Teotihuacan
Names for the earliest political center of Teotihuacan
Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Ciudadela, Temple of the Feathered Serpent, the citadel
Maya agriculture
Used slash and burn agriculture, where a field is used one year and then burned. The field then stays unused for a period of time until the charred remains fertilize the soil and help the nutrients grow back.
aftermath of the 1876 conflict in the Great Plains
The US government decided to force the remaining Lakota and Cheyenne in the Great Plains onto reservations. The government achieved this by sending 3 military groups to go after the native groups in the Great Plains.
CRM Archeology
Cultural Resource Management Archeology is an applied archeology profession responsible for the identification, preservation, excavation/assessment, and management of cultural or archeological resources in a given region. CRM archeology employs most archeologists in the United States, and is a profession in which people conduct archeological research outside of academia. CRM may clear land for construction, prevent construction in specific areas, help identify and categorize places of importance, or help provide additional legal basis for the preservation of important areas of land or architecture.
Osteomylitis (infection of the bone) in New Orleans
It likely developed from a wound and it's consistent with with being persistently shackled.
Talud Tablero architecture
A common construction style designed at Teo. It consists of an inward-sloping surface or panel called the talud, with a panel or structure perpendicular to the ground sitting on the slope called the tablero
Maya water use and collapse
Maya peoples used both natural and built reservoirs to collect rainwater from buildings and plazas. Examples from Tikal, where resevoirs are in the center of the city to collect water from the main temples. However, the reservoirs were collecting mercury from temple paint which contaminated the reservoirs.
pellagra outbreak
Many Indigenous communities Used nixtamalizing (mixing maize with specific wood ashes or lyme) which helped add nutrition. Without nixtamalization, a maize diet lacks critical nutrients, including niacin (Vitamin B3). A severe Vitamin B3 deficiency is the cause of pellagra.
American southern farmers did not know to do this, and so suffered extreme vitamin deficiencies.
How do modern peoples' lives impact the archeological record?
- Expanding cities or cities built on top of archeological sites can destroy archeological sites or disrupt them severely
- private property or other property restrictions may make large areas inaccessible to both archeologists and communities interested in their archeological history
- the rising levels of carbon in our atmosphere make it difficult to accurately date more modern sites and pollution or construction can impact the archeological record even if dating is not compromised
-agriculture can destroy and mix artifacts from different layers of soil, making a site impossible to find or analyze later
-looting and theft is still a problem which destroys the archeological record and erases the history of Indigenous peoples and marginalized groups.
Great Dismal Swamp
The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp located in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, covering an area of around 190 square miles. Historically, it served as a refuge for Native American tribes, escaped slaves, and outlaws. Archaeologists have excavated part of this site where pottery and lithics were found.
Cuicuilco & Teo
A farming village ~700BC with ~20k people at its peak. It was abandoned by 60BC due to a volcanic eruption, its likely the population migrated to Teotihuacan helping it grow.
Petexbatun region and Maya collapse
Dos Pilas was founded by Tikal 629BC. The city was defeated in 761 and thee king was captured so the Royal family moved to the site of Aguateca. The ceremonial center of Dos Pilas was then occupied by commoners who built small homes on it, and fortified it until it was destroyed in the 800's. Aguateca was also destroyed in the 800's. Warfare shifted from capturing rulers and establishing a local puppet ruler to full destruction of sites.
How does the archeological record contradict Custer's Last Stand?
- Native American descriptions of the battle have a very different narrative, explaining that it was not a heroic stand, but rather all of the men were quickly killed in defensive position
-We know from historical records Custer and his men were in a defensive position and were not in uniform or carrying sabers, as depicted in many pieces of art
- We know that Custer made the decision to attack, rather than return and inform officers of his findings as asked. This was not a long-planned attack, but something Custer decided on for his men in the moment.
-We know that the conflict began with treaty violations and forced removal of Indigenous people from their own land by the US Government. The US Military sent troupes in violation of the treaty to seize the Black Hills after Custer confirmed, with his expedition, that there was gold there.
How did the arrival of Europeans change the Great Plains for Indigenous peoples?
In the mid-1800s, European expansion in the United States had devastating impacts on indigenous populations. This period saw an unprecedented influx of settlers, the commencement of gold and silver mining in indigenous territories, increased permanent settlement, the US government breaking treaties by sending military to the Great Plains, a rise in prominent white presence in indigenous lands, and the spread of infectious diseases. These factors drastically altered indigenous ways of life and led to numerous conflicts with the US government.
What can we learn from fracture patterns in The African Burial Ground?
Violence was brutal and public. Some people were beaten to death as a means of controlling populations with fear.
peri - at time of death
pre - during life, evidence of healing
post - after death, taphonomy
Elite Presence & Inequality
There is evidence of social differentiation such as differences between elite palaces and commoner compounds (larger courtyards, some incorporated temples, more complex offerings/ceremonies). The first palaces built were centered around the Ciudadela. However, Teo does not have representations of indiviudal elites/rulers. Leadership positions are always depicted generally, not associated with individuals.
Evidence of Collapse
Monumental construction and hieroglyphic writing decreased. Warfare increased and became more destructive (star glyph in texts indicates warfare). Frequent and prolongued drought periods during the Terminal Classic Collapse period. Elites loose control and major cities are depopulated.
Bullet and shell casings at Little Big Horn
- battle started in the south, on Calhoun Hill. Lots of bullet and shell cases -> sustained fire fight
- casings can be matched to individual guns and we can see warriors moving uphill and soldiers moving north; confirmed by accounts from Native American people present at battle
- little evidence of defense from Indigenous peoples, seems to have been a quick, brutal, and deadly fight for Custer's men. Many dead soldiers in Keogh sector.
-casings indicate this sequence: Custer's troops fire and begin to advance but are overwhelmed, leading to dispersal of troops. They are greatly outnumbered by better-armed warriors, and are driven into defensive. Tactical collapse--people panic and run to Custer. Final, desperate attempt at escape is unsuccessful.
What archeological evidence was in the Great Dismal Swamp?
- thousands of enslaved peoples escaped into the swamp where they and their families lived for 200 years (none surrendered, some people were captured)
-Some people interacted with neighboring communities or white people, other people stayed deep within the swamp and lived by planting crops, hunting, and fishing.
-evidence of log and wooden cabins, many with porches and raised floors
-clay pipes, instruments, furniture, corn, pigs, number of different birds, fishing tools, many houses -> thriving community living in swamp for 10 generations.
-Interview with Charlie, a logger who used to live in The Great Dismal Swamp community, indicated communal labor, sharing of resources (Which many had experienced in Africa or learned about through African parents/relatives/etc.)
-Many narratives highlight the role of white people in the escape of enslaved people, removing agency from enslaved peoples. It's important to remember that many enslaved people freed themselves and/or others. This is important to note so that contributions of white people are not magnified while contributions of African and African American people are minimized.
What does a 1755 map show us about the lives of enslaved people?
The map shows a piece of land tagged "Negro Burial Ground", which suggests that enslaved Africans were excluded from churches' cemeteries and were buried in a cemetery next to called Common from about 17OO to the 1790s.
Evidence for the collapse of Teo
Environmental: deforestation and increased erosion, instensification of agriculture. Regional droughts occured before, but not during, the collapse.
Architecture: burning of street of the dead and temples. Very little burning of residences (14%). Destruction of statues, looted shrines, and population shifted from the city center to its edges.
Health: High rates of enamel hypoplasia, life expectancy of 18 years with high infant mortality. Potentially influenced by water contamination.
Relationship between Maya and Teo
It is still debated. However, we know that at one point, Teotihuacan is heavily influencing the Maya region through either warfare, political marriage, or trade/emultation. We know this because Fire Born (Siyaj K'ak') was portrayed in Teotihuacan style clothing. He was sent to El Peru by the ruler Spearthrower Owl. Siyaj K'ak' then took an army from El Peru to conquer the regional capital of Tikal. A later ruler (426AD) of Tikal, Storym Sky, is depicted in Maya clothing but with Teotihuacan style warriors. The "Lost World Complex" at Tikal is evidence of strong contact, because it is built in Talud Tablero style, has a replica of Teo's Ciudadela, and is oriented on a Teo grid.
Why is archeology important for understanding history?
- can provide narratives for peoples not represented in any official documents, or misrepresented in documents
- helps fact check historical sources -- the version preserved in history is not necessarily true
- helps us understand the deep, ongoing impact of colonialism, slavery, and racial hatred in America
- helps correct biases of traditional history, which usually represents the powerful and the wealthy at that moment in time
- try to recover some of the information destroyed by Spanish, French, English forces during colonization
The African Burial Ground and enslaved people's lives
Malnutrition - skeletal evidence of porotic hyperostosis, thickening of the spongy tissue between inside and inside layer of the skull and Cribra obitalia sight socket of children, all from New York African Burial.
Infectious disease - on two adult males from New York African Burial.
Skeletal hypertrophy - abnormal muscle development
All of this evidence emerged from the New York African Burial.
1921 Tulsa Massacre
Tulsa, Oklahoma, once had one of the most successful African American commercial districts in the country. By 1921, it was home to numerous black-owned businesses such as beauty shops, grocery stores, restaurants, and the offices of lawyers, realtors, and doctors.
However, All of that changed on the night of May 31, 1921 when some White mobs, armed with shotguns and torches, terrorized the city in a horrific expression of racial violence and murdered up to 300 people of color.