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Yesterday we went briefly over the Maya and the Inca for our test on Tuesday. Since I'm going to have to know it (I should be reading those chapters right now), I might as well say here that Maya was the first Mesoamerican state society, arisen from the tradition of the Olmecs, which were a Presclassic complex chiefdom from the Yucatan. The most important factor in the development of Maya society were trade networks and religious ideology, and the Mayan writing system developed around the first century C.E. It developed out of their calendric system. Tikal was an important city. They eventually collapsed after the seventh century C.E. due to population pressures.

As for South America, the Incan Empire was based in the Andes mountains. Their capital city was Cuzco. The most important factor in the development of complex societies in South America was the environment. All of their states developed in deserts, coastal and highland, and El Nino and drought played huge factors in the development of complex technologies and irrigation systems, often theorized to be prime factors in the development of state societies. The Incans did not have a writing system, but rather a complicated counting system which they used for record-keeping, comprised of knots. Yes, knots. This was called the quipa. The Incans were conquered in 1534 by Pizarro. This conquest was facilitated by the intense internal strife between Incan chiefdoms.

Yes, I have a lot of reading to do.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:39 PM | shower me with attention