Chavin

Chavín

Social

Chavín

• class distinctions increased during a period of expansion
• class of priests directed religious life
• king dominated Chavín's politics
• Chavín de Huántar was a large ceremonial and residential center of the Chavín culture

Political

Chavín

• complex social institutions and cultural values facilitated interregional exchanges & shared labor responsibilities
• became politically dominant in a densely populated region
• labor obligations permitted construction and maintenance of roads

Interactions/Inventions

Characteristics of the Olmec and Chavín Civilizations

Chavín

• spread of their art styles and religious images demonstrates the powerful influence of this culture
• believed to have established certain patterns that helped unify Andean culture and lay the foundations of later civilizations
• convincing religious system and related rituals

Economic

• Llamas were used in the process of trade and specialization
• improved the manufacture and decoration of textiles
• populous mountain valleys allowed the city's rulers to control trade, gaining an economic advantage over regional rivals

Chavín

'a glorified SPICE chart'

Culture

• The Chavín lived in small one-room homes and were mainly farmers, growing avocados, manioc, and corn.
• They lived along the coast, so fishing was an important supplement to their diet.
• had elaborate burial rituals and buried their dead with objects that they would need in the afterlife.
• Chavín de Huántar was the center of their civilization.
• developed distinctive style of sculpture with red, black, and brown clay.
• accomplished cloth workers.
• Were they one ethnic group or mix of ethnicities?

Olmec

Olmec

Economic

Social

• directed a large trading network through mesoamerica
• La Venta was a prosperous community of fishers, farmers, traders, and specialists like artisans and sculptors
• strategic position of San Lorenzo allowed the inhabitants to control communications, transportation, and trade in the area.

Olmec

Interactions/Inventions

Olmec

Political

• Polytheistic; deities had dual natures
• shamans and healers organized religious life & developed an early form of writing
• thousands of commoner were drawn from the countryside to attend ceremonies at the center

• Giant sculpted heads could have represented particular rulers
• San Lorenzo (a town center in Olmec) was home to a small ruling class of priests and nobles
• These rulers could've commanded a much larger group of peasant farmers
• form of kingship that combined religious and secular roles

• contributed much to later mesoamerican civilizations
• The jaguar motif is seen later used in pottery and sculpture of later peoples in the region
• future mesoamerican societies copied the Olmec pattern of Olmec design
• Jade carvings decorated with the jaguar-god

Olmec

Cultural

• cultural core located at San Lorenzo
• Urban development made possible by earlier advances in agricultural (diet: corn, beans, and squash)
• organized irrigation and drainage canals
• developed raised fields
• Manioc grown in floodplains

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