme south of the Yucatan - Copan and Quirigua. The inscriptions here are dated to the 5th and early 6th centuries. From the end of the ninth century dated inscriptions are broken off. Since that time, the most ancient Mayan cities ceased to exist. The further history of the Maya developed in the north of the Yucatan.

The Maya's main type of production was slash-and-burn agriculture. The forest was cleared with stone axes, and thick trees were only cut down or stripped of their ring-shaped bark; the trees withered away. Dried and fallen forest was burned out before the onset of the rainy season, which was determined by astronomical observations. Before the start of the rains, the fields were sown. The land was not cultivated in any way, the farmer only made a hole with a sharp stick and buried grains of corn and beans in it. Crops were protected from birds and animals. The corn cobs were tilted down to dry in the field, after which they were harvested.

On the same plot, it was possible to sow no more than three times in a row, as the harvest was increasingly reduced. The abandoned area overgrown, and after 6-10 years it was burned again, preparing for crops. The abundance of free land and the high productivity of corn provided the farmers with considerable prosperity even with such a primitive technique.

Maya food of animal origin was obtained from hunting and fishing. They didn't have pets. Bird hunting was carried out with the help of throwing pipes that fired clay balls. Flint-tipped darts were also military weapons. The Mayan bow and arrow came from the Mexicans. From Mexico, they received copper hatchets.

There were no ores in the Mayan country and metallurgy could not arise. From Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Peru, art objects and jewelry were delivered to them - precious stones, shells and metal products. The Maya made fabrics from cotton or agave fiber on a loom. Ceramic vessels were decorated with convex molding and painting.

Intensive barter trade was conducted within the Mayan country and with neighboring peoples. Agricultural products, cotton yarn and fabrics, weapons, stone products - knives, arrowheads, mortars - were exchanged. Salt and fish came from the coast, corn, honey, and fruits came from the central part of the peninsula. Slaves were also exchanged. The general equivalent was cocoa beans; there was even a rudimentary system of credit.

Although fabrics and vessels were made mainly by farmers, there were already specialist craftsmen, especially jewelers, stone carvers, and embroiderers. There were also merchants who delivered goods over long distances by water and land, with the help of porters. Columbus met a dugout boat from the Yucatan off the coast of Honduras, loaded with fabrics, cocoa and metal products.

The inhabitants of the Mayan village formed a neighboring community; usually its members were people with different generic names. The land belonged to the community. Each family received a plot of land cleared from the forest, and after three years this plot was replaced by another. Each family collected and stored the harvest separately, she could also exchange it. Apiaries and plantations of perennial plants remained the permanent property of individual families. Other works - hunting, fishing, salt extraction - were carried out jointly, but the products were shared.

In Mayan society, there was already a division into free and slaves. The slaves were mostly prisoners of war. Some of them were sacrificed to the gods, others were left as slaves. There was also the enslavement of criminals, as well as the debt slavery of fellow tribesmen. The debtor remained a slave until his relatives ransomed him. The slaves performed the most difficult work, built houses, carried luggage and served the nobles. Sources do not allow a clear definition in which branch of production and to what extent the labor of slaves was predominantly used. The ruling class were the slave owners - nobles, senior military and priests. The nobles were called almskhen (literally - "son of father and mother"). They owned plots of land as private property.

The rural community performed duties in relation to the nobles and priests: the community members cultivated their fields, built houses and roads, delivered various supplies and products to them, in addition, maintained a military detachment and paid taxes to the supreme power. A stratification was already outlined in the community: there were richer and poorer members of the community.

The Maya had a patriarchal family that owned property. To get a wife, a man had to work for her family for a while, then she passed to her husband.

The supreme ruler of the city-state was called halach-vinik (“great man”); his power was unlimited and hereditary. The high priest was the adviser of the ha-lach-viyik. The villages were ruled by his governors - batabs. The position of the batab was for life; he was obliged to unquestioningly obey the halach-vinik and coordinate his actions with the priests and two or three advisers who were with him. Batabs monitored the fulfillment of duties and had judicial power. During the war, the Batab was the commander of the detachment of his village.

In the Maya religion by the beginning of the XVI century. ancient beliefs receded into the background. By this time, the priests had already created a complex theological system with cosmogonic myths, made up their own pantheon and established a magnificent cult. The personification of heaven - the god Itzamna was put at the head of a host of celestials along with the goddess of fertility. Itzamna was considered the patron of the Maya civilization, he was credited with the invention of writing. According to the teachings of the Maya priests, the gods ruled the world one by one, replacing each other in power. This myth fantastically reflected the real institution of the change of power by clan. The religious beliefs of the Maya also included primitive figurative ideas about nature (for example, it rains because the gods pour water from four giant jugs placed in the four corners of the sky). The priests also created the doctrine of the afterlife, corresponding to the social division of Mayan society; the priests allotted themselves a special, third heaven. Divination, prophecy, oracles played the main role in the cult.

The Maya developed a number system; they had a twenty-digit count, which arose on the basis of counting on fingers (20 fingers).

The Maya made significant progress in astronomy. The solar year was calculated by them with an accuracy of one minute. Maya astronomers calculated the time of solar eclipses, they knew the periods of revolution of the moon and planets. In addition to astronomy, the priests were familiar with the rudiments of meteorology, botany, and some other sciences. The Mayan calendar was in the hands of the priests, but it was based on the practical division of the year into seasons of agricultural work. The basic units of time were the 13-day week, the 20-day month, and the 365-day year. The largest unit of chronology was the 52-year cycle - the "calendar circle". Mayan chronology was conducted from the initial date corresponding to 3113 BC. e.

The Maya attached great importance to history, the development of which was associated with the invention of writing - the highest achievement of the Mayan culture. Writing, like the calendar, was invented by the Maya in the first centuries of our era. In Mayan manuscripts, the text and drawings illustrating it run parallel. Although writing has already separated from painting, some written signs differ little from drawings. Maya wrote on paper made from ficus bast, with paints using brushes.

Mayan writing is hieroglyphic, and, as in all similar writing systems, it uses signs of three kinds - phonetic - alphabetic and syllabic, ideographic - denoting whole words and key - explaining the meaning of words, but not readable. ( Mayan writing remained undeciphered until recently. The basics of its decoding have been discovered recently.) Writing was entirely in the hands of the priests, who used it to record myths, theological texts and prayers, as well as historical chronicles and epic texts. ( The Mayan manuscripts were destroyed by the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century, and only three manuscripts survived. Some fragmentary texts have survived, albeit in a distorted form, in books written in Latin during the colonial period - the so-called books of Chilam Balam ("Books of the Jaguar Prophet").)

In addition to books, written monuments of the history of the Maya are inscriptions carved on the stone walls that the Maya erected every 20 years, as well as on the walls of palaces and temples.

Until now, the main sources of Mayan history have been the works of Spanish chroniclers of the 16th-17th centuries. The Mayan chronicles, written by the Spaniards, report that in the 5th century. there was a "small invasion" on the east coast of Yucatan, "people from the east" came here. It is possible that they were people from the cities near Lake Peten Itza. At the turn of the 5th-6th centuries, the city of Chichen Itza was founded in the center of the northern part of the peninsula. In the 7th century, the inhabitants of Chichen Itza left this city and moved to the southwestern part of the Yucatan. In the middle of the X century. their new homeland was attacked by immigrants from Mexico, apparently the Toltec people. After that, the “Itza people,” as the chronicle calls them, returned to Chichen Itza. were a mixed Maya-Mexican group formed as a result of the Toltec invasion. For about 200 years, the descendants of the Toltec conquerors dominated Chichen Itza. During this period, Chichen Itza was the largest cultural center, majestic architectural monuments were erected here. The second most important city at that time was Uxmal, which also had magnificent buildings. In the X century. not far from Chichen Itza, another city-state arose - Mayapan, which did not experience Toltec influence. By XII this city reached great power. The ruler of humble origin, Hunak Keel, who seized power in the Maya-pan, invaded Chichen Itza in 1194 and captured the city. The Itza people rallied their forces and in 1244 captured Mayapan. They settled in this city, mingling with their recent opponents, and, as the chronicle says, "they have been called Maya ever since." Power in Mayapan was seized by the Kokom dynasty; its representatives robbed and enslaved people with the help of Mexican mercenaries. In 1441, the inhabitants of the cities dependent on Mayapan raised an uprising, led by the ruler of Uxmal. Mayapan was captured. According to the chronicle, "those inside the walls were expelled by those outside the walls." A period of strife has begun. The rulers of cities in different parts of the country "made food tasteless to each other." So, Chel (one of the rulers), having occupied the coast, did not want to give either fish or salt to Kokom, and Kokom did not allow game and fruit to be delivered to Chel.

Part of one of the Mayan temple buildings at Chichen Itza, the so-called "House of the Nuns". The era of the "New Kingdom"

Mayapan after 1441 was significantly weakened, and after the epidemic of 1485 it was completely empty. Part of the Maya - the Itza people settled in the impenetrable forests near Lake Peten Itza and built the city of Tah Itza (Thaya Sal), which remained inaccessible to the Spaniards until 1697. The rest of the Yucatan was captured in 1541-1546. European conquerors who crushed the heroic resistance of the Maya.

The Maya created a high culture that dominated Central America. Architecture, sculpture and fresco painting have reached significant development. One of the most remarkable monuments of art is the Bonampak temple, opened in 1946. Under the influence of Mayan hieroglyphics, writing arose among the Toltecs and Zapotecs. The Mayan calendar spread to Mexico.

Toltec Teotihuacan

In the Valley of Mexico, according to legend, the first numerous people were the Toltecs. Back in the 5th century the Toltecs created their own civilization, famous for its monumental architectural structures. The Toltecs, whose kingdom existed until the 10th century, belonged to the Nahua group in terms of language. Their largest center was Teotihuacan, the ruins of which have survived to the present day to the northeast of Lake Teshkoko. The Toltecs were already cultivating all the plants that the Spaniards found in Mexico. They made thin fabrics from cotton fiber, their vessels were distinguished by a variety of shapes and artistic painting. The weapons were wooden spears and clubs with inserts made of obsidian (volcanic glass). Knives were made from obsidian. In large villages, bazaars were organized every 20 days, where barter was carried out.

Statue of Chak-Mool in front of the "Temple of Warriors" Chichen Itza

Teotihuacan, whose ruins cover an area 5 km long and about 3 km wide, was all built up with majestic buildings, apparently palaces and temples. They were built from hewn stone slabs, fastened with cement. The walls were covered with plaster. The entire territory of the settlement is paved with gypsum slabs. Temples rise on truncated pyramids; the so-called Pyramid of the Sun has a base of 210 m and rises to a height of 60 m. The pyramids were built of unbaked brick and lined with stone slabs, and sometimes plastered. Near the Pyramid of the Sun, buildings with a floor made of mica plates and with well-preserved frescoes were discovered. The latter depict people playing ball with sticks in their hands, ritual scenes and mythical scenes. In addition to painting, the temples were richly decorated with sculptures made of hewn and polished porphyry and jade, depicting symbolic zoomorphic creatures, such as a feathered snake - a symbol of the god of wisdom. Teotihuacan was undoubtedly a cult center.

Residential settlements are still little explored. A few kilometers from Teotihuacan are the remains of one-story houses made of unbaked bricks. Each of them consists of 50-60 rooms located around the courtyards and sacred passages between them. Obviously, these were the dwellings of family communities.

The social system of the Toltecs is unclear Judging by the differences in clothing and jewelry made of gold and silver, jade and porphyry, the nobility was very different from ordinary members of society; especially privileged was the position of the priesthood. The construction of huge, richly decorated cult centers required the labor of masses of community members and slaves, probably from prisoners of war.

The Toltecs had a written language, apparently hieroglyphic; signs of this writing are found in the painting on vases. No other written monuments have been preserved. The Toltec calendar was similar to the Mayan calendar.

Tradition lists nine Toltec kings who ruled between the 5th and 10th centuries, and reports that during the reign of the ninth king Topiltsin in the 10th century, due to local uprisings, foreign invasions and disasters caused by famine and plague, the kingdom fell apart, many moved south - to Tabasco and Guatemala, and the rest disappeared among the newcomers.

The time of the Teotihuacan Toltecs is marked by the common culture of the population of the Anahuac Plateau. At the same time, the Toltecs were connected with the peoples located to the south of them - the Zapotecs, the Maya, and even, through them, with the peoples of South America; this is evidenced by the finds of Pacific shells in the valley of Mexico and the spread of a special style of vessel painting, probably originating from South America.

Zapotec

Under the influence of the culture of Teotihuacan was the people of southern Mexico - the Zapotec. Near the city of Oaxaca, where the capital of the Zapotecs was, monuments of architecture and sculpture have been preserved, indicating the existence of a developed culture among the Zapotecs and a pronounced social differentiation. The complex and rich funerary cult, which can be judged from the tombs, indicates that the nobility and the priesthood were in a privileged position. Sculptures on ceramic funerary urns are interesting in depicting the clothes of noble people, especially magnificent headdresses and grotesque masks.

Other peoples of Mexico

The influence of the Teotihuacan Toltec culture also extended to another major cult center located southeast of Lake Teshkoko-Cholula. The group of temples created here in antiquity was subsequently rebuilt into one grand pyramid-platform with altars erected on it. The Cholul pyramid is located on a hill lined with stone slabs. It is the largest architectural structure in the ancient world. The painted ceramics of Cholula are rich, varied and meticulously finished.

With the decline of the Toltec culture, the influence of the Mixtecs from the Puebla region, located southeast of Lake Texcoco, penetrates into the Mexico Valley. Therefore, the period from the beginning of the 12th century. is called Mixteca Puebla. During this period, smaller cultural centers emerged. Such, for example, was the city of Texcoco on the eastern shore of the Mexican lakes, which retained its significance even during the time of the Spanish conquest. Here were archives of pictographic manuscripts, on the basis of which, using oral traditions, the Mexican historian, an Aztec by origin, Ixtlilpochitl (1569-1649) wrote his history of ancient Mexico. He reports that around 1300, two new tribes settled in the territory of Teshkoko, who came from the Mixtec region. They brought with them writing, a more developed art of weaving and pottery. In pictographic manuscripts, the newcomers are depicted dressed in fabrics, as opposed to local residents who wore animal skins. The ruler of Teshkoko, Kinatzin, subjugated about 70 neighboring tribes that paid tribute to him. Teshkoko's serious rival was Culuacan. In the struggle of the Culuacans against the Teshkoks, the tribe of the Tenochki, friendly to the Culuacans, played an important role.

Aztecs

According to legend, the tenochki, who were descended from one of the tribes of the Nahua group, originally lived on the island (now believed to be in Western Mexico). This mythical homeland of the tenochki was called Astlan; hence the name Aztecs, more correctly Azteca. B first quarter of the XII century. the shadows began their journey. At this time, they retained the primitive communal system. In 1248, they settled in the valley of Mexico in Chapultepec and were for some time subordinate to the Culua tribe. In 1325, the tenochki founded the settlement of Tenochtitlan on the islands of Lake Teshkoko. For about 100 years, the tenochki depended on the Tepanek tribe, paying tribute to it. At the beginning of the XV century. their military power increased. Around 1428, under the leadership of the leader Itzcoatl, they won a series of victories over their neighbors - the Teshkoko and Tlakopan tribes, entered into an alliance with them and formed a confederation of three tribes. Tenochki seized the leading position in this confederation. The confederation struggled with hostile tribes that surrounded it from all sides. Its dominance extended somewhat beyond the Valley of Mexico.

Merging with the inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, who spoke the same language as the Tenochki (Nahuatl), the Tenochki rapidly developed class relations. Tenochki, who adopted the culture of the inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, went down in history under the name of the Aztecs. Thus, the Aztecs were not so much the creators as the heirs of the culture named after them. From the second quarter of the 15th century. the flourishing of the Aztec society and the development of its culture begins.

Aztec economy

The main industry of the Aztecs was irrigated agriculture. They created the so-called floating gardens - small artificial islands; at the marshy shores of the lake, liquid earth with mud was scooped out, it was collected in heaps on rafts of reeds and trees were planted here, fixing the islands formed in this way with their roots. In this way, useless wetlands were turned into vegetable gardens criss-crossed by canals. In addition to corn, which served as the main food, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, agave, figs, cocoa, tobacco, cotton, and cacti were planted, cochineal, insects that emit purple dye, were planted on the latter. besides her, her favorite drink was chocolate, which was brewed with pepper. ( The word "chocolate" itself is of Aztec origin.) Agave fiber was used for twine and ropes, burlap was also woven from it. The Aztecs got rubber from Vera Cruz and guayule juice from northern Mexico; they made balls for ritual games.

From the peoples of Central America, through the Aztecs, Europe received crops of corn, cocoa, and tomatoes; From the Aztecs, Europeans learned about the properties of rubber.

The Aztecs raised turkeys, geese, and ducks. The only pet was a dog. Dog meat is also halo in food. Hunting did not play any significant role.

Tools of labor were made of wood and stone. Blades and tips made of obsidian were especially well processed; flint knives were also used. The main weapons were bow and arrows, then darts with throwing boards.

The Aztecs did not know iron. Copper, mined in nuggets, was forged, and also cast by melting a wax mold. Gold was cast in the same way. In the art of casting, forging and chasing gold, the Aztecs achieved great skill. Bronze appeared late in Mexico and was used for religious and luxury items.

Aztec weaving and embroidery are among the best achievements in this field. Aztec embroidery with feathers was especially famous. The Aztecs achieved great skill in ceramics with complex geometric ornaments, stone carving and mosaics made of precious stones, jade, turquoise, etc.

The Aztecs developed barter. The Spanish soldier Bernal Diaz del Castillo described the main market in Tenochtitlan. He was struck by the huge mass of people and the huge amount of products and supplies. All goods were placed in special rows. At the edge of the market, near the fence of the temple pyramid, there were sellers of golden sand, which was stored in goose feather rods. A rod of a certain length served as a unit of exchange. Pieces of copper and tin also played a similar role; for small transactions used cocoa beans.

The social structure of the Aztecs

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was divided into 4 districts (meikaotl) with the elders at the head. Each of these areas was divided into 5 quarters - kalpulli. Calpulli were originally patriarchal clans, and the meicaotli that united them were phratries. By the time of the Spanish conquest, a home community lived in one dwelling - sencalli, a large patriarchal family for several generations. The land, which belonged to the whole tribe, was divided into plots, each of which was cultivated by the home community. In addition, at each village there were lands allocated for the maintenance of priests, military leaders, and special "military lands", the harvest from which went to supply the soldiers.

The land was cultivated jointly, but upon marriage, the man received an allotment for personal use. Allotments, like all the land of the community, were inalienable.

Aztec society was divided into free and slave classes. Slaves were not only prisoners of war, but also debtors who fell into slavery (until they worked off the debt), as well as the poor who sold themselves or their children, and those who were expelled from the communities. Diaz reports that the slave row in the main market was no smaller than the Lisbon slave market. Slaves wore collars attached to flexible poles. The sources do not report in which branches of labor the slaves were employed; most likely, they were used in the construction of large structures, palaces and temples, as well as artisans, porters, servants, and musicians. On the conquered lands, military leaders received tributaries as trophies, whose position resembled the position of serfs - tlamayti (literally - "land hands"). There was already a group of free artisans who sold the products of their labor. True, they continued to live in ancestral quarters and did not stand out from common households.

Thus, along with the remnants of communal relations and the absence of private ownership of land, slavery and private ownership of the products of agriculture and handicrafts, as well as slaves, existed.

At the head of each calpulli was a council, which included elected elders. The elders and leaders of the phratries constituted a tribal council, or council of leaders, which included the main military leader of the Aztecs, who had two titles: “leader of the brave” and “orator”.

The question of defining the social structure of the Aztecs has its own history. The Spanish chroniclers, describing Mexico, called it a kingdom, and they called the head of the Aztec union, Montezuma, captured by the Spaniards, the emperor. The view of ancient Mexico as a feudal monarchy dominated until the middle of the 19th century. Based on the study of the chronicles and the description of Bernal Diaz, Morgan came to the conclusion that Montezuma was the leader of the tribe, and not the monarch, and that the Aztecs retained a tribal system.

However, Morgan, polemically reinforcing the importance of the elements of the tribal organization preserved among the Aztecs, undoubtedly overestimated their specific weight. The data of the latest research, mainly archaeological, indicate that the Aztec society in the 16th century. it was a class thing that private property and relations of domination and subordination existed in it; the state emerged. With all this, there is no doubt that in Aztec society many remnants of the primitive communal system were preserved.

Religion of the Aztecs and their culture

The religion of the Aztecs reflected the process of transition from a tribal system to a class society. In their pantheon, along with the personifications of the forces of nature (the god of rain, the god of clouds, the goddess of corn, the gods of flowers), there are also personifications of social forces. Huitzilopochtli - the patron god of tenochki - was revered both as the god of the sun and as the god of war. The image of Quetzalcoatl, the ancient deity of the Toltecs, is the most complex. He was depicted as a feathered snake. This is an image of a benefactor who taught people agriculture and crafts. According to the myth, he went to the east, from where he must return.

The ritual of the Aztecs included human sacrifice.

The Aztecs, partly under the influence of the Toltecs, developed a written language that was transitional from pictography to hieroglyphics. Historical legends and myths were imprinted with realistic drawings and partly with symbols. The description of the tenochki's wanderings from the mythical homeland in the manuscript known as the "Boturini Codex" is indicative. The clans into which the tribe was divided are indicated by drawings of houses (in the main elements) with clan coats of arms. Dating is indicated by the image of a flint and flint - “the year of one flint”. But in some cases, the sign depicting the object already had a phonetic meaning. From the Maya, through the Toltecs, the chronology and calendar came to the Aztecs.

The most significant works of Aztec architecture that have survived to this day are the stepped pyramids and temples decorated with bas-reliefs. Sculpture and especially painting of the Aztecs serve as a magnificent historical monument, as they reproduce the living life of the bearers of the Aztec culture.

Ancient peoples of the Andes region

The Andes region is one of the significant centers of ancient irrigated agriculture. The oldest monuments of a developed agricultural culture here date back to the 1st millennium BC. e., its beginning should be attributed to approximately 2000 years earlier.

The coast at the foot of the Andes was devoid of moisture: there are no rivers and almost no rain falls. Therefore, agriculture first arose on the mountain slopes and on the Peruvian-Bolivian plateau, irrigated by streams flowing down from the mountains during the melting of snow. In the basin of Lake Titicaca, where there are many species of wild tuberous plants, primitive farmers cultivated potatoes, which from here spread throughout the Andes region, and then penetrated into Central America. Quinoa was especially widespread among cereals.

The Andes region is the only one in America where animal husbandry developed. Llama and alpaca were tamed, giving wool, skins, meat, fat. The Andeans did not drink milk. Thus, among the tribes of the Andean region in the first centuries of our era, the development of productive forces reached a relatively high level.

Chibcha or Muisca

A group of tribes of the Chibcha language family, who lived on the territory of present-day Colombia in the Bogotá River Valley, also known as the Muisca, created one of the developed cultures of ancient America.

The Bogota Valley and the mountain slopes surrounding it are rich in natural moisture; together with a mild, even climate, this contributed to the formation of densely populated areas here and the development of agriculture. The Muisca country was inhabited in ancient times by primitive tribes of the Arabian language family. The Chibcha tribes entered the territory of present-day Colombia from Central America, through the Isthmus of Panama.

By the time of the European invasion, the Muisca were growing many cultivated plants: potatoes, quinoa, corn on the mountain slopes; in the warm valley - cassava, sweet potato, beans, pumpkin, tomatoes and some fruits, as well as cotton, tobacco and cocu bushes. Coca leaves are used as a drug for the people of the Andean region. The earth was cultivated with primitive hoes - gnarled sticks. There were no pets other than dogs. Fishing was widely developed. Hunting was of great importance as the only source of meat food. Since hunting for large game (deer, wild boars) was the privilege of the nobility, ordinary members of the tribe could, with the permission of noble persons, hunt only rabbits and birds; they also ate rats and reptiles.

Tools of labor - axes, knives, millstones - were made from hard rocks of stone. Spears with burnt wood tips, wooden clubs, and slings served as weapons. Of the metals, only gold and its alloys with copper and silver were known. Many methods of processing gold were used: massive casting, flattening, stamping, overlay with sheets. The metalworking technique of the Muisca is a major contribution to the original metallurgy of the peoples of the Americas.

Weaving was a great achievement of their culture. Threads were spun from cotton fiber and a cloth was woven, even and dense. The canvas was painted using the heeling method. Cloaks - panels made of this fabric served as clothing for the Muisca. Houses were built of wood and reeds coated with clay.

Exchange played an important role in the Muisca economy. There was no gold in the Bogota valley, and the Muisca received it from the province of Neiva from the Puana tribe in exchange for their products, and also as tribute from conquered neighbors. The main items of exchange were emeralds, salt and linen. Interestingly, the Muisca themselves bartered raw cotton from Panche's neighbors. Salt, emeralds and chibcha linen were taken along the Magdalena River to the great bazaars that took place on the coast, between the present-day cities of Neiva, Coelho and Beles. Spanish chroniclers report that gold was exchanged in the form of small disks. Fabric panels also served as a unit of exchange.

The Muisca lived in patriarchal families, each in a separate house. Marriage was made with a ransom for the wife, the wife moved to the husband's house. Polygamy was common; ordinary members of the tribe had 2-3 wives, nobles - 6-8, and rulers - several dozen. By this time, the tribal community began to disintegrate and a neighboring community began to take its place. We do not have information about what were the forms of land use and land tenure.

Written and archaeological sources show the beginning process of class formation. Spanish chroniclers report the following social groups: heralds - the first persons at court, usakes - noble persons and getcha - military officers of the highest rank guarding the borders. These three groups exploited the labor of the so-called "payers of taxes" or "dependents."

The nobility differed in clothing and jewelry. Painted robes, necklaces and tiaras could only be worn by the ruler. The palaces of rulers and nobles, although wooden, were decorated with carvings and paintings. Nobles were carried on stretchers lined with gold plates. The introduction of the new ruler into his duties was especially magnificent. The ruler went to the shore of the sacred lake Guata Vita. The priests smeared his body with resin and sprinkled it with golden sand. Having left on a raft with the priests, he threw offerings into the lake and, having washed himself with water, returned. This ceremony was the basis for the legend of "Eldorado" ( Eldorado is Spanish for "gold".), which has become widespread in Europe, and "Eldorado" has become synonymous with fabulous wealth.

If the life of the Muisca nobility is described by the Spaniards in some detail, then we have very few descriptions of the working conditions and the situation of the masses of the ordinary population. It is known that "those who paid the tax" contributed it with agricultural products, as well as handicrafts. In case of arrears, a messenger of the ruler with a bear or puma settled in the house of the debtor until the debt was repaid. Artisans constituted a special group. The chronicler reports that the inhabitants of Guatavita were the best goldsmiths; therefore, "many Guatavites lived scattered throughout all regions of the country, making gold items."

Reports of sources about slaves are especially scarce. Since slave labor is not described in the sources, it can be concluded that it did not play a significant role in production.

Religion

Mythology and the Muisca pantheon were underdeveloped. Cosmogonic myths are scattered and confused. In the pantheon, the main place was occupied by the goddess of the earth and fertility - Bachue. One of the main ones was the god of exchange. In the cult practice of the Muisca, the first place was occupied by the veneration of the forces of nature - the sun, the moon, the sacred lake Guatavita, etc. Boys were sacrificed to the sun in order to end the drought.

An important place was occupied by the cult of ancestors. The bodies of the nobles were mummified, they were put on golden masks. The mummies of the supreme rulers, according to beliefs, brought happiness, they were taken out to the battlefield. The main deities were considered the patrons of the nobility and warriors, the common people were associated with the temples of other deities, where modest gifts could be sacrificed. The priesthood was part of the ruling elite of society. The priests charged the community members and received food, gold and emeralds from the nobility.

Muisca on the eve of the Spanish conquest

There are no written records left of the Muisca culture. The chroniclers have recorded few oral traditions that cover the events of just two generations before the Spanish conquest. According to these legends, around 1470, Saganmachika, the sipa (ruler) of the kingdom of Bakata, with an army of 30 thousand people, made a campaign against the principality of Fusagasuga in the Pasco River valley. The frightened Fusagasugians fled, throwing down their weapons, their ruler recognized himself as a vassal of the Sipa, in honor of which a sacrifice was made to the sun.

Soon the ruler of the principality of Guatavita rebelled against Bakata, and the sipe of the latter, Saganmachika, had to ask for help from the ruler of the kingdom of Tunha, Michua. Having provided the requested assistance, Michua invited the sipa Saganmachika to come to Tunja and justify himself for the crimes attributed to him by the rebel prince of Guatavita. Sipa refused, and Michua did not dare to attack Bakata. Further, the legend tells how Saganmachika rebuffed the neighboring Panche tribe. The war with him lasted 16 years. After defeating panche, Saganmachika attacked Michua. In a bloody battle, in which 50 thousand soldiers participated on each side, both rulers died. The victory remained with the Bakatans.

After that, the sipoy of Bakata became Nemekene (literally means "bone of the jaguar"). He also, according to legend, had to repel the attack of the Panche and suppress the uprising of the Fusagasugs. Military clashes with the latter were especially stubborn; in the end their prince capitulated. Nemekene brought his garrisons into the defeated provinces and began to prepare for reprisals against the ruler of Tunkhi. Having gathered an army of 50-60 thousand and having made human sacrifices, he went on a campaign; in a terrible battle, Nemekene was wounded, the Bakatans fled, pursued by the soldiers of Tunkhi. On the fifth day after returning from the campaign, Nemekene died, leaving the kingdom to his nephew Tiskesus.

During the reign of the latter, when he intended to take revenge on the ruler of Tunja, Spanish conquistadors invaded Bakata.

Thus, the small unstable associations of the Muisca never rallied into a single state, the process of state formation was interrupted by the Spanish conquest.

Quechua and other peoples of the Inca state

The ancient history of the peoples of the central region of the Andes became known thanks to archaeological research of the last 60-70 years. The results of these studies, along with data from written sources, make it possible to outline the main periods of the ancient history of the peoples of this region. The first period, approximately the 1st millennium BC. e. - the period of the primitive communal system. The second period began on the verge of the 1st millennium and continued until the 15th century; This is the period of the emergence and development of class society. The third is the period of the history of the state of the Incas; it lasted from the beginning of the 15th century. until the middle of the 16th century.

During the first period, ceramics and building techniques, as well as gold processing, began to develop. The erection of large buildings of hewn stone, which had a cult purpose or served as the dwellings of tribal leaders, suggests the use of the labor of ordinary tribesmen by the nobility. This, as well as the presence of gold items of fine coinage, speaks of the decomposition of the tribal community that began by the end of the first period. The linguistic affiliation of the carriers of these cultures is unknown.

In the second period, two groups of tribes came to the fore. On the northern coast in the VIII-IX centuries. the Mochica culture was widespread, the carriers of which belonged to an independent language family. From that time, the remains of canals stretching for hundreds of kilometers and ditches that brought water to the fields have been preserved. Buildings were erected from raw brick; stone-paved roads were laid. The Mochica tribes not only used gold, silver and lead in native form, but also smelted them from ore. Alloys of these metals were known.

Mochica pottery is of particular interest. It was made without a potter's wheel, which the peoples of the Andean region never used even later. Moche vessels, molded in the form of figures of people (most often heads), animals, fruits, utensils, and even whole scenes, are a sculpture that acquaints us with the life and life of their creators. Such, for example, is the figure of a naked slave or a prisoner with a rope around his neck. There are also many monuments of the social system in the painting on ceramics: slaves carrying their owners on stretchers, reprisals against prisoners of war (or criminals) who are thrown off rocks, battle scenes, etc.

In the VIII-IX centuries. began the development of the most significant culture of the pre-Inca period - Tiwanaku. The site that gave it its name is located in Bolivia, 21 km south of Lake Titicaca. Ground buildings are located on an area of ​​​​about 1 square. km. Among them is a complex of buildings called Kalasasaya, which includes the Gate of the Sun, one of the most remarkable monuments of ancient America. The arch of stone blocks is decorated with a bas-relief of a figure with a face surrounded by rays, which, obviously, is the personification of the sun. Deposits of basalt and sandstone are found no closer than 5 km from the Kalasasaya buildings. Thus, slabs of 100 tons and more, from which the Gates of the Sun were built, were brought here by the collective efforts of many hundreds of people. Most likely, the Gate of the Sun was part of the complex of the temple of the Sun - the deity depicted in the bas-relief.

The Tiahuanaco culture developed over the course of 4-5 centuries, starting from the 8th century, in different parts of the Peruano-Bolivian region, but its classical monuments are located in the homeland of the Aymara people, whose tribes were, obviously, the creators of this high culture. In the Tiwanaku sites of the second period, dating approximately to the 10th century, besides gold, silver and copper, bronze also appears. Ceramics and weaving with artistic ornamentation developed. In the XIV-XV centuries. on the northern coast, the culture of the Mochica tribes flourishes again, which in the later period is called Chimu.

Archaeological monuments testify that the peoples of the Andean region already from the 10th century. BC e. knew irrigated agriculture and tamed animals, they began to develop class relations. In the first quarter of the XV century. the state of the Incas arose. Its legendary history was recorded by the Spanish chroniclers of the era of the conquest. The emergence of the state of the Incas was presented as the result of an invasion of the Cuzco valley by highly developed peoples who conquered the original inhabitants of this valley.

The main reason for the formation of the Inca state is not conquest, but the process of internal development of the society of ancient Peru, the growth of productive forces and the formation of classes. In addition, the latest archaeological data incline scientists to abandon the search for the ancestral home of the Incas outside the territory of their state. Even if we can talk about the arrival of the Incas in the Cuzco Valley, then there was a movement of only a few tens of kilometers, and this happened long before the formation of their state.

On the plateau, in the valleys and on the coast of the Andean region, many small tribes of several language groups lived, primarily Quechua, Aymara (kolya), Mochica and Pukin. The Aymara tribes lived in the basin of Lake Titicaca, on the plateau. Quechua tribes lived around the Cuzco valley. To the north, on the coast, lived the Mochica or Chimu tribes. The dispersal of the pukin group is now difficult to ascertain.

Formation of the Inca state

From the 13th century in the Cusco Valley, the so-called Early Inca culture begins to develop. The term Inca, or rather, the Inca, acquired a variety of meanings: the ruling layer in the state of Peru, the title of the ruler and the name of the people as a whole. Initially, the name Inca was one of the tribes that lived in the Cusco Valley before the formation of the state and, obviously, belonged to the Quechua language group. The Incas of their heyday spoke the Quechua language. The close relationship of the Incas with the Quechua tribes is also evidenced by the fact that the latter received a privileged position compared to others and were called "Incas by privilege"; they did not pay tribute, and from among them they did not recruit slaves - yanakuns to work for the Incas.

The historical legends of the Incas name 12 names of the rulers who preceded the last supreme Inca - Atahualpa, and report on their wars with neighboring tribes. If we accept the approximate dating of these genealogical traditions, then the beginning of the strengthening of the Inca tribe and, possibly, the formation of a union of tribes, can be dated to the first decades of the 13th century. However, the reliable history of the Incas begins with the activities of the ninth ruler - Pachacuti (1438-1463). From this time begins the rise of the Incas. A state was formed, which began to grow rapidly. In the next hundred years, the Incas conquered and subjugated the tribes of the entire region of the Andes, from southern Colombia to central Chile. According to rough estimates, the population of the Inca state reached 6 million people.

The material culture and social structure of the Inca state are known not only from archaeological, but also from historical sources, mainly Spanish chronicles of the 16th-18th centuries.

Economy of the Incas

Of particular interest in Inca technology are mining and metallurgy. The mining of copper, as well as tin, was of the greatest practical importance: the alloy of both gave bronze. Silver ore was mined in huge quantities, silver was very widespread. They also used lead. The Quechua language has a word for iron, but apparently it meant meteoric iron, or hematite. There is no evidence of iron mining and iron ore smelting; There is no native iron in the Andean region. Axes, sickles, knives, crowbars, pommel for military clubs, tongs, pins, needles, bells were cast from bronze. The blades of bronze knives, axes and sickles were fired and forged to give them greater hardness. Jewelry and cult objects were made of gold and silver.

Along with metallurgy, the Incas reached a high level in the development of ceramics and weaving. Wool and cotton fabrics, preserved from the time of the Incas, are distinguished by their richness and subtlety of finishing. Fleece fabrics for clothes (such as velvet) and carpets were made.

Agriculture in the state of the Incas has reached a significant development. About 40 species of useful plants were cultivated, the main ones being potatoes and corn.

The valleys crossing the Andes are narrow deep gorges with steep slopes, along which streams of water flow down during the rainy season, washing away the soil layer; In dry weather, no moisture remains on them. To keep moisture in the fields located on the slopes, it was necessary to create a system of special structures, which the Incas systematically and regularly maintained. The fields were arranged in stepped terraces. The lower edge of the terrace was reinforced with masonry, which retained the soil. From the mountain rivers, diversion channels approached the fields: a dam was built at the edge of the terrace. The channels were laid out with stone slabs. The complex system created by the Incas, which diverted water over long distances, provided irrigation and at the same time protected the soil of the slopes from erosion. Special officials were appointed by the state to supervise the serviceability of the structures. The land was cultivated by hand, draft animals were not used. The main tools were a spade (tipped with hard wood and, less often, bronze) and a hoe.

Weaver. Drawing from the Chronicle of Poma de Ayala

Two main roads ran through the whole country. A canal was built along the roads, on the banks of which fruit trees grew. Where the road went through the sandy desert, it was paved. Bridges were built at the intersections of roads with rivers and gorges. Through narrow rivers and cracks, tree trunks were thrown, which were crossed by wooden beams. Suspension bridges passed through wide rivers and abysses, the construction of which is one of the greatest achievements of Inca technology. The bridge was supported by stone pillars, around which five thick ropes woven from flexible branches or vines were fixed. The three lower ropes that formed the bridge itself were intertwined with branches and lined with wooden beams. The ropes that served as railings were intertwined with the lower ones, enclosing the bridge from the sides.

As you know, the peoples of ancient America did not know wheeled transport. In the Andean region, goods were transported in packs on llamas. In places where the width of the river was too great, they crossed by pontoon bridge or by means of a ferry, which was an improved raft of beams or beams of very light wood, which was oared. Such rafts lifted up to 50 people and large loads.

In ancient Peru, the separation of handicraft from agriculture and cattle breeding began. Some members of the agricultural community were engaged in the manufacture of tools, fabrics, pottery, etc., and natural exchange took place between the communities. The Incas chose the best craftsmen and moved them to Cusco. Here they lived in a special quarter and worked for the supreme Inca and the servants of the nobility, receiving food from the court. What they did in excess of a given monthly lesson, they could barter. These masters, cut off from the community, actually turned out to be enslaved.

Girls were selected in a similar way, who had to learn spinning, weaving and other needlework for 4 years. The products of their labor were also used by the noble Incas. The labor of these craftsmen was the rudimentary form of the craft in ancient Peru.

Exchange and trade were underdeveloped. Taxes were levied in kind. There was no system of measures, with the exception of the most primitive measure of bulk solids - a handful. There were scales with a yoke, to the ends of which bags or nets with a weighed load were hung. The greatest development was the exchange between the inhabitants of the coast and the highlands. After the harvest, the inhabitants of these two zones met in certain places. Wool, meat, furs, skins, silver, gold and products from them were brought from the highlands; from the coast - grain, vegetables and fruits, cotton, as well as bird droppings - guano. In different regions, salt, pepper, furs, wool, ore and metal products played the role of a universal equivalent. There were no bazaars inside the villages, the exchange was random.

In the society of the Incas, unlike the society of the Aztecs and Chibcha, there was no separated layer of free artisans; therefore, exchange and trade with other countries were poorly developed, there were no commercial intermediaries. This is evidently explained by the fact that in Peru the early despotic state appropriated the labor of slaves and partly of community members, leaving them little surplus for exchange.

Social structure of the Incas

In the state of the Incas, many remnants of the primitive communal system were preserved.

The Inca tribe consisted of 10 divisions - Hatung Ailyu, which in turn were divided into 10 Ailyu each. Initially, Ailyu was a patriarchal clan, a tribal community. Islyu had her own village and owned the adjacent fields; members of the Ailyu were considered relatives among themselves and were called by family names, which were transmitted through the paternal line.

Aileu were exogamous, it was impossible to marry within the clan. Ailyu members believed that they were under the protection of ancestral shrines - huaca. Ailyu were also designated as pachaca, that is, a hundred. Khatun-aylyu ("big clan") was a phratry and was identified with a thousand.

In the state of the Incas, Aileu turned into a rural community. This becomes apparent when considering land use norms. All land in the state was considered to belong to the supreme Inca. In fact, she was at the disposal of the ailyu. The territory itself, which belonged to the community, was called Marka (an accidental coincidence with the name of the community among the Germans). The land that belonged to the entire community was called marka pacha, that is, the land of the community.

The cultivated land was called chakra (field). It was divided into three parts: the “fields of the Sun” (actually priests), the fields of the Incas and, finally, the fields of the community. The land was cultivated jointly by the whole village, although each family had its own share, the harvest from which went to that family. Members of the community worked together under the guidance of one of the foremen and, having cultivated one section of the field (the fields of the Sun), they moved to the fields of the Incas, then to the fields of the villagers and, finally, to the fields, the harvest from which went to the general fund of the village. This reserve was spent on supporting fellow villagers in need and various general village needs. In addition to the fields, each village also had lands that rested under fallows, and "wild lands" that served as pastures.

Field plots were periodically redistributed among fellow villagers. A separate section of the field remained fallow after three or four harvests were taken from it. Field put on, blunt, was given to a man; for each male child, the father received one more such allotment, for the daughter - another half of the stupid. Tupu was considered a temporary possession, as it was subject to redistribution. But, besides tupu, on the territory of each community there were also land plots called muya. Spanish officials call these plots in their reports "hereditary land", "own land", "garden". The muya plot consisted of a yard, a house, a barn or shed and a vegetable garden and was passed from father to son. There is no doubt that the Muya plots have actually become private property. It was on these plots that the community members could get surplus vegetables or fruits on their farm, could dry meat, tan leather, spin and weave wool, make pottery vessels, bronze tools - everything that they bartered as their private property. The combination of communal ownership of the fields with private ownership of the household plot characterizes the ailya as a rural community in which blood relations have given way to territorial ties.

The land was cultivated only by the communities of the tribes conquered by the Incas. In these communities, the tribal nobility - kuraka - also stood out. Its representatives supervised the work of the community members and made sure that the community members paid taxes; their plots were cultivated by community members. In addition to their share in the communal herd, the Kurakas had privately owned livestock, up to several hundred heads. In their households, dozens of slave concubines spun and wove wool or cotton. The livestock or agricultural products of kuraka were exchanged for jewelry made of precious metals, etc. But the kuraka, as belonging to the conquered tribes, were still in a subordinate position, the Incas stood above them as the ruling layer, the highest caste. The Incas did not work, they were the military service nobility. The rulers endowed them with land plots and workers from the conquered tribes, yanakuns, who were resettled in the Inca farms. The lands that the nobility received from the supreme Inca were their private property.

The nobility was very different from ordinary subjects in their appearance, special haircut, clothing and jewelry. The noble Incas were called ores by the Spaniards (from the Spanish word "nut" - ear) for their huge gold earrings, rings that stretched their earlobes.

Priests also occupied a privileged position, in whose favor a part of the harvest was collected. They were not subordinate to local rulers, but constituted a separate corporation, controlled by the high priesthood in Cuzco.

The Incas had a certain number of Yanakuns, whom the Spanish chroniclers called slaves. Judging by the fact that they were wholly owned by the Incas and did all the menial work, they were indeed slaves. Of particular importance is the report of the chroniclers that the position of the Yanakuns was hereditary. It is known that in 1570, that is, 35 years after the fall of the power of the Incas, there were another 47 thousand Yanakuns in Peru.

Most of the productive labor was performed by community members; they worked the fields, built canals, roads, fortresses and temples. But the appearance of a large group of hereditarily enslaved workers, exploited by the rulers and the military elite, suggests that Peru's society was early slave-owning, with the preservation of significant remnants of the tribal system.

The Inca state was called Tahuantinsuyu, which literally means "four regions connected together." Each region was ruled by a governor, in the districts power was in the hands of local officials. At the head of the state was the ruler, who bore the title "Sapa Inca" - "single-ruling Inca." He commanded the army and headed the civil administration. The Incas created a centralized system of government. Supreme Inca senior officials from Cuzco watched the governors, they were always ready to repulse the rebellious tribe. There was a permanent postal connection with the fortresses and residences of local rulers. Messages were relayed by messengers-runners. Postal stations were located on the roads not far from each other, where messengers were always on duty.

The rulers of ancient Peru created laws that protected the rule of the Incas, aimed at securing the subjugation of the conquered tribes and preventing uprisings. Peaks crushed the tribes, settling them in parts in foreign areas. The Incas introduced a compulsory language for all - Quechua.

Religion and culture of the Incas

Religion occupied a large place in the life of the ancient people in the Andean region. The most ancient origin were the remnants of totemism. The communities bore the names of animals: Numamarca (cougar community), Condormarca (condor community), Huamanmarca (hawk communities), etc.; the cult attitude to some animals has been preserved. Close to totemism was the religious personification of plants, primarily potatoes, as a culture that played a huge role in the life of the Peruvians. Images of the spirits of this plant in sculptural ceramics have come down to us - vessels in the form of tubers. The "eye" with sprouts was perceived as the mouth of a plant awakening to life. An important place was occupied by the cult of ancestors. When the aylyu turned from a tribal community into a neighboring community, the ancestors began to be revered as patron spirits and guardians of the land of this community and the area in general.

The custom of mummification of the dead was also associated with the cult of ancestors. Mummies in elegant clothes with decorations and household utensils were preserved in tombs, often carved into the rocks. The cult of the mummies of the rulers reached a special development: they were surrounded by ritual veneration in temples, the priests marched with them during great holidays. They were credited with supernatural power, they were taken on campaigns and taken to the battlefield. All the tribes of the Andean region had a cult of the forces of nature. Obviously, along with the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, a cult of mother earth arose, called Pacha-mama (in the Quechua language, pache - earth).

The Incas established a state cult with a hierarchy of priests. Obviously, the priests generalized and further developed the existing myths and created a cycle of cosmogonic mythology. According to him, the creator god - Viracocha created the world and people on the lake (obviously, on Lake Titicaca). After the creation of the world, he disappeared across the sea, leaving his son Pachacamac. The Incas supported and spread among the conquered peoples the idea of ​​​​the origin of their legendary ancestor Manco Capac from the sun. The supreme Inca was considered a living personification of the sun god (Inti), a divine being, possessing therefore unlimited power. The largest cult center was the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco, also called the "Golden Compound", since the walls of the central hall of the sanctuary were lined with gold tiles. Three idols were placed here - Viracocha, the Sun and the Moon.

Temples owned enormous wealth, a large number of ministers and craftsmen, architects, jewelers and sculptors. These riches were used by the priests of the highest hierarchy. The main content of the Inca cult was the sacrificial ritual. During numerous holidays dedicated to various moments of the agrarian cycle, various sacrifices were made, mainly by animals. In extreme cases - at a festival at the time of the accession to the throne of a new supreme Inca, during an earthquake, drought, epidemic disease, during a war - people, prisoners of war or children taken as tribute from conquered tribes were sacrificed.

The development of positive knowledge among the Incas reached a significant level, as evidenced by their metallurgy and road engineering. To measure space, there were measures based on the size of parts of the human body. The smallest measure of length was the length of the finger, then a measure equal to the distance from the bent thumb to the index finger. The most commonly used measure for measuring land was a measure of 162 cl. The abacus was used for counting. The board was divided into stripes, compartments in which counting units moved, round pebbles. The time of day was determined by the position of the sun. In everyday life, the measurement of time was used for the period necessary for the potatoes to cook (approximately 1 hour).

The Incas deified the heavenly bodies, so they had astronomy associated with religion. They had a calendar; they had an idea of ​​the solar and lunar year. The position of the sun was observed to determine the timing of the agricultural cycle. For this purpose, four towers were built in the east and west of Cusco. Observations were also made in Cusco itself, in the center of the city, on a large square where a high platform was built.

The Incas used some scientific methods of treating diseases, although the practice of magical medicine was also widespread. In addition to the use of many medicinal plants, surgical methods were also known, such as, for example, craniotomy.

The Incas had schools for boys from among the nobility - both the Incas and the conquered tribes. The term of study was four years. The first year was devoted to the study of the Quechua language, the second - the religious complex and the calendar, the third and fourth years were spent on the study of the so-called quipu, signs that served as a "nodular letter".

Kipu consisted of a woolen or cotton rope, to which cords were tied in rows at a right angle, sometimes up to 100, hanging in the form of a fringe. Knots were tied on these cords at different distances from the main rope. The shape of the nodes and their number denoted numbers. The single knots furthest from the main rope represented units, the next row represented tens, then hundreds and thousands; the largest values ​​were located closest to the main rope. The color of the cords denoted certain objects: for example, potatoes were symbolized by brown, silver - by white, gold - by yellow.

The manager of the state warehouses is counted out with the "kipu" in front of the high Inca Yupanqui. Drawing from the chronicle of Poma de Ayala. 16th century

Quipu were used mainly to convey messages about taxes collected by officials, but also served to record general statistics, calendar dates, and even historical facts. There were specialists who knew how to use the quipu well; they were supposed to, at the first request of the supreme Inca and his entourage, report certain information, guided by the correspondingly tied knots. The kipu were a conventional system for the transmission of information, but it has nothing to do with writing.

Until the last decade, the idea was widespread in science that the peoples of the Andean region did not create a written language. Indeed, unlike the Maya and the Aztecs, the Incas did not leave written monuments. However, the study of archaeological, ethnographic and historical sources forces us to raise the question of the writing of the Incas in a new way. Beans with special signs appear in the painting of the vessels of the Mochica culture. Some scientists believe that the signs on the beans had a symbolic, conventional meaning, like ideograms. It is possible that these beans with badges were used for divination.

Some chroniclers of the era of the conquest report the existence of a secret writing among the Incas. One of them writes that in a special room in the temple of the Sun there were painted boards on which the events of the history of the Inca lords were depicted. Another chronicler tells that when in 1570 the Viceroy of Peru ordered to collect and write down everything known about the history of Peru, it was found that the ancient history of the Incas was imprinted on large boards inserted in gold frames and stored in a room near the Temple of the Sun. Access to them was forbidden to everyone except the reigning Incas and specially appointed historiographers. Modern researchers, the culture of the Incas, consider it proven that the Incas had a written language. It is possible that it was a picture letter, a pictography, but it did not survive due to the fact that the “pictures” framed in gold were immediately destroyed by the Spaniards, who captured them for the sake of frames.

Poetic creativity in ancient Peru developed in several directions. Hymns (for example, the anthem of Viracocha), mythical tales, and poems of historical content have been preserved in fragments. The most significant poetic work of ancient Peru was the poem, later revised into a drama, "Ollantai". It sings of the heroic deeds of the leader of one of the tribes, the ruler of Antisuyo, who rebelled against the supreme Inca. In the poem, obviously, the events and representations of the period of the formation of the Inca state - the struggle of individual tribes against the submission of their centralized power to the Inca despotism - found an artistic reflection.

End of the Inca state. Portuguese conquests

It is usually believed that with the capture of Cuzco by Pizarro's troops in 1532 and the death of the Inca Atahualpa, the Inca state immediately ceased to exist. But his end did not come instantly. In 1535 an uprising broke out; although it was suppressed in 1537, its participants continued to fight for more than 35 years.

The uprising was raised by the Inca prince Manco, who at first went over to the side of the Spaniards and was close to Pizarro. But Manco used his proximity to the Spaniards only to study the enemy. Starting to gather forces from the end of 1535, Manco in April 1536 approached Cuzco with a large army and laid siege to it. He further used Spanish firearms, forcing eight captured Spaniards to serve him as gunsmiths, gunners and gunners. Captured horses were also used. Manco centralized the command of the besieging army, established communications, guard service. Manco himself was dressed and armed in Spanish, rode and fought with Spanish weapons. The rebels combined the techniques of original Indian and European military affairs and at times achieved great success. But the need to feed a large army, and most importantly bribery and betrayal, forced Manco to lift the siege after 10 months. The rebels fortified themselves in the mountainous region of Vilkapampe and continued to fight here. After the death of Manco, the young Tupac Amaru became the leader of the rebels.

The first inhabitants of South America were the American Indians. There is evidence that they were from Asia. Approximately 9000 years before our era, they crossed the Bering Strait, and then descended to the south, passing through the entire territory of North America. It was these people who created one of the most ancient and unusual civilizations in South America, including the mysterious states of the Aztecs and Incas. The ancient civilization of the South American Indians was ruthlessly destroyed by the Europeans, who began the colonization of the continent in the 1500s.

Capture and looting

By the end of the 1500s, most of the South American continent had been taken over by Europeans. They were attracted here by huge natural resources - gold and precious stones. In the course of colonization, Europeans destroyed and plundered ancient cities and brought with them diseases from Europe that wiped out almost the entire indigenous population - the Indians.

Modern population

There are twelve independent states in South America. The largest country, Brazil, covers almost half of the continent, including the vast Amazon basin. Most of the inhabitants of South America speak Spanish, that is, the language of the conquerors who sailed here from Europe on their sailing ships in the 16th century. True, in Brazil, on whose territory the invaders once landed - the Portuguese, the official language is Portuguese. Another country, Guyana, speaks English. Native American Indians still survive in the highlands of Bolivia and Peru. The majority of the inhabitants of Argentina are white, and in neighboring Brazil there are a large number of descendants of African black slaves.

Culture and sports

South America has become the birthplace of many unusual people and a hospitable home that has gathered many different cultures under its roof. Bright colorful houses in La Boca - the bohemian quarter of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. This area, which attracts artists and musicians, is inhabited mainly by Italians, descendants of settlers from Genoa who sailed here in the 1800s.
The most favorite sport on the continent is football, and it is not surprising that it was the South American teams - Brazil and Argentina - who became world champions more often than others. Pele played for Brazil - the most outstanding footballer in the history of this game.
In addition to football, Brazil is famous for its famous carnivals, which are held in Rio de Janeiro. During the carnival, which takes place in February or March, millions of people pass through the streets of Rio in the rhythm of the samba, and millions more spectators watch this colorful action. The Brazilian carnival is the most massive holiday held on our planet.