Vivian ChenAP U.S. HistorySummer Assignment Logs

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Chapter 1: A View From Above

Mann recounts his trip to the Bolivian province of Beni, accompanied by two archaeologists, Clark Erickson and William Balee. As he observes the landscape, people and culture, describing it with detailed imagery, Mann aims to reframe the way the modern world perceives Indians. Although newer research is challenging to the traditional notions of Pre-Columbian times, the old views are still alive. He places most of the blame on Holmberg, a man who developed the convention stereotype of Indians as a primitive, backwards people with no history. In order to invalidate that assumption, Mann highlights the traces of evidence that prove the Indians as a sophisticated, complex and influential civilization. Applying his knowledge of recent research to his own firsthand experiences in the Americas, he argues that Holmberg’s theory is far from the truth: Several Pre-Columbian peoples have caused change to the natural landscape, developed a stable lifestyle by taking full advantage of resources and built a network of efficient trade systems. The strategically arranged causeways and canals scattered across the flat Beni landscape is the mark of an advanced people. Opposing the claim that the Indians were incapable of changing the landscape, it is noted that they in fact held mass forest burnings as a means to expand the grassland. Holmberg’s way of thought proposes that the Indians did not impact their environment, but rather allowed the environment to dominate them. The reason why these traditional and erroneous ideas are so widely accepted is that it rose at a time when Europeans leaders were influencing lands outside of Europe. Its popularity stemmed from the confidence and superiority Europeans felt about themselves. Although not enough is understood about Indian life to completely reject all of Holmberg’s views, Mann feels adamant that the Indians were far more intelligent and advanced than they receive credit for. He points out the accomplishments of the Olmec and Tiwanaka cultures, including the achievements of the third Neolithic Revolution. Homberg’s mistake is only among one of the factors responsible for the erroneous perceptions towards Indians: the “Noble Savage” sentiment and “Indian Wisdom” mentality causes people to label them as innocent, naïve, and therefore incapable of impacting historical happenings.

Question: In reading about Holmberg, it reminded me Sir Arthur Evans’ mistake and how that changed history, as they both had similar outcomes. Evans was an English archaeologist who excavated the Minoan Palace of Knossos. The frescoes, sculptures and even the palace itself were restored according to his prior assumption about Minoan civilization. As a result, the artifacts were not visually accurate to their natural appearance because it had been altered to appear how Evans wanted it to appear. In his mind, he already had an expectation of what Minoan art was like; it was whimsical and held a somewhat fantastical element. Now, we will never know what those artifacts really looked like due to the idealized Minoan civilization held by the British centuries ago. When Holmberg expressed his views of the Siriono Indians, was he influenced or biased by an assumption about Indians already existing at the time?

Chapter 2: Why Billington Survived

Through tracing the life of Tisquantum, Mann illustrates a fatalistic turning point that would start the demise of the Indian population. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the natives of Massachusetts led a relatively peaceful life with strong familial values. Focusing on Tisquantum, a man from the Paxutet community, it is clear that he played a crucial role in Pre-Columbian history. He was among the ranks of bodyguard men, gaining discipline and character through passing tests of pain resistance. It was common for young boys to undergo torturous tasks as to learn survival skills. Practical homes known as wetu were constructed to provide insulation and protection from leaks, which was more advanced than what the English. Although war existed between rival villages, it was fought with a different mindset than the European concepts of conquest. They were not bloody massacres; victories were simply a symbol of status and power. The 16th century Italian explorer Verrazzano and his men were the first Europeans the Indians set eyes on. Whereas Verrazzano was impressed by their healthy, robust bodies and nutritious diet, they found their tattoos, asymmetrical hairstyles and body adornments bizarre. It was not until the kidnapping of Paxutet by Hunt that the Indians would develop a fierce hostility towards the strange newcomers. Naturally, the Indians were careful about interaction when the Mayflower Pilgrims landed in 1620. The settlers caused quite a commotion; as they were vulnerable to the harsh winter, they were dependent upon Indian help. As long as they were needy, they were not a threat, however, that changes by the time Tisquantum returns home. He finds the villages abandoned and massive populations massacred or dead from disease. Eventually, he became a captive of Massasoit, who used Tisquantum’s bilingual skill as his asset. Massasoit was alarmed when the settlers arrived, fearing that they may have cruel intentions. Later, he considered inviting the Pilgrims to join them against a rival tribe, as they would have the power of European gun. Massasoit makes the mistake of allowing the Pilgrims to stay for unlimited time. After Tisquantum sets up a battle against the Indians and English, a terrible fight ensues, resulting in a victory for the Europeans.

Question: What would compel the Indians to help the stranger newcomers through the first winter? It is unconvincing that they did so out of genuine kindness, so what were their secret motives? Was it an interest in these foreign people, or a desire to take advantage of their trade goods?

Chapter 4: Frequently Asked Questions

Exploiter and wealthy capitalist De Soto landed in Florida in 1539, bringing with him a ship of 300 pigs that caused an epidemic. These animals carried a disease that could be transmitted to a human through a virus. Though the disease wiped out a large portion of the Indian population, the Europeans were generally unaffected. It seems as though the natives were more susceptible to animal viruses because they were unaccustomed to raising livestock, whereas it was common for Europeans to share living quarters with domesticated livestock. While researchers are still analyzing the reasons the high numbers of Indian deaths, it is difficult to determine exactly with limited evidence. Scientists want to avoid the suggestion that the epidemic was inevitable or unpreventable, as it would be a fallacy to assume that the Indians would have fell to the disease even eventually even if de Soto had not brought his pigs. Perhaps the study of genes can provide a logical answer. The Indians were more vulnerable to European diseases for mostly two reasons: their bodies that never encountered these viruses before and they already had quite a limited gene pool when compared to the Europeans. Though the individual Indian and European were both equally as susceptible to a certain disease, the Europeans were less homogeneous in their gene pool, so on the group level, more Europeans would survive. Another explanation would be that the Indians carried fewer HLAS, which made it difficult to detect a virus. After the epidemic hit urban societies, the few Indian survivors had to abandon the civilization of their villages and hunt as nomads. Unfortunately, this serves as reason why Europeans assumed that the majority of Indians were nomads; they were not aware that they once belonged to advanced communities. The Indians themselves held no understanding of smallpox, how it was transmitted, or what contagious meant. Consequentially, the widespread effects of smallpox not only killed thousands of Indians but also damaged them psychologically and obliterated their political structure. Not long after, more Indians suffered when Cortez arrived in Technotitlan, capital of the Triple Alliance. An argument over religion was taking place: Cortez sent Franciscan monks to convert the natives, while the Mexica insisted that maintain their own spiritual beliefs. Although the Franciscans prevail, the Mexica still carried a tradition of intellect through philosophy, art, writing and a compulsory educational system. Like the Europeans, the Mexica practiced ritual human sacrifice as a means of justification for power over the empire. The downfall of this culturally rich civilization is blamed on Cortez. He tampered with the political relationships and manipulated the rivalry between powerful groups to gain control the Aztec Empire at the expense of an entire culture.

Question: Did the Mexica philosophers draw their inspiration from European thought? Mann explains that they did contemplate mortality and the inevitability of death. In this sense, how did it compare with Western philosophy?

Chapter 8: Made in America

Mutal was amongst the collection of city-states that constituted the Mayan civilization. As king of Mutal, Chak Tok Ich’aak led a prosperous reign by holding ritual festivities, expanding trade, developing diplomatic status and building commerce. Needless to say, it was a sophisticated people with an organized sense of living. After the defeat from a battle with the Kaan enemy, the Mutal eventually revived its heritage. However, shortly afterwards, the entire Mayan civilization collapsed. The most popular theory concerning the fall of the Mayan explains that they reached the carrying capacity of their environment, meaning that available resources were not enough to support the number of people. The decline in agriculture led to starvation and thirst that led to the death of Mayans. There is supportive evidence for this theory, as the Mayans did chop down their forests. It also serves as a warning to present civilizations not to destroy the resources they are dependent on and live in harmony with nature. Referring back to Holmberg’s mistake, Mann delves deeper into invalidating the claim that Indians lacked the technology or innovation to change their environment. In fact, the Haudenosaunee, a group of indigenous people, practiced forest burning known as “succession.” They would set a mass fire to burn the woods, clearing the space for new life in the spring. By using fire to change their natural surroundings, the Haudenosaunee demonstrate their ability to change the forest to better suit their needs. Unlike the Europeans, it was unnecessary to domesticate animals for livestock, but rather increased the amount of available game. The burning increased the number of herbivores and predators that would make up the Indian diet. The Cahokia Indians constructed Monks Mound, situated on a one thousand foot long plaza. It is yet another example of the creation of an artificial landscape. Cahokia farmers, who employed engineering techniques of handling clay, erected the mounds. Thousands of mounds are located around the Mississippi, some conical shaped, and some stepped, resembling the step pyramids of Egypt. More than just a construction project, these mounds were fixed communities that indicate the civil life of Indians, proving that they were not all wandering nomads. Although individuals were not forced into building them, it is the mark of an accomplished culture to organize labor, gather materials and calculate mounds. Clearly, they must have possessed an extremely efficient means of communication. Because Cahokians planted maize on land, they ordered the clearing of forests. As resources sharply declines, rulers dismissed the issue in favor of focusing on political relations. Mann compares the Mayan political system of that of Classical Greece because the hostility between Kaan and Mutal was similar the warfare between Athens and Sparta.

Question: Did the Cahokians gain their skill of mound building from Egyptians or the Meroitic cultures? The early Egyptian step pyramids were essentially stone mastabas stacked on top of one another, which evolved into the smooth edged pyramids. Where the Cahokians like the Meroitics, who learned pyramid construction from the Egyptians? Mann does mention that the Adena tribe built pyramids as tombs, which was the same purpose for which Egyptians built theirs. Did the natives develop their technique of mound building completely unaware of the Egyptian pyramids?

Chapter 10: The Artificial Wilderness

Before it broke apart into individual continents that developed distinctly separate ecosystems, Pangaea was one single landmass that existed 200 million years ago. Before Columbus, no one was aware of the immense difference in animal and plant life on other continents. As Columbus was the first to observe the contrasting ecosystems of Europe and America, he also noticed the resources and foods that each continent lacked. Shortly after, the Columbian Exchange was initiated during the Age of Exploration, creating fervor of trade networks and exchange of not only goods, but also ideas. It was during this commercial phenomenon that ecological release occurred. When an organism leaves its home and enters a foreign ecosystem, it will either die instantaneously as it is unable to adapt, find a niche to settle into, or, in the case that it has no predators, take over the ecosystem and wreak havoc. Two more recent occurrences of ecological release was the 1950’s kudzu tree craze and the wild peaches in South America. Each grew rapidly and at an uncontrollable pace, dominating its environment. Up until 1492, Indians were able to manage their environment and keep it in control with forest burnings, canal constructions and farming. The effects of ecological release are unpredictable; it disrupts the natural order of things. In one case, the population of passenger pigeons rose dramatically. Since these pigeons were extremely abundant, people held mass pigeon hunts for enjoyment. As a result of irresponsibility and carelessness, passenger pigeons became extinct at the fault of humans. Surprisingly, the numbers of pigeons rose after the arrival of Columbus, clearly an issue of mutation of the ecosystem. By introducing so much flora and fauna to different continents, it tampered with the natural order and consequentially created wilderness. During a trip to Satarem, located in the Amazon, Mann contemplates the future of preserving wildlife. Most environmentalists, coming from wealthy or stable societies, insist that the forests of the Amazon should be kept pristine, untainted by human interference. On the side of the native Brazilians, who have a large poor population and need money and commerce, wish to level some forestland to build industry. Finally, Mann expresses his own feelings towards this debate: instead of attempting to create the past, it more far more important to build a stable future.

Question: In some cases of ecological release in the Americas, how did it alter the diet and lifestyle of the Indians? Was it possible that one certain plant or animal disrupted an ecosystem so severely that it led to famine or starvation?

Chapter 11: The Great Law of Peace

The values of equality and liberty are distinctly American, and more specifically—Native American. Deganawidah, a member of the Haudenosaunee, a loose military alliance between several Indian villages, introduced it. Because it was customary to act in revenge if a family member was injured or killed, the Indians were constantly living in an atmosphere of violence. Deganawidah and his orator Ayenwatha were determined to resolve this, spreading a message of peace and cooperation. When they approached Tododaho, leader of the Onondago to establish a peace policy, he declines, adhering to the tradition of honorable violence. As the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida and Mohawk tribes are refused to the proposal of a peaceful alliance, Deganawidah prophesizes that one day they will fall into darkness if they do not band together. The tribes are alarmed when a solar eclipse shortly follows Deganawidah’s prophecy. Beginning to form alliances with one another, rules were laid out to establish the Great Law of Peace. In the instance of a conflicting issue, the alliance would summon five sachem leaders, each a representative of the Five Nations. Though the sachems were only male, the clan leaders were female, illustrating their sense of gender equality. The Five Nations were just as interested in placing a limit on power as granting it, as they considered the opinion of the people in the event of an important issue. To contradict the traditional view of Indians as a backwards society, the Five Nations is a democratic and libertarian institution that was initiated at a time when Europe was still struggling with authoritarian rule. Some new Puritan settlers found this mindset of freedom so appealing that they abandoned their people to live with Massachusetts Indians. Not to be confused with “noble savage” notion, Indians led a lifestyle of simplicity and purity, displaying a deep connection to the earth around them. The U.S. Constitution serves the same purpose as the Great Law of Peace although there are differing details. Both aim to maintain a representative parliament that protects the civil rights of the people.

Question: Though the Five Nations is ideal in theory, how effective was it in practice? Even when considering the opinions of the people, it is still necessary to maintain a firm grasp of power.