29.8 America: a.d. 1401 to 1500  (Page 2/9)

The Mississippian Culture, which has been discussed in previous chapters, reached its climax about A.D. 1500, with the unique southern cult which included pyramids grouped around a central square or plaza with a wood, wattle and daub and thatch temple on its summit. These had a strong suggestion of influence from Mesoamerica. One of the most notable temple sites was Cahokia, at St. Louis, where groupings of pyramids and burial mounds cover several square miles. The largest is 104 feet high and covers 16 acres.

Bizarre articles of copper, shell, stone, wood and clay in some mounds in the south show a preoccupation with violence and death. Apparently southern Indians had kept captive slaves for centuries. For example: when the Whites arrived in the next century, the Lower Creeks had Yamasee slaves. The standard beverage in Mississippian times was the "black drink", usually made from parched leaves of the yaupon, a type of holly. (Ref. 88 , 267 )

In the southwest something happened to the Hohokams about A.D. 1450 and their climb toward civilization rather abruptly ceased and their society collapsed, cause unknown. Their descendants are probably the unassuming Pima, living in modest pithouse villages, much like their ancestors did a thousand years before. (Ref. 269 ) Pueblo Indians remained scattered across the southwest, but chiefly in the Albuquerque, Sante Fe, Taos area. Kiva walls in the great 1,000 room complex at Kuaua, north of Albuquerque, had 85 coats of plaster, with paintings of spirit dancers invoking rain and other blessings. (Ref. 277 )

Designs similar to, but smaller than the famous giant, ground drawings near Nazca, Peru, have been found near Blythe, California overlooking the Colorado River. These are judged to date to this 15th century, are of human and animal forms and have been extensively photographed by archeologist Jay von Werlhof and photographer Harry Casey over a several year period. One 75 foot tall, human effigy resembles the broad-shouldered figures of Navaho sand paintings. Another human caricature is 170 feet high and may represent Ha-ak, a mythical creature, who ate children. (Ref. 290 )

Mexico, central america, and the caribbean

A number of city-states had arisen as heirs of the Mexican Toltec priest-state, including the Totonac, Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya and then the Circun-Caribbean groups. One of these, Tenochtitlan, along with two lessor cities gained military predominance and held a loose power over most of central Mexico. After A.D. 1431, under the chieftains Itzcoatl and Moctzuma I, the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan mastered the other tribes of the valley and then crossed the mountains and dominated southern Mexico, as well. These Aztecs attained a high degree of development in engineering, architecture, art, mathematics and astronomy, whether through their own endeavors completely or through adoption of culture from pre-existing societies. Picture writing, rapidly approaching phonetics, was developed and agriculture, gold and silver workings, pottery and textiles were advanced. Moctezuma I and Nezahualcoyotl, king of Texcoco, an allied city-state, built a 9 mile long dam in Lake Texcoco, to separate salt water from fresh. Aztec aquaculture harvested spirolina, a high protein algae, carried as rations by warriors. It is still exported to Japan as a condiment, in the amount of 700 tons a year. The Aztec language was Nahuatl and 1,200,000 Mexicans still speak it today. Such world words as "chocolate", "tomato", "tamale" and "chili" have come directly from this source. (Ref. 138 )