Follow the Corn

● Humans started out as hunter gatherers and slowly populated all continents by
moving
○ The humans that originated from Sub-Saharan Africa started migrating
■ The descendents of these humans populated all places
○ 12k years ago - start of agriculture - women domesticated wild plants
● America - Birthplace of agriculture
○ Domestication of plants happened in mainly 7 places around the world
■ 3 of these 7 were in the Americas (Valley of Mexico, Central
America, South-Central andes which is in South America)
● These 3 were corn based
■ Other of the 7 were river systems like tigris euphrates and nile,
Sub-Saharan Africa, and the yellow river (north china), and Yangtze
river (south china)
● In these 7 places, Agricultural societies coexisted with
hunting, fishing, and gathering groups on their borders.
● Gradually, farming societies grew and absorbed neighboring
groups into their civilizations.
○ This assimilation didn't occur in regions unsuitable for
agriculture.
○ Hunting, fishing, and gathering communities remained
separate in inhospitable regions.
The Sacred Corn Food
● Native American agriculture was based on corn
○ Traces of corn go 10k years back in central mexico
■ Corn production spread everywhere
○ Corn was considered sacred and a gift of god to the indigenous americans
■ No evidence of corn in other places until Columbus spread it to
other continents
■ Corn can’t grow in the wild and it needs human care
● Mesoamericans also cultivated beans and squash
○ Corn is a summer crop, it needs water every 20-30 days depending on
temp
■ Corn was in a lot of arid places, so complex irrigation systems
emerged
● Growth of agriculture happened due to lots of commercial and cultural
interactions between people in north and south america
○ This grain production impressed the European colonialists
● The french notes the immense amount of corn in the Iroquois village, and this
along with beans and squash led to a dense population
 ○ Population of 100 mill of the entire hemisphere by the end of the 15th
century
● Europe population had about 50m and there were a lot of people in mexico
○ Populations in the Americas were ok because not much disease
■ Not much disease because the people bathed and had good
hygiene and they used herbal medicine.
Up From Mexico:
● Similar to other major continents (Eurasia and Africa), civilizations in the
Americas also originated from specific population centers.
○ Centers were very crucial
○ These civilizations went through cycles of growth, decline, and
disintegration, similar to the patterns seen in Eurasia and Africa.
● The Americas had around twelve significant population centers that were active
before European involvement.
○ Mesoamerica = central america
● South America influence shaped the North (present time US)
● First big cultivators of corn were the mayans
○ They built city states
■ Mayan civilization were governed by a combined nobility and
priesthood
■ They already had commercial classes and cities had many people
● There were exploitative relationships: the nobility got
servants who were prisoners of war, orphans, debtors, and
criminals
○ They were forced to work
■ This exploitation along with the taxing people
did led to the collapse of the state bc it caused
uprisings
● This caused decentralized governments
to form
○ Mayan culture is very cool
■ Religion was constructed around corn
■ Mayans had art, architecture, sculptures, paintings, and used gold
and silver for jewelry and stuff
● Gold and silver was not currency
■ Very good at math - understood the concept of 0 and had unique
calendars along with an extensive dating system
● Astronomers today are surprised even with their
observations of the cosmos and systems
 ○ Mayan science and culture influenced the entire
region
● During the time of Mayan development, the Olmec civilization was in the Valley of
Mexico and they built the big city known as Teotihuacan
○ Then, the toltecs dominated over the Olmec and reigned for four centuries
(750-1150 AD)
■ The toltecs made big buildings, sculptures, and cities with libraries
and universities
● They had a written language based on the Mayan one and
they used a similar calendar
■ Another nation, Culhua made the city state of Culhuacan on Lake
texcoco
● They also built a city-state called texcoco
○ Later on, the tepanec people conquered Culhuacan
and all the people
○ They also conquered tenochtitlan
■ The Aztecs also entered the valley and were involved with the
toppling of the toltecs
● The Aztecs + Texcoco ppl + Tlacopan people beat the
Tepanec rule and eventually overtook the entire valley of
mexico
○ The Aztecs were the strongest of the three in the
alliance, and so they put all of mexico under their own
tributary authority
○ All of this was similar to the events in Europe like the mongols taking over
■ Aztec’s economic base was once again, corn (central crop), and
other stuff like beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, and more which all
contributed to a huge population
● Aztecs also grew tobacco and cotton, cotton used for clothes
● Lots of weaving and metalwork, which helped art
○ Huge castles, dams, and canals were built
○ Each city had a market and there were trade routes
left from the Toltecs
○ Aztecs got turquoise from miners who mined in the southwest US and sold
in central mexico
■ These people were called pueblos
● This material was used as money
● There were so many turquoise artifacts left from them,
showing how valuable it is
■ There were other valuable items like salt,
 ■ Many places had distinct items that were traded
● Turquoise was used to acquire macaw and parrot feathers for religious rituals.
They also bought seashells and meat

Traders from Mexico played a role in spreading cultural elements:

○ Transmitted the Sun Dance religion to the Great Plains region.
○ Spread the practice of corn cultivation among Algonquin, Cherokee, and
Muskogee peoples in the eastern half of North America.
○ These cultural exchanges were facilitated by traders from Central
America.
● There is written evidence of these interactions
○ Aztecs, Cherokees, and Choctaws have documented relations with
Central America
○ Muskogee (Creek) history similarly references migration from Mexico

● The Aztecs were economically, militarily, and politically strong, but they lost to
spanish invasion
○ Their big tribute ask caused lots of rebellions
■ Montezuma II became leader in 1503
■ He aimed to reform the regime, but the Spanish arrived and
thwarted his plans
○ The Spanish led by Cortés conducted a three-year war.
■ Mexican state was crushed, cities destroyed
■ Cortés relied on alliances with resistant communities across Mexico
to topple Aztec rule
○ Cortés and his small European force couldn't have conquered Aztecs
alone
■ Indigenous revolts, allied with Cortés, played a crucial role
● Indigenous allies weren't aware of Spanish goals or
European support
● Resistant groups allied to overthrow oppressive Aztec rule
didn't anticipate Spanish colonization's objectives
The North:
● US Southwest and Aztec Influence:
○ US Southwest was part of the northern edge of the Aztec's territory in
Valley of Mexico.
○ Included modern Mexican states: Sonora, Sinaloa, and Chihuahua.
● Region Characteristics:
○ US Southwest: Alpine, arid, and semiarid terrain.
○ Rivers cutting through the area.
 ○ Fragile land base, scarce rainfall, and frequent droughts.
● Agricultural Development:
○ In Sonoran Desert (southern Arizona today):
○ Agriculture began around 2100 BC.
○ Irrigation canals were constructed as early as 1250 BC.

● Corn introduced around 2000 BC through trade and migration in this area
○ Around 1500 BC, people farther north cultivated corn, beans, squash, and
cotton.
● Ancestral People: Hohokam (Huhugam):
○ Descendants were known as Akimel O'odham ( aka Pimas)
■ Their ancestors, the Huhugam were referred to as "Hohokam"
● Hohokam Achievements:
○ Left behind ball courts similar to Mayans'.
○ Constructed multistory buildings and managed agricultural fields.
○ Notably, established an extensive irrigation canal network.
■ Extensive Irrigation Canal System:
■ Active during AD 900 to 1450.
● Over 800 miles of trunk canals and numerous branch canals.
● Longest canal spanned twenty miles.
● Largest canals 75-85 feet across, 20 feet deep, clay-lined
and leak-proof.
● Agricultural Impact:
○ Canal system irrigated around 10,000 acres.
○ Surplus crops grown for export, facilitating a robust trade network.
○ Hohokam community became a significant trade crossroads, connecting
regions from Mexico to Great Plains.
● By the 14th century, Hohokam population dispersed into smaller communities.
● Ancestors of the Pueblos, Anasazi, thrived in the four corner region of Arizona,
New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado (from 850-1250)
○ Location was called the Chaco Canyon
○ They made huge roads going 400 miles out from Chaco. 30 ft wide
■ The highways connected many communities (75)
● 13th century - Anasazi ppl abandoned the area and migrated
● They built almost 100 small agricultural city states near the
Rio Grande Valley
○ They had a big trade center with valuable items and
the trade extended to the pacifici ocean, great plains,
and central america (center was called Taos Pueblo,
 and they had buffalo products, bird products, copper,
shells and turquoise from different places)
● Another big group was the - Navajos (dine’) and Apaches
○ Most of the Dine’ did not migrate but stayed in NW canada/alaska
■ These people were originally hunters and traders but after
interacting and marrying pueblos, the Navajo and Apache were
involved in conflicts on how water should be used.
● The Diné and Apache groups took sides, aligning
themselves with one of the river-based city-states that were
involved in the conflict.
Island Peoples and Their Role:
● Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Basin island peoples were essential in cultural,
religious, and economic interactions.
● Interactions spanned regions from Guyana to Florida, including various countries
and territories.
○ Water as Connection, Not Barrier:
○ Water served as a connecting factor rather than hindrance.
■ Facilitated trade and cultural relations among different regions.
Precolonial Caribbean and Cultural Loss:
● Caribbean cultures and connections are poorly understood.
Many island peoples suffered due to Columbus's colonization efforts:
● Annihilation, enslavement, deportation.
● Later, African populations assimilated due to Atlantic slave trade.
Prominent Indigenous Peoples:
● Caribs, Arawaks, Tainos, and Chibchan-speaking peoples.
Maroon Descendants and Liberation:
● Descendants of Maroons: Mixed Indigenous and African communities are seen in
the Caribbean
○ Successfully liberated from slavery, like the Garifuna ("Black Caribs") (got
free)

● The region stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and south
to the Gulf of Mexico was incredibly fertile for agriculture.
○ This area was intersected by major rivers, there was lots of water, plants,
animals, and a mild climate
○ Multiple agricultural societies inhabited this region due to its favorable
conditions.
○ During the 12th century, the Mississippi Valley boasted a prominent
city-state called Cahokia, along with several other large city-states.
 ■ These cities featured earthen pyramids that resembled those seen
in Mexico .
● Cahokia had a population exceeding London at the time (10s
of thousands), and they had many huge monuments of
animals, such as a 1330 ft long serpent
■ These monuments show how advanced they were
● The Europeans called them mound builders and they had
left the area before the settlers came
○ Even though they left, their influence spread through
culture and trade
● In the south-east region, Europeans found nations of villages
based on corn
○ This place was of the Cherokee, Chickasaw,
Choctaw, Muskogee Cree, Seminole, and Natchez
nations

● The north considered the Haudenosaunee confederacy, also called the Six
Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, composed of Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga,
Oneida, Mohawk Nations, and later the Tuscaroras to be impressive. This
alliance with the 6 nations spread all over the Great Lakes to the Atlantic and it
went south to the Caronlinas and Pennsylvania. The Haudenosaunee members
did not want to have central authority, so instead they had a clan-village
democracy which was overseen by clan mothers who distributed the main crop,
corn. Other nations thrived in this region, such as Anishinaabe Nation

● Pacific NorthWest region - From Alaska Down to San Francisco, fishers and
seafarers thrived, linked by culture and trade
○ These people were wealthy, had many natural resources, including the
sacred salmon
■ They invented potlatch - ceremony where they distributed
accumulated goods
● They made big totems out of different woods
● The community was diverse including the Tlingit people,
salmon-fishing Salish, Hoopa, Makah, Pomo, Karok and
Yurok ppl

● Region between nevada and the rocky mountains (aka great basin now) was
harsh and had a small population before the Europeans came
○ However, the Shoshone, Paiute, and Ute people built permanent villages
and somehow lived
Government Types:
● Each Indigenous group, city-state, or town functioned as an autonomous and
self-governing entity.
● Other groups were considered equal and they dealt with their own problems
○ Common language, shared belief systems, rituals, and extended family
clans linked the nations
○ Decision making was based on agreement, not majority rule
■ This approach perplexed colonial agents who were accustomed to
bribing or manipulating officials
○ Indigenous peoples in western North America were sovereign nations
(one ruler)
■ Spanish, French, British, and later US colonizers negotiated
treaties with these Indigenous governments

Indigenous Governance Structure:

● Most powerful clan's male elder served as executive.
○ The executives decisions were approved by council of elders from
represented clans
○ This setup granted the town sovereignty over internal matters
■ Each town had a sacred fire representing its connection to spirit
beings
■ Towns could unite under one leader, forming confederacies or
federations as termed by English colonists.
● Haudenosaunee people maintain this government structure
today
● Their constitution, the Great Law of Peace, influenced
essential aspects of the US Constitution
○ key principles: peace, equity, justice, unity, collective
intellect
■ Oren Lyons, faithkeeper of turtle clan and onondaga council of chief
member, says that the constitution is about peace, justice, unity,
and smart decisions

Government Structure in the Southeast:

● Muskogees (Creeks), Seminoles, and other Southeastern peoples had three
government branches:
○ Civil administration
○ Military
○ Sacred matters
● The leaders of the branches were taken from the elite and other officials came
from important clans
○ Before European colonialism, the indigenous had traditions of diplomacy
■ Elaborate ceremonial structures for diplomatic meetings existed
among eastern societies.
■ Federations of sovereign towns featured a central fire representing
the group.
■ Each town sent representatives to the council, ensuring
comprehensive representation in decision-making
● Agreements in these meetings were sacred pledges to them
and the spirits
○ The sanctity of the agreements led nations to uphold
them, due to respect for the spiritual aspect involved
● relations with the spirit world held significant importance in governing.

● Women had varying roles

○ Southern Nations:
■ Among Muskogees and other southern nations, women had limited
involvement in government.
○ Haudenosaunee and Cherokee Women:
■ Haudenosaunee and Cherokee women held more significant
political authority.
■ In Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nations like Mohawks, Oneidas,
Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras:
● Specific female lineages had authority to select male
representatives for clan councils.
● These women could also speak in councils.
● Women might represent inexperienced chosen males.
● Haudenosaunee clan mothers could recall ineffective
representatives.
● The societies operated based on a value system that emphasized the
community's interest over individual interests.
○ Consensus building and decision making were driven by this value
system.
● After all council members expressed their opinions:
○ If someone still disagreed with a decision, they might still accept it for
community unity.
● In rare instances where consensus couldn't be reached:
○ Dissenting segment might choose to separate from the community.
○ They would found a new community elsewhere.
 ● This practice resembled the approach of around one hundred independent towns
in northern New Mexico.
○ Indigenous peoples had deeply influenced and inhabited every part of the
Americas.
■ They established trade networks, roads, and adapted to various
natural environments.
○ They shaped nature to meet human needs
■ Indigenous people in North America used fire to shape the
landscape, a practice described by Mann.
○ In the Northeast, Indigenous farmers carried flints, setting fire to the land
wherever they traveled.
■ Torches were employed for night hunting.
■ Rings of flame encircled animals for hunting purpose
○ Rather than domesticating animals, Indigenous communities created
habitats to attract game like elk, deer, and bear.
■ Controlled burns in forests encouraged growth of grasses and
ground cover, which attracted herbivores and predators.
● This ensured a sustainable source of food
○ Early European explorers observed forests with strategically spaced trees
for accessibility
■ Ohio's forested areas resembled English parks, allowing carriages
to drive through
Bison Herds in the East:
● Bison herds spanned the East from New York to Georgia.
● The settler city Buffalo in western New York reflects this presence.

Bison Import to the East:

● Bison were originally native to the northern and southern plains, not the East.
● Native peoples brought bison to the East by transforming forests into habitats
using fire.
Haudenosaunee's Role:
● Historian William Cronon notes that the Haudenosaunee actively created a
buffalo food source when they hunted them.

Transformation of Great Plains:

● The "Great American Desert" (Great Plains) was transformed into game farms.
● Native occupants extended and maintained giant grasslands using fire.

● Also the Native Americans made very good and successful gardens
 ● Native American trails were not just simply to hunt animals, but instead they
helped during migration. They made complex roadways that made short,
medium, and long travel possible. These roadways were what the settlers
converted into highways
○ There were many systems of roads going everywhere
○ Indigenous road systems in North America developed along rivers and
coastlines.

Corn:
● In 1492, North America wasn't an untouched wilderness but a network of
Indigenous nations, known as "peoples of the corn."
● The diffusion of corn from Mesoamerica reveals a connection between North and
South.
● Muskogees and Cherokees from the Southeast trace their lineage to migration
from Mexico or through it.
○ US military activities and relocations led to the division of groups, with
Muskogee and Cherokee seeking safety in Mexico.
● The Green Corn Dance, a significant practice among Muskogee, mirrors
elements of rituals in the Valley of Mexico.
○ The dance centers around honoring the ancestral corn woman's
contribution.
● This counters the misconception of pre colonial North America as solely
inhabited by Neolithic hunters, highlighting advanced agricultural civilizations.
○ Colonialism disrupted connections, but there are present efforts to restore
them.