Invention of the saxophone. From the history of the creation of the saxophone

Signing of the Mayflower Compact
began to develop the northeastern coast of America, including the delivery of English colonists to the continent. Numerous immigrants traveled to the New World with families and even entire communities at their own expense. A significant part of the new arrivals were young women, whose appearance the single male population of the colonies greeted with sincere enthusiasm, paying the costs of their “transportation” from Europe at the rate of 120 pounds of tobacco per head.
Huge plots of land, hundreds of thousands of hectares, were allocated by the British crown for the full ownership of representatives English nobility as a gift or for a nominal fee. The English aristocracy, interested in the development of their new property, advanced large sums for the delivery of compatriots they recruited and their settlement on the received lands. Despite the extreme attractiveness of the conditions existing in the New World for newly arriving colonists, during these years there was a clear lack of human resources, primarily due to the fact that cruise Only a third of the ships and people embarking on the dangerous journey covered 5 thousand kilometers - two thirds died on the way. The new land was not particularly hospitable, meeting the colonists with frosts unusual for Europeans, harsh natural conditions and, as a rule, a hostile attitude of the Indian population.
In late August 1619, a Dutch ship arrived in Virginia bringing the first black Africans to America, twenty of whom were immediately purchased by the colonists as servants. Blacks began to turn into lifelong slaves, and in the 60s. XVII century slave status in Virginia and Maryland became hereditary. The slave trade became a permanent element of commercial transactions between East Africa
and the American colonies. African leaders readily traded their people for textiles, household items, gunpowder, and weapons imported from New England and the American South.
In December 1620, an event occurred that went down in American history as the beginning of the purposeful colonization of the continent by the British - the Mayflower ship arrived on the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts with 102 Calvinist Puritans, rejected by the traditional Anglican Church and who later did not find sympathy in Holland. These people, who called themselves pilgrims, considered moving to America the only way to preserve their religion. While still on board a ship crossing the ocean, they entered into an agreement between themselves, called the Mayflower Compact. It reflected in the most general form the ideas of the first American colonists about democracy, self-government and civil liberties. These ideas were developed later in similar agreements reached by the colonists of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and in later documents of American history, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Having lost half the members of their community, but surviving on a land they had not yet explored in the harsh conditions of the first American winter and the subsequent crop failure, the colonists set an example for their compatriots and other Europeans who arrived in the New World ready for the hardships that awaited them.
After 1630, at least a dozen small towns arose in Plymouth Colony, the first colony of New England, which later became the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in which newly arriving English Puritans settled. Immigration wave 1630-1643 delivered to New England approx. 20 thousand people, at least 45 thousand more, chose the colonies of the American South or the islands of Central America for their place of residence.
For 75 years after the appearance of the first English colony, Virgie, in 1607 on the territory of the modern United States

12 more colonies arose - New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The credit for their founding did not always belong to subjects of the British crown. In 1624, on the island of Manhattan in Hudson Bay [named after the English captain G. Hudson (Hudson), who discovered it in 1609, who was in the Dutch service], Dutch fur traders founded a province called New Netherlands, with the main city of New Amsterdam. The land on which this city was built was purchased in 1626 by a Dutch colonist from the Indians for $24. The Dutch were never able to achieve any significant socio-economic development of their only colony in the New World.
After 1648 and until 1674, England and Holland fought three times, and during these 25 years, in addition to military actions, there was a continuous and fierce economic struggle between them. In 1664, New Amsterdam was captured by the British under the command of the king's brother, the Duke of York, who renamed the city New York. During the Anglo-Dutch War of 1673-1674. The Netherlands managed to restore their power in this territory for a short time, but after the defeat of the Dutch in the war, the British again took possession of it. From then until the end of the American Revolution in 1783 from r. Kennebec to Florida, from New England to the Lower South, the Union Jack flew over the entire northeastern coast of the continent.

From school we are told that America settled by residents of Asia, who moved there in groups across the Bering Isthmus (in the place where the strait is now). They settled throughout the New World after a huge glacier began to melt 14-15 thousand years ago. Did the indigenous population of America really come to the continent (or rather two continents) in this way?!

However, recent discoveries by archaeologists and geneticists have shaken this harmonious theory. It turns out that America was populated more than once, this was done by some strange peoples, almost related to the Australians, and besides, it is not clear by what transport the first “Indians” got to the extreme south of the New World.

Population of America. First version

Until the end of the 20th century, American anthropology was dominated by the “first Clovis” hypothesis, according to which this culture of ancient mammoth hunters, which appeared 12.5-13.5 thousand years ago, was the oldest in the New World.

According to this hypothesis, people who came to Alaska could survive on ice-free land, because there was quite a bit of snow here, but then the path to the south was blocked by glaciers until the period 14-16 thousand years ago, because of which settlement in the Americas only began after the end of the last glaciation.

The hypothesis was harmonious and logical, but in the second half of the 20th century some discoveries that were incompatible with it were made. In the 1980s, Tom Dillehay, during excavations in Monte Verde (southern Chile), found that people had been there at least 14.5 thousand years ago. This caused a strong reaction from the scientific community: it turned out that the discovered culture was 1.5 thousand years older than Clovis in North America.

In order not to rewrite students and not change their view of the characteristics of the American population, most American anthropologists simply denied the discovery scientific credibility. Already during the excavations, Deley faced a powerful attack on his professional reputation, it came to the closure of funding for excavations and attempts to declare Monte Verde a phenomenon not related to archaeology.

Only in 1997 did he manage to confirm a dating of 14 thousand years, which caused a deep crisis in understanding the ways of settling America. At that time, there were no places of such ancient settlement in North America, which raised the question of where exactly people could get to Chile.

Recently, the Chileans invited Deley to continue the excavations. Under the influence of the sad experience of twenty years of excuses, he at first refused. “I was fed up,” the scientist explained his position. However, he ultimately agreed and discovered tools at the MVI site, undoubtedly made by man, whose antiquity was 14.5-19 thousand years.

History repeated itself: archaeologist Michael Waters immediately questioned the discoveries. In his opinion, the finds may be simple stones, vaguely similar to tools, which means that the traditional chronology of the settlement of America is still out of danger.

Delay's "guns" found

Seaside nomads

To understand how justified the criticism of the new work is, we turned to anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky (MSU). According to him, the tools found are indeed very primitive (processed on one side), but made from materials not found in Monte Verde. Quartz for a significant part of them had to be brought from afar, that is, such objects cannot have a natural origin.

The scientist noted that systematic criticism of discoveries of this kind is quite understandable: “When you teach in school and university that America was settled in a certain way, it is not so easy to abandon this point of view.”

Mammoths in Beringia

The conservatism of American researchers is also understandable: in North America, recognized finds date back to a period thousands of years later than the period indicated by Deley. And what about the theory that before the glacier melted, the ancestors of the Indians blocked by it could not settle south?

However, Drobyshevsky notes, there is nothing supernatural in the more ancient dates of the Chilean sites. The islands along what is now Canada's Pacific coast were not covered by a glacier, and remains of bears from the times have been found there. ice age. This means that people could easily spread along the coast, crossing by boat and without going deep into the then inhospitable North America.

Australian footprint

However, the strangeness of the settlement of America does not end with the fact that the first reliable discoveries of the ancestors of the Indians were made in Chile. Not long ago it turned out that the genes of the Aleuts and groups of Brazilian Indians have features characteristic of the genes of the Papuans and Australian aborigines.

As the Russian anthropologist emphasizes, the data of geneticists fits well with the results of the analysis of skulls previously found in South America and having features close to Australian ones.

In his opinion, most likely, the Australian trace in South America is associated with a common ancestral group, part of which moved to Australia tens of thousands of years ago, while others migrated along the coast of Asia north, up to Beringia, and from there reached the South American continent .

The appearance of Luzia is the name of a woman who lived 11 thousand years ago, whose remains were discovered in a Brazilian cave.

As if this were not enough, genetic studies in 2013 showed that the Brazilian Botacudó Indians are close in mitochondrial DNA to the Polynesians and some of the inhabitants of Madagascar. Unlike the Australoids, the Polynesians could easily have reached South America by sea. At the same time, the traces of their genes in eastern Brazil, and not on the Pacific coast, are not so easy to explain.

It turns out that for some reason a small group of Polynesian sailors did not return after landing, but overcame the Andean highlands, which were unusual for them, to settle in Brazil. One can only guess about the motives for such a long and difficult overland journey for typical seafarers.

So, a small proportion of American natives have traces of genes that are very distant from the genome of the rest of the Indians, which contradicts the idea of ​​​​a single group of ancestors from Beringia.

30 thousand years before us

However, there are also more radical deviations from the idea of ​​settling America in one wave and only after the melting of the glacier. In the 1970s, Brazilian archaeologist Nieda Guidon discovered the cave site of Pedra Furada (Brazil), where, in addition to primitive tools, there were many fire pits, the age of which radiocarbon analysis showed from 30 to 48 thousand years.

It is easy to understand that such figures caused great resentment among North American anthropologists. The same Deley criticized radiocarbon dating, noting that traces could remain after a fire of natural origin.

Guidon reacted sharply to such opinions of her colleagues from the United States in Latin American language: “A fire of natural origin cannot arise deep in a cave. American archaeologists need to write less and dig more.”

Drobyshevsky emphasizes that although no one has yet been able to challenge the dating of the Brazilians, the doubts of the Americans are quite understandable. If people were in Brazil 40 thousand years ago, where did they go later and where are the traces of their presence in other parts of the New World?

Toba volcano eruption

The history of mankind knows cases when the first colonizers of new lands almost completely died out, leaving no significant traces. This happened with Homo sapiens, who settled in Asia. Their first traces there date back to a period up to 125 thousand years ago, but geneticists say that all of humanity descended from a population that came out of Africa much later - only 60 thousand years ago.

There is a hypothesis that the reason for this could be the extinction of the then Asian part as a result of the eruption of the Toba volcano 70 thousand years ago. The energy of this event is considered to exceed the total power of all combined nuclear weapons ever created by humanity.

However, even an event more powerful than nuclear war would be difficult to explain the disappearance of significant human populations. Some researchers note that neither Neanderthals, nor Denisovans, nor even Homo floresiensis, who lived relatively close to Toba, became extinct from the explosion.

And judging by individual finds in South India, local Homo sapiens, traces of which are in the genes, did not become extinct at that time modern people for some reason it is not observed. Thus, the question of where the people who settled in South America 40 thousand years ago could have gone remains open and to some extent casts doubt on the most ancient finds such as Pedra Furada.

Genetics vs genetics

Not only archaeological data often come into conflict, but also such seemingly reliable evidence as genetic markers. This summer, Maanasa Raghavan's group from the Copenhagen Museum natural history announced that genetic analysis data refutes the idea that more than one wave of ancient settlers participated in the settlement of America.

According to them, genes close to Australians and Papuans appeared in the New World later than 9 thousand years ago, when America was already populated by people from Asia.

At the same time, the work of another group of geneticists led by Pontus Skoglund came out, which, based on the same material, made the opposite statement: a certain ghost population appeared in the New World either 15 thousand years ago, or even earlier, and, perhaps, settled there before the Asian wave of migration, from which the ancestors of the vast majority of modern Indians originated.

In their opinion, the relatives of the Australian Aborigines crossed the Bering Strait only to be forced out by the subsequent wave of “Indian” migration, whose representatives came to dominate the Americas, pushing the few descendants of the first wave into the Amazon jungle and the Aleutian Islands.

Ragnavan's reconstruction of the peopling of America

If even geneticists cannot agree among themselves about whether the “Indian” or “Australian” components became the first aborigines of America, it is even more difficult for everyone else to understand this issue. And yet something can be said about this: skulls similar in shape to Papuan ones have been found on the territory of modern Brazil for more than 10 thousand years.

The scientific picture of the settlement of the Americas is very complex, and at the present stage is changing significantly. It is clear that groups of different origins took part in the settlement of the New World - at least two, not counting the small Polynesian component that appeared later than the others.

It is also obvious that at least some of the settlers were able to colonize the continent despite the glacier - bypassing it in boats or on ice. At the same time, the pioneers subsequently moved along the coast, quite quickly reaching the south of modern Chile. Apparently, the first Americans were very mobile, expansive, and skilled in the use of water transport.

The history of the peoples of the American continent before their meeting with Europeans in the 16th century. developed independently and almost without interaction with the history of the peoples of other continents. The written monuments of ancient America are very scarce, and those available have not yet been read. Therefore, the history of the American peoples has to be reconstructed mainly from archaeological and ethnographic data, as well as from oral tradition recorded during the period of European colonization.

At the time of the European invasion of America, the level of development of its peoples was not the same in different parts of the continent. The tribes of most of North and South America were at different stages of the primitive communal system, and the peoples of Mexico, Central America and the western part of South America were already developing class relations at that time; they created high civilizations. It was these peoples who were the first to be conquered; Spanish conquerors in the 16th century. destroyed their states and culture and enslaved them.

Initial settlement of America

America was settled from Northeast Asia by tribes related to the Mongoloids of Siberia. In my own way anthropological type American Indians and, to an even greater extent, Eskimos, who moved to America later, are similar to the population of North and East Asia and are part of the large Mongoloid race. The development of vast spaces of the new continent with alien natural conditions, alien flora and fauna presented difficulties for the settlers, overcoming which required great effort and a long time.

The resettlement could have begun at the end of the Ice Age, when there was obviously a land bridge between Asia and America at the site of the present Bering Strait. In the post-glacial era, resettlement could also continue by sea. Judging by geological and paleontological data, the settlement of America occurred 25-20 thousand years before our time. The Eskimos settled along the Arctic coast in the 1st millennium AD. e. or even later. Tribes of hunters and fishermen who migrated in separate groups, whose material culture stood at the Mesolithic level, moved in search of prey, as can be concluded from archaeological sites, from north to south along the Pacific coast. The similarity of some elements of the culture of the indigenous population of South America with the culture of the peoples of Oceania gave rise to the theory of the settlement of the entire American continent from Oceania. There is no doubt that connections between Oceania and South America in ancient times took place and played famous role in the settlement of this part of America. However, some similar cultural elements could develop independently, and the possibility of later borrowings cannot be ruled out. For example, the sweet potato culture spread from South America to Oceania, banana and sugar cane were brought to America from Asia.

Ethnographic and linguistic data indicate that the movements of ancient Indian tribes took place over vast areas, and often tribes of one language family found themselves settled between tribes of other language families. The main reason for these migrations was obviously the need to increase the land area for extensive farming (hunting, gathering). However, the chronology and specific historical context in which these migrations took place remain unclear.

1. North America

By the beginning of the 16th century. The population of North America consisted of a large number of tribes and nationalities. According to the type of economy and historical and ethnographic community, they were divided into the following groups: coastal hunters and fishermen of the Arctic zone - Eskimos and Aleuts; anglers and hunters of the northwest coast; hunters of the northern strip of what is now Canada; farmers of eastern and southeastern North America; buffalo hunters - prairie tribes; wild seed gatherers, fishermen and hunters - the tribes of California; peoples with developed irrigated agriculture in the southwest and south of North America.

Tribes of the Arctic Coast

The main type of production activity of the Eskimos was hunting seals, walruses, whales, polar bears and arctic foxes, as well as fishing. The weapons were darts and harpoons with movable bone tips. A spear thrower was used. Fish were caught with fishing rods with bone hooks. Walrus and seal provided the Eskimo with almost everything they needed: meat and fat were used for food, fat was also used for heating and lighting the home, the skin served to cover the boat, and it was used to make a canopy for the inside of the snow hut. The fur of bears and arctic foxes, the skins of deer and musk ox were used to make clothes and shoes.

The Eskimos ate most of their food raw, which protected them from scurvy. The name Eskimos comes from the Indian word “eskimantyik”, which means “raw meat eaters”.

Northwest Coast Indians

Typical of this group were the Tlingits. Their main source of subsistence was fishing; Salmon fish constituted their main diet. The lack of plant food was compensated by collecting wild berries and fruits, as well as algae. For each type of fish or sea animal there were special harpoons, darts, spears, and nets. The Tlingits used polished bone and stone tools. Of the metals, they knew only copper, which they found in its native form; it was cold forged. Hammered copper tiles served as a medium of exchange. Pottery was not known. Food was cooked in wooden vessels by throwing hot stones into the water.

This tribe had neither agriculture nor animal husbandry. The only domesticated animal was the dog, which was used for hunting. An interesting way is how the Tlingits obtained wool: they drove wild sheep and goats into fenced areas, sheared them and released them again. Capes were woven from wool, and later shirts were made from wool fabric.

The Tlingit lived part of the year on the ocean shore. Here they hunted sea animals, mainly sea otter. The houses were built from logs planed with stone adze, without windows, with a smoke hole in the roof and a small door. In the summer, the Tlingit went upstream to fish for salmon and gather fruits in the forests.

The Tlingit, like other Indians of the northwest coast, had a developed exchange. Dry fish, ground into powder, fish oil and furs were exchanged for cedar products, spear and arrow tips, as well as various decorations made of bone and stone. The subject of exchange were also slaves-prisoners of war.

The basic social unit of the northwestern tribes was the clan. Clans, named after totem animals, were united into phratries. Individual tribes stood at different stages of transition from the maternal to the paternal clan; among the Tlingits, at birth, a child received the name of the maternal family, but in adolescence he was given a second name - according to the paternal family. Upon marriage, the groom worked for the bride’s parents for a year or two, then the young couple went to join the husband’s clan. The particularly close relationship between the maternal uncle and nephews, partial inheritance on the maternal side, the relatively free position of women - all these features indicate that the tribes of the north-west coast retained significant vestiges of matriarchy. There was a household community (barabora), which ran a common household. The development of exchange contributed to the accumulation of surplus among elders and leaders. Frequent wars and the capture of slaves further increased their wealth and power.

The presence of slavery - characteristic the social structure of these tribes. The folklore of the Tlingit, like some other northwestern tribes, paints a picture of an embryonic form of slavery: slaves were owned by the entire clan community, or rather its divisions, barabors. Such slaves - several people per barabora - performed household chores and participated in fishing. It was patriarchal slavery with collective ownership of slave prisoners of war; slave labor did not form the basis of production, but played an auxiliary role in the economy.

Indians of eastern North America

The tribes of the eastern part of North America - the Iroquois, the Muskogean tribes, etc. - lived sedentarily, engaged in hoe farming, hunting and gathering. They made tools from wood, bone and stone, and used native copper, which was processed by cold forging. They did not know iron. The weapons were a bow and arrows, stone-tipped clubs and a tomahawk. The Algonquin word “tomahawk” then referred to a curved wooden club with a spherical thickening at the combat end, sometimes with a bone tip.

The dwelling of the coastal Algonquian tribes was a wigwam - a hut made from the trunks of young trees, the crowns of which were connected together. The dome-shaped frame formed in this way was covered with pieces of tree bark.

Among the tribes of eastern North America at the beginning of the 16th century. The primitive communal system prevailed.

The most typical of the entire group of eastern tribes were the Iroquois. The lifestyle and social structure of the Iroquois were described in the second half of the 19th century. the famous American scientist Lewis Morgan, who reconstructed the main features of their system before colonization.

The Iroquois lived around Lakes Erie and Ontario and on the Niagara River. The central part of what is now New York State was occupied by five Iroquois tribes: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk. Each tribe had a special dialect. The main source of subsistence for the Iroquois was slash-and-burn hoe farming. The Iroquois grew corn (maize), beans, peas, sunflowers, watermelons, zucchini, and tobacco. They collected wild berries, nuts, chestnuts, acorns, edible roots and tubers, and mushrooms. Their favorite delicacy was maple sap; it was boiled and consumed in the form of molasses or hardened sugar.

In the Great Lakes region, Indians collected wild rice, which formed dense thickets along the muddy shores. To collect the harvest, they went out in boats, moving with the help of long poles. The women sitting in the shuttle grabbed bunches of rice stalks, bent them ears down and, hitting them with chopsticks, knocked down the grains that fell to the bottom of the boat.

Hunting for deer, elk, beaver, otter, marten and other forest animals played an important role. They received especially a lot of loot from driven hunting. In spring and summer they fished.

The tools of the Iroquois were hoes and axes made of polished stone. Knives and arrow and spear tips were made from native copper. Pottery was developed, although without a potter's wheel. To make clothing, the Iroquois processed skins, especially deer skins, into suede.

The dwellings of the Iroquois were the so-called long houses. The basis of these houses were wooden posts driven into the ground, to which plates of tree bark were tied using bast ropes. Inside the house there was a central passage about 2 m wide; here, at a distance of approximately 6 m from one another, the hearths were located. There were holes in the roof above the fireplaces for smoke to escape. Along the walls there were wide platforms, fenced off on both sides by partitions. Each married couple had a separate sleeping area, about 4 m long, open only to the fireplace. For every four rooms, located opposite each other in pairs, there was one hearth, on which food was cooked in a common cauldron. Usually in one such house there were 5-7 hearths. Also adjacent to the house common storage rooms.

“The Long House” clearly shows the character of the smallest social unit of the Iroquois - the ovachira. Ovachira consisted of a group of blood relatives, descendants of one ancestress. It was a matriarchal-tribal community in which production and consumption were collective.

The land, the main means of production, belonged to the clan as a whole; the ovachirs used the plots allocated to them.

A man who got married went to live in the house of his wife’s ovachira and participated in the economic work of this community. At the same time, he continued to maintain belonging to his clan community, performing social, religious and other duties with his relatives. The children belonged to the ovachira and the mother's clan. Men hunted and fished together, cut down forests and cleared the soil, built houses and protected villages from enemies. Ovachira women jointly cultivated the land, sowed and planted plants, harvested crops and stored supplies in common pantries. The oldest woman was in charge of agricultural and household work, and she also distributed food supplies. Hospitality was widespread among the Iroquois. There could be no hungry people in the Iroquois village as long as there were supplies left in at least one house.

All power within the ovachira belonged to women. The head of the ovachira was a ruler chosen by women-mothers. In addition to the ruler, women-mothers chose a military leader and a “sergeant major for peacetime.” European authors called the latter a sachem, although “sachem” is an Algonquian word and the Iroquois did not use it. The rulers, sachems and military leaders formed the tribal council.

After the beginning of the colonization of America, but before the contact of the Iroquois with the Europeans, around 1570, the five Iroquois tribes formed an alliance: the League of the Iroquois. Legend attributes its organization to the mythical Hiawatha. At the head of the League was a council, which was composed of sachems of the tribes. Not only the sachems, but also ordinary members of the tribe gathered at the council. If an important issue had to be resolved, then the entire tribes of the League would gather. The elders sat around the fire, the rest were located around. Everyone could participate in the discussion, but the final decision was made by the League council; it had to be unanimous. Voting took place by tribe; each tribe thus had the right of veto. The discussion took place in strict order, with great solemnity. The Iroquois League reached its peak in the 70s of the 17th century.

Forest hunting tribes of Canada

In the forests of modern Canada lived tribes of several linguistic families: Athabaskan (Kuchina, Chaipewai), Algonquian (part of the Ojibwe-Chippewa, Montagnais-Naskapi, part of the Cree) and some others. The main occupation of these tribes was hunting caribou, elk, bear, wild sheep, etc. Fishing and collecting wild seeds were of secondary importance. The main weapons of the forest tribes were bows and arrows, clubs, clubs, spears and knives with stone tips. The forest Indians had dogs that were harnessed to wooden useless sleighs - a toboggan; they carried luggage during migrations. In the summer they used birch bark shuttles.

The Indians of the forests of the North lived and hunted in groups representing clan groups. During the winter, separate groups of hunters moved through the forest, almost without meeting each other. In the summer, groups gathered in traditional places of summer camps located along the banks of rivers. Here the exchange of hunting products, tools and weapons took place, and festivities were held. In this way, intertribal ties were maintained and barter trade developed.

Prairie Indians

Numerous Indian tribes lived on the prairies. Their most typical representatives were the Dakota, Comanche, Arapaho and Cheien. Oti tribes showed particularly stubborn resistance to European colonialists.

Despite belonging to different linguistic families, the Prairie Indians were united by common features of economic activity and culture. Their main source of subsistence was buffalo hunting. Bison provided meat and fat for food, fur and leather for clothing and shoes, and for covering huts. The prairie Indians hunted on foot, ( Only in the second half of the 18th century. The Indians tamed the horse. Once brought by the first colonists from Europe, these animals, partially feral, formed herds of so-called mustangs. The Indians caught and drove around them.) with dogs using a bow and arrow. The hunt was collective. Individual hunting was prohibited. Those who violated the ban were severely punished.

The prairie Indians did not know metal; they used stone axes and hammers, flint knives, scrapers and arrowheads. Military weapons were bows, spears and clubs with stone pommel. They used round and oval shields made of bison skin.

The home of most prairie tribes was a conical tent made of buffalo skins. In the camp, which was a temporary settlement, tents were placed in a circle - this made it more convenient to repel sudden attacks by enemies. A tribal council tent was erected in the center.

The prairie Indians lived in tribes divided into clans. Some tribes still had a matriarchal organization at the time of the arrival of Europeans. For others, the transition to paternal ancestry has already been completed.

California Indians

The California Indians were one of the most backward groups of the indigenous population of North America. A characteristic feature of this group was extreme ethnic and linguistic fragmentation; California tribes belonged to several dozen small linguistic groups.

The Indians of California knew neither settlement nor agriculture. They lived by hunting, fishing and gathering. Californians invented a way to remove tannin from acorn flour and baked cakes from it; They also learned to remove poison from the tubers of the so-called soap root. They hunted deer and small game with bows and arrows. Drive hunting was used. Californians had two types of housing. In summer they lived mainly under canopies of branches covered with leaves, or in conical huts made of poles covered with bark or branches. In winter, semi-underground dome-shaped dwellings were built. Californians wove waterproof baskets from young tree shoots or roots in which they cooked meat and fish: water poured into the basket was brought to a boil by immersing hot stones in it.

The Californians were dominated by a primitive communal system. Tribes were divided into exogamous phratries and clans. The clan community, as an economic collective, owned a common hunting territory and fishing grounds. The Californians retained significant elements of the maternal lineage: the large role of women in production, the maternal account of kinship, etc.

Indians of Southwestern North America

The most typical of this group were the Pueblo tribes. Archaeological data allows us to trace the history of the Pueblo Indians to the first centuries of our era. In the 8th century The Pueblo Indians were already engaged in agriculture and created an artificial irrigation system. They planted corn, beans, squash, and cotton. They developed pottery, but without a potter's wheel. The ceramics were distinguished by the beauty of their form and the richness of their ornamentation. They used a loom and made fabrics from cotton fiber.

The Spanish word "pueblo" means village, community. The Spanish conquerors named this group of Indian tribes after the villages that struck them, which were one common dwelling. The Pueblo dwelling consisted of one mud-brick building, the outer wall of which enclosed the entire village, making it inaccessible to attack from the outside. The living quarters sloped down into the enclosed courtyard, forming terraces, so that the roof of the lower row served as a courtyard for the upper one. Another type of Pueblo dwelling is caves dug into the rocks, also descending in ledges. Up to a thousand people lived in each of these villages.

In the middle of the 16th century, during the period of the invasion of Spanish conquerors, Pueblo villages were communities, each of which had its own territory with irrigated lands and hunting grounds. The cultivated land was distributed among the clans. In the XVI-XVII centuries. the maternal race still predominated. At the head of the clan was the “eldest mother,” who, along with the male military leader, regulated intraclan relationships. The household was run by a consanguineous group consisting of the female head of the group, her single and widowed brothers, her daughters, as well as the husband of this woman and the husbands of her daughters. The household used the plot of ancestral land allocated to it, as well as the granary.

Spiritual culture of the Indians of North America

The dominance of tribal relations was also reflected in the religion of the Indians - in their totemistic beliefs. The word "totem" literally meant "his kind" in the Algonquian language. Animals or plants were considered totems, by the names of which genera were named. Totems were considered to be relatives of members of a given clan, having a common origin with them from mythical ancestors.

The beliefs of the Indians were permeated with animistic ideas. More advanced tribes had a rich mythology; From the host of nature spirits, supreme spirits were identified, who were credited with controlling the world and the destinies of people. Shamanism dominated cult practice.

The Indians knew well starry sky, the location of the planets and navigated their travels by them. Having studied the surrounding flora, the Indians not only consumed wild plants and fruits for food, but also used them as medicine.

The modern American pharmacopoeia has borrowed a lot from traditional Indian medicine.

Was very rich artistic creativity North American Indians, in particular their folklore. Tales and songs poetically depicted the nature and life of the Indians. Although the heroes of these tales were often animals and forces of nature, their lives were depicted by analogy with human society.

In addition to poetic works, the Indians also had historical legends that were told by elders at meetings. Among the Iroquois, for example, when a new sachem was approved, one of the elders told those gathered about the events of the past. As he told the story, he fingered strings of white and purple beads, carved from shells, fastened in the form of wide strips or sewn in a pattern onto strips of fabric. These stripes, known to Europeans under the Algonquian name wampum, were commonly used as decoration. They were worn as belts or slings over the shoulder. But wampum also played the role of a mnemonic device: while telling, the speaker moved his hand along the pattern formed by the beads, and seemed to remember distant events. Wampum was also transmitted through messengers and ambassadors to neighboring tribes as a sign of authority, serving as a kind of symbol of trust and obligation not to break promises.

The Indians developed a system of symbols with which they conveyed messages. With signs carved on the bark of trees or made from branches and stones, the Indians communicated the necessary information. Messages were transmitted over long distances using fires, smoking during the day and burning with bright flames at night.

The pinnacle of the spiritual culture of the Indians of North America was their rudimentary writing - pictography, picture writing. The Dakota kept chronicles or calendars drawn on skin; the drawings conveyed in chronological order the events that occurred in a given year.

2. South and Central America, Mexico

Vast areas of South America were inhabited by tribes with primitive technology, belonging to various linguistic families. These were the fishermen and gatherers of Tierra del Fuego, the hunters of the steppes of Patagonia, the so-called pampas, the hunters and gatherers of eastern Brazil, the hunters and farmers of the forests of the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

Fuegians

The Fuegians were among the most backward tribes in the world. Three groups of Indians lived on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago: the Selknam (she), the Alakalufs, and the Yamana (Yagans).

The Selknam lived in the northern and eastern parts of Tierra del Fuego. They hunted guanaco llamas and collected fruits and roots of wild plants. Their weapons were bows and arrows. On the islands of the western part of the archipelago lived Alakalufs, who were engaged in fishing and collecting shellfish. In search of food, they spent most of their lives in wooden boats, moving along the coast. Hunting birds with bows and arrows played a lesser role in their lives.

The Yamana lived by collecting shellfish, fishing, hunting seals and other sea animals, as well as birds. Their tools were made of bone, stone and shells. The weapon used in sea fishing was a bone harpoon with a long strap.

The Yamana lived in separate clans called ukur. This word denoted both the dwelling and the community of relatives that lived in it. In the absence of members of a given community, their hut could be occupied by members of another community. The meeting of many communities was rare, for the most part in the case when the sea washed ashore a dead whale; Then, provided with food for a long time, the Yamana held celebrations. There was no stratification in the Yamana community; the oldest members of the group did not exercise power over their relatives. Only healers occupied a special position, who were credited with the ability to influence the weather and cure diseases.

Pampa Indians

At the time of the European invasion, the Pampa Indians were wandering hunters on foot.( In the middle of the 18th century, the inhabitants of Pampa, the Patagonians, began to use horses for hunting.) The main object of hunting and source of food were guanacos, which were hunted with a bola - a bunch of belts with weights attached to them. There were no permanent settlements among Pampa hunters; At temporary camps, they erected tent-awnings from 40-50 guanaco skins, which served as housing for the entire community. Clothes were made from leather; The main part of the costume was a fur cloak, which was tied at the waist with a belt.

The Patagonians lived and roamed in small groups of blood relatives, uniting 30-40 married couples with their offspring. The power of the community leader was reduced to the right to give orders during transitions and hunting; the leaders hunted along with others. The hunt itself was of a collective nature.

Animistic beliefs occupied a significant place in the religious beliefs of the Pampa Indians. The Patagonians inhabited the world with spirits; The cult of deceased relatives was especially developed.

The Araucans lived in south-central Chile. Under the influence of the Quechua tribes, the Araucans engaged in agriculture and raised llamas. They developed the production of fabrics from guanaco llama wool, pottery and silver processing. The southern tribes were engaged in hunting and fishing. The Araucanians became famous for their stubborn resistance to European conquerors for more than 200 years.( In 1773, the independence of Araucania was recognized by the Spaniards. Only in late XIX V. The colonialists took possession of the main territory of the Araucanians.)

Indians of Eastern Brazil

The tribes of the group that lived in the territory of Eastern and Southern Brazil - the Botocudas, Canellas, Kayapos, Xavantes, Kaingangs and other smaller ones - were engaged primarily in hunting and gathering, making treks in search of game and edible plants. The most typical of this group were the Botokudas, or Boruns, who inhabited the coast before the invasion of European colonialists, and were later pushed inland. Their main weapon was the bow, with which they hunted not only small animals, but also fish. Women were engaged in gathering. The dwelling of the Botokuds was a screen from the wind, covered with palm leaves, common to the entire nomadic camp. Instead of dishes, they used wicker baskets. A unique decoration for botocudas were small wooden discs inserted into the slits of the lips - “botocas” in Portuguese. Hence the name botocudas.

The social structure of the Botokuds and tribes close to them is still poorly studied. It is known, however, that in their group marriage the relationship between the sexes was regulated by the laws of exogamy. The Botokuds maintained a maternal account of kinship.

In the 16th century The "forest Indians" of Brazil resisted the Portuguese invaders, but it was suppressed.

Indians of the Amazon and Orinoco rainforests

During the early period of European colonization, northeastern and central South America was home to numerous tribes belonging to different linguistic groups, mainly the Arawaks, Tupi-Guaranis, and Caribs. They were mostly engaged in shifting agriculture and lived sedentary lives.

In tropical forest conditions, wood was the main material for making tools and weapons. But these tribes also had polished stone axes, which served as one of the main objects of intertribal exchange, since there were no suitable stones on the territory of some tribes. Bone, shells, and shells of forest fruits were also used to make tools. Arrowheads were made from animal teeth and sharpened bone, bamboo, stone and wood; the arrows were feathered. An ingenious invention of the Indians of the tropical forests of South America was a arrow-throwing tube, the so-called sarbakan, which was also known to the tribes of the Malacca Peninsula.

For fishing, boats were built from tree bark and single-tree dugouts. Weaved nets, nets, nets and other gear. The fish were beaten with a spear and shot at with bows. Having achieved great skill in weaving, these tribes used a wicker bed - a hammock. This invention, under its Indian name, spread throughout the world. Humanity also owes the discovery of the medicinal properties of cinchona bark and the emetic root of ipecac to the Indians of the tropical forests of South America.

The rainforest tribes practiced slash-and-burn agriculture. The men prepared the sites, lit fires at the roots of the trees and cut down the trunk with stone axes. After the trees dried out, they were felled and the branches were burned. The ash served as fertilizer. The landing time was determined by the position of the stars. Women loosened the ground with knotted sticks or sticks with shoulder blade bones of small animals and shells mounted on them. Root crops cassava, corn, sweet potatoes, beans, tobacco, and cotton were grown. Forest Indians learned to clean cassava of poison by squeezing the juice containing hydrocyanic acid, drying and frying the flour.

The Indians of the Amazon and Orinoco basins lived in tribal communities and kept a common household. For many tribes, each community occupied one large dwelling, which made up the entire village. Such a dwelling was a round or rectangular structure covered with palm leaves or branches. The walls were made of pillars intertwined with branches, they were covered with mats and coated. In this collective dwelling, each family had its own hearth. Hunting and fishing grounds were collectively owned by the community. Products obtained from hunting and fishing were shared among everyone. In most tribes, before the invasion of Europeans, the maternal clan predominated, but a transition to the paternal clan had already begun. Each village was a self-governing community with an elder leader. These tribes by the beginning of the 16th century. There was not yet not only a union of tribes, but also a common intra-tribal organization.

The artistic creativity of the described Indian tribes was expressed in dances performed to the sounds of primitive musical instruments(horns, pipes), in games that imitated the habits of animals and birds. The love for jewelry was manifested in painting the body with a complex pattern using plant juices and in making elegant decorations from multi-colored feathers, teeth, nuts, seeds, etc.

Ancient peoples of Mexico and Central America

The peoples of the southern part of the northern continent and Central America created a developed agricultural culture and, on its basis, a high civilization.

Archaeological data, finds of stone tools and a fossil human skeleton indicate that man appeared on the territory of Mexico 15-20 thousand years ago.

Central America is one of the earliest areas of cultivation of corn, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, green peppers, cocoa, cotton, agave, and tobacco.

The population was distributed unevenly. The areas of settled agriculture—central Mexico and the highlands of southern Mexico—were densely populated. In areas where fallow agriculture predominated (for example, in the Yucatan), the population was more dispersed. Large areas of northern Mexico and southern California were sparsely populated by wandering hunter-gatherer tribes.

The history of the tribes and peoples of Mexico and Yucatan is known from archaeological finds, as well as from Spanish chronicles from the time of the conquest.

The archaeological period of the so-called Early cultures (before the 3rd century BC) was the Neolithic period, the period of gathering, hunting and fishing, the time of the dominance of the primitive communal system. During the period of the Middle Cultures (III century BC - IV century AD), agriculture arose in the form of slash-and-burn, shifting. During this period, differences in the level of development of tribes and peoples of different parts of Mexico and Yucatan begin to make themselves felt . In central and southern Mexico and the Yucatan, class societies had already emerged during this period. But the development did not stop there. At the end of our era, the peoples of these areas of America rose to a higher level.

Mayan

The Mayans are the only people of America who left written monuments.

At the beginning of our era, the first city-states began to form in the southern part of Yucatan, northeast of Lake Peten Itza. Ancient famous monument- stone stele in the city of Vashaktun - dated 328 AD. e. Somewhat later, cities arose in the valley of the Uomacinta River - Yaxchilan, Palenque and in the extreme south of Yucatan - Copan and Quirigua. The inscriptions here are dated to the 5th and early 6th centuries. From the end of the 9th century. dated inscriptions are cut off. Since that time, the most ancient Mayan cities ceased to exist. Further history The Maya developed in the north of Yucatan.

The main type of production among the Mayans was slash-and-burn agriculture. The forest was cleared with stone axes, and thick trees were only cut down or the bark was torn off from them in a ring; the trees dried up. The dried and fallen forest was burned before the onset of the rainy season, which was determined by astronomical observations. Just before the rains began, the fields were sown. The land was not cultivated in any way; the farmer only made a hole with a sharp stick and buried grains of corn and beans in it. Crops were protected from birds and animals. Corn cobs were tilted down to dry in the field before being harvested.

On the same plot it was possible to sow no more than three times in a row, since the harvest was increasingly reduced. The abandoned area became overgrown, and after 6-10 years it was burned out again, preparing for sowing. The abundance of free land and the high productivity of corn provided farmers with significant wealth even with such primitive technology.

The Mayans obtained food of animal origin from hunting and fishing. They had no pets. Bird hunting was carried out using throwing tubes that fired clay balls. Darts with flint tips were also military weapons. The Mayans borrowed bows and arrows from the Mexicans. They received copper hatchets from Mexico.

There were no ores in the Mayan country and metallurgy could not arise. Objects of art and jewelry - precious stones, shells and metal products - were delivered to them from Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Peru. The Mayans made fabrics from cotton or agave fiber on a loom. Ceramic vessels were decorated with convex modeling and painting.

Intensive barter trade was carried out within the Mayan country and with neighboring peoples. In exchange they received agricultural products, cotton yarn and fabrics, weapons, stone products - knives, tips, mortars. Salt and fish came from the coast, corn, honey, and fruits came from the central part of the peninsula. Slaves were also exchanged. The universal equivalent was cocoa beans; There was even a rudimentary credit system.

Although fabrics and vessels were made mainly by farmers, there were already specialist craftsmen, especially jewelers, stone carvers, and embroiderers. There were also merchants who delivered goods over long distances by water and land, with the help of porters. Columbus met a dugout boat from Yucatan off the coast of Honduras, loaded with fabrics, cocoa and metal products.

The inhabitants of the Mayan village were neighboring community; usually its members were people with different family names. The land belonged to the community. Each family received a plot of land cleared of forest; after three years, this plot was replaced by another. Each family collected and stored the harvest separately; it could also exchange it. Apiaries and plantings of perennial plants remained the permanent property of individual families. Other work - hunting, fishing, salt extraction - was carried out together, but the products were shared.

In Mayan society there was already a division between free and slave. The slaves were mostly prisoners of war. Some of them were sacrificed to the gods, others were left as slaves. There was also the enslavement of criminals, as well as debt slavery of fellow tribesmen. The debtor remained a slave until he was redeemed by his relatives. Slaves did the hardest work, built houses, carried luggage and served the nobles. The sources do not allow us to clearly determine in which branch of production and to what extent slave labor was predominantly used. The ruling class were slave owners - nobles, high military officers and priests. The nobles were called al'mshen (literally, “son of father and mother”). They owned plots of land as private property.

The rural community performed duties in relation to the nobles and priests: the community members cultivated their fields, built houses and roads, delivered them various supplies and products, in addition, maintained a military detachment and paid taxes to the supreme power. There was already a stratification in the community: there were richer and poorer community members.

The Mayans had a patriarchal family that owned property. To get a wife, a man had to work for her family for some time, then she would go to her husband.

The supreme ruler of the city-state was called halach-vinik (“ great person"); his power was unlimited and hereditary. The ha-lach-viyik's advisor was the high priest. The villages were ruled by his governors - the batabs. The position of the batab was for life; he was obliged to unquestioningly obey the khalach-vinik and coordinate his actions with the priests and two or three advisers who were with him. The batabs monitored the fulfillment of duties and had judicial power. During the war, the batab was the commander of a detachment in his village.

In the Mayan religion by the beginning of the 16th century. ancient beliefs receded into the background. By this time, the priests had already created a complex theological system with cosmogonic myths, compiled their own pantheon and established a magnificent cult. The personification of the sky - the god Itzamna was placed at the head of the host of celestials along with the goddess of fertility. Itzamna was considered the patron of the Mayan civilization and was credited with the invention of writing. According to the teachings of the Mayan priests, the gods ruled the world one by one, replacing each other in power.” This myth fantastically reflected the real institution of change of power by clan. Mayan religious beliefs included primitive figurative representations about nature (for example, it rains because the gods pour water from four giant jugs placed in the four corners of the sky). The priests also created a doctrine of the afterlife, corresponding to the social division of Mayan society; The priests assigned themselves a special, third heaven. In a cult main role Fortune telling, prophecies, and oracles were played.

The Mayans developed a number system; they had twenty-digit counting, which arose on the basis of finger counting (20 fingers).

The Mayans made significant progress in astronomy. Solar year was calculated by them with an accuracy of one minute. Mayan astronomers calculated the time of solar eclipses; they knew the periods of revolution of the Moon and planets. In addition to astronomy, the priests were familiar with the rudiments of meteorology, botany and some other sciences. The Mayan calendar was in the hands of the priests, but it was based on the practical division of the year into seasons of agricultural work. The basic units of time were the 13-day week, 20-day month and 365-day year. The largest unit of chronology was the 52-year cycle - the “calendar circle”. The Mayan chronology was carried out from the initial date corresponding to 3113 BC. e.

The Mayans attached great importance to history, the development of which was associated with the invention of writing - the highest achievement of Mayan culture. Writing, like the calendar, was invented by the Mayans in the first centuries of our era. In Mayan manuscripts there is parallel text and drawings illustrating it. Although writing has already separated from painting, some written signs differ little from drawings. The Mayans wrote on paper made from ficus bast, using paints using brushes.

The Mayan writing is hieroglyphic, and, as in all similar writing systems, it uses signs of three kinds: phonetic - alphabetic and syllabic, ideographic - denoting whole words and key - explaining the meaning of words, but not readable. ( The Maya writing remained undeciphered until recently. The basics of its decoding have recently been discovered.) Writing was entirely in the hands of the priests, who used it to record myths, theological texts and prayers, as well as historical chronicles and epic texts. ( The Mayan manuscripts were destroyed by the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century; only three manuscripts survived. Some fragmentary texts have been preserved, albeit in a distorted form, in books written in Latin during the colonial period, the so-called books of Chilam Balam (“Books of the Jaguar Prophet”).)

In addition to books, written monuments of Mayan history are inscriptions carved on the stone walls that the Mayans erected every 20 years, as well as on the walls of palaces and temples.

Until now, the main sources of Mayan history have been the works of Spanish chroniclers of the 16th-17th centuries. The Mayan chronicles, written by the Spaniards, report that in the 5th century. there was a “small invasion” on the eastern coast of Yucatan, “people from the east” came here. It is possible that these were people from towns near Lake Peten Itza. At the turn of the 5th-6th centuries, the city of Chichen Itza was founded in the center of the northern part of the peninsula. In the 7th century, the inhabitants of Chichen Itza left this city and moved to the southwestern part of Yucatan. In the middle of the 10th century. their new homeland was attacked by immigrants from Mexico, apparently the Toltec people. After this, the “Itza people,” as the chronicle further calls them, returned to Chichen Itza. The Itza people of the 10th century. were a mixed Maya-Mexican group formed as a result of the Toltec invasion. For about 200 years, Chichen Itza was dominated by the descendants of the Toltec conquerors. During this period, Chichen Itza was the largest cultural center; majestic architectural monuments were erected here. The second most important city at this time was Uxmal, which also had magnificent buildings. In the 10th century Not far from Chichen Itza, another city-state arose - Mayapan, which did not experience Toltec influence. By the 12th century this city had achieved great power. A ruler of humble origin, Hunak Keel, who seized power in Maya Pan, invaded Chichen Itza in 1194 and captured the city. The Itza people gathered strength and captured Mayapan in 1244. They settled in this city, mingling with their recent opponents, and, as the chronicle reports, “since then they have been called Maya.” The Cocom dynasty seized power in Mayapan; its representatives robbed and enslaved the people with the help of Mexican mercenaries. In 1441, residents of the cities dependent on Mayapan rebelled, led by the ruler of Uxmal. Mayapan was captured. According to the chronicle, “those inside the walls were driven out by those outside the walls.” A period of civil strife began. The rulers of cities in different parts of the country “made each other’s food tasteless.” So, Chel (one of the rulers), having occupied the coast, did not want to give either fish or salt to Kokom, and Kokom did not allow game and fruit to be delivered to Chel.

Part of one of the Mayan temple buildings at Chichen Itza, the so-called "House of Nuns". The era of the "New Kingdom"

Mayapan was significantly weakened after 1441, and after the epidemic of 1485 it was completely deserted. Part of the Maya - the Itza people settled in the impenetrable forests near Lake Peten Itza and built the city of Tah Itza (Taya Sal), which remained inaccessible to the Spaniards until 1697. The rest of Yucatan was captured in 1541-1546. European conquerors who crushed the heroic resistance of the Mayans.

The Mayans created a high culture that dominated Central America. Their architecture, sculpture and fresco painting. One of the most remarkable monuments of art is the Bonampak Temple, opened in 1946. Under the influence of Mayan hieroglyphics, writing arose among the Toltecs and Zapotecs. The Mayan calendar spread to Mexico.

Toltecs of Teotihuacan

In the Valley of Mexico, according to legend, the first numerous people there were Toltecs. Back in the 5th century. The Toltecs created their own civilization, famous for its monumental architectural structures. The Toltecs, whose kingdom existed until the 10th century, belonged to the Nahua group by language. Their largest center was Teotihuacan, the ruins of which have survived to this day northeast of Lake Texcoco. The Toltecs were already cultivating all those plants that the Spaniards found in Mexico. They made thin fabrics from cotton fiber; their vessels were distinguished by a variety of shapes and artistic paintings. The weapons were wooden spears and clubs with inserts made of obsidian (volcanic glass). Knives were sharpened from obsidian. In large villages, bazaars were held every 20 days, where barter trade was carried out.

Chac-Mool statue in front of the "Temple of the Warriors" Chichen Itza

Teotihuacan, whose ruins cover an area 5 km long and about 3 km wide, was completely built up majestic buildings, apparently, palaces and temples. They were built from hewn stone slabs held together with cement. The walls were covered with plaster. The entire territory of the settlement is paved with gypsum slabs. The temples rise on truncated pyramids; the so-called Pyramid of the Sun has a base of 210 m and rises to a height of 60 m. The pyramids were built from unfired brick and lined with stone slabs, and sometimes plastered. Near the Pyramid of the Sun, buildings with floors made of mica plates and well-preserved frescoes have been discovered. The latter depict people playing ball with sticks in their hands, ritual scenes and mythical subjects. In addition to painting, temples were richly decorated with sculptures made of hewn and polished porphyry and jade, depicting symbolic zoomorphic creatures, for example, a feathered snake - a symbol of the god of wisdom. Teotihuacan was undoubtedly a cult center.

Residential settlements have still been little explored. A few kilometers from Teotihuaca there are the remains of one-story houses made of adobe. Each of them consists of 50-60 rooms located around courtyards and interconnected passages. Obviously, these were the dwellings of family communities.

The social structure of the Toltecs is unclear. Judging by the differences in clothing and jewelry made of gold and silver, jade and porphyry, the nobility was very different from ordinary members of society; The position of the priesthood was especially privileged. The construction of huge, richly decorated religious centers required the labor of masses of community members and slaves, probably prisoners of war.

The Toltecs had a writing system, apparently hieroglyphic; signs of this writing are found in the paintings on vases. No other written monuments have survived. The Toltec calendar was similar to the Mayan calendar.

Tradition lists nine Toltec kings who reigned between the 5th and 10th centuries, and reports that during the reign of the ninth king Topiltsin in the 10th century, as a result of local uprisings, foreign invasions and disasters caused by famine and plague, the kingdom fell apart, many moved to the south - to Tabasco and Guatemala, and the rest disappeared among the newcomers.

The time of the Teotihuacan Toltecs is marked by the common culture of the population of the Anahuac plateau. At the same time, the Toltecs were connected with the peoples located to the south - the Zapotecs, Mayans, and even, through them, with the peoples of South America; This is evidenced by the finds of Pacific shells in the Valley of Mexico and the spread of a special style of vessel painting, probably originating from South America.

Zapotec

The Zapotec people of Southern Mexico were influenced by the culture of Teotihuacan. Near the city of Oaxaca, where the Zapotec capital was, architectural monuments and sculptures have been preserved, indicating the existence of a developed culture and pronounced social differentiation among the Zapotecs. The complex and rich funerary cult, which can be judged from the tombs, indicates that the nobility and priesthood were in a privileged position. The sculptures on ceramic funeral urns are interesting in their depiction of the clothing of noble persons, especially fluffy headdresses and grotesque masks.

Other peoples of Mexico

The influence of the Teotihuacan Toltec culture spread to another large cult center located southeast of Lake Texcoco-Cholulu. The group of temples created here in ancient times was subsequently rebuilt into one grandiose platform pyramid with altars erected on it. The Cholula pyramid is located on a hill lined with stone slabs. It is the largest architectural structure in the ancient world. The painted pottery of Cholula is distinguished by its richness, variety, and careful finishing.

With the decline of the Toltec culture, the influence of the Mixtecs from the Puebla region, located southeast of Lake Texcoco, penetrates into the Valley of Mexico City. Therefore, the period from the beginning of the 12th century. is called Mixteca Puebla. During this period, cultural centers of a smaller scale emerged. Such, for example, was the city of Texcoco on the eastern shore of the Mexican lakes, which retained its importance even during the Spanish conquest. Here were archives of pictographic manuscripts, on the basis of which, using oral traditions, the Mexican historian, Aztec by birth, Ixtlilpochitl (1569-1649) wrote his history of ancient Mexico. He reports that around 1300, two new tribes settled in the territory of Texcoco, coming from the Mixtec region. They brought with them writing, more developed art of weaving and pottery. In pictographic manuscripts, the newcomers are depicted dressed in fabrics, in contrast to the locals, who wore animal skins. The ruler of Teshkoko Kinatzin subjugated about 70 neighboring tribes who paid him tribute. Texcoco's serious rival was Culuacan. In the struggle of the Kuluakans against the Teshkoks, the Tenochki tribe, friendly to the Kuluakans, played a large role.

Aztecs

According to legend, the Tenochkas, who traced their origins to one of the tribes of the Nahua group, originally lived on the island (as is now believed to be in Western Mexico). The Tenochki called this mythical homeland Aztlan; This is where the name Aztecs came from, or more correctly Aztec. In the first quarter of the 12th century. the little shadows began their journey. At this time, they maintained the primitive communal system. In 1248 they settled in the Valley of Mexico in Chapultepec and were for some time subordinate to the Culua tribe. In 1325, the Tenochki founded the settlement of Tenochtitlan on the islands of Lake Texcoco. For about 100 years, the tenochki were dependent on the Tepanec tribe, paying them tribute. At the beginning of the 15th century. their military power increased. Around 1428, under the leadership of the leader Itzcoatl, they won a number of victories over their neighbors - the Texcoco and Tlacopan tribes, entered into an alliance with them and formed a confederation of three tribes. The tenochki seized a leading position in this confederation. The Confederacy fought against hostile tribes that surrounded it on all sides. Its dominance extended somewhat beyond the Valley of Mexico.

The Tenochs, who merged with the inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, who spoke the same language as the Tenochs (Nahuatl language), quickly began to develop class relations. The Tenochki, who adopted the culture of the inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, went down in history under the name of the Aztecs. Thus, the Aztecs were not so much the creators as the heirs of the culture called by their name. From the second quarter of the 15th century. Aztec society begins to flourish and its culture develops.

Aztec economy

The main industry of the Aztecs was irrigated agriculture. They created so-called floating gardens - small artificial islands; From the muddy shores of the lake, liquid earth with mud was scooped up, it was collected in heaps on rafts of reeds, and trees were planted here, securing the islands thus formed with their roots. In this way, useless wetlands were turned into vegetable gardens crossed by canals. In addition to corn, which served as the main food, they planted beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, agave, figs, cocoa, tobacco, cotton, as well as cacti, on the latter they bred cochineal - insects that secrete purple dye. From agave juice they made a kind of mash - pulque; Besides her favorite drink was chocolate, which was cooked with pepper.( The word “chocolate” itself is of Aztec origin.) Agave fiber was used for twine and ropes, and burlap was also woven from it. The Aztecs obtained rubber from Vera Cruz and guayule juice from northern Mexico; they made balls for ritual games.

From the peoples of Central America, through the Aztecs, Europe received the crops of corn, cocoa, and tomatoes; Europeans learned about the properties of rubber from the Aztecs.

The Aztecs raised turkeys, geese, and ducks. The only pet was a dog. Dog meat is also eaten. Hunting did not play any significant role.

Tools were made of wood and stone. Blades and tips made of obsidian were especially well processed; Flint knives were also used. The main weapons were bows and arrows, then darts and throwing planks.

The Aztecs did not know iron. Copper, mined in nuggets, was forged and also cast by melting a wax mold. Gold was cast in the same way. The Aztecs achieved great skill in the art of casting, forging and minting gold. Bronze appeared in Mexico late and was used for objects of worship and luxury.

Aztec weaving and embroidery are among the best achievements in this field. Aztec feather embroidery became especially famous. The Aztecs achieved great mastery in ceramics with complex geometric ornament, stone carving and mosaic precious stones, jade, turquoise, etc.

The Aztecs had developed barter trade. Spanish soldier Bernal Diaz del Castillo described the main market in Tenochtitlan. He was amazed by the huge mass of people and the huge amount of products and supplies. All goods were placed in special rows. At the edge of the market, near the fence of the temple pyramid, there were sellers of gold sand, which was stored in rods goose feathers. A rod of a certain length served as a unit of exchange. Pieces of copper and tin also played a similar role; For small transactions they used cocoa beans.

Social system of the Aztecs

The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was divided into 4 districts (meycaotl) headed by elders. Each of these areas was divided into 5 quarters - kalpulli. The Calpulli were originally patriarchal clans, and the Meikaotli that united them were phratries. By the time of the Spanish conquest, a single dwelling was inhabited by a domestic community - the sencalli, a large patriarchal family of several generations. The land, which belonged to the entire tribe, was divided into plots, each of which was cultivated by the household community. In addition, at each village there were lands allocated for the maintenance of priests, military leaders, and special “military lands”, the harvest from which was used to supply soldiers.

The land was cultivated jointly, but upon marriage the man received an allotment for personal use. The plots, like all the land of the community, were inalienable.

Aztec society was divided into free and slave classes. Slaves included not only prisoners of war, but also debtors who fell into slavery (until they worked off the debt), as well as poor people who sold themselves or their children, and those who were expelled from communities. Diaz reports that the slave row in the main market was no smaller than the Lisbon slave market. Slaves wore collars attached to flexible poles. The sources do not say in which branches of labor the slaves were employed; Most likely, they were used in the construction of large structures, palaces and temples, as well as as artisans, porters, servants, and musicians. On conquered lands, military leaders received tributaries as trophies, whose position resembled that of serfs - tlamaiti (literally, “hands of the earth”). A group of free artisans had already appeared, selling the products of their labor. True, they continued to live in family quarters and were not separated from common households.

Thus, along with the remnants of communal relations and the absence of private ownership of land, there existed slavery and private ownership of agricultural products and crafts, as well as slaves.

Each calpulli was headed by a council, which included elected elders. The elders and leaders of the phratries formed a tribal council, or council of leaders, which included the main military leader of the Aztecs, who had two titles: “leader of the brave” and “orator.”

The question of defining the Aztec social system has its own history. Spanish chroniclers, describing Mexico, called it a kingdom, and they called the head of the Aztec alliance Montezuma, captured by the Spaniards, emperor. The view of ancient Mexico as a feudal monarchy prevailed until mid-19th V. Based on a study of the chronicles and descriptions by Bernal Diaz, Morgan came to the conclusion that Montezuma was a tribal leader, not a monarch, and that the Aztecs maintained a tribal system.

However, Morgan, polemically reinforcing the importance of the elements of clan organization preserved by the Aztecs, undoubtedly overestimated their relative importance. Data from the latest research, mainly archaeological, indicate that Aztec society in the 16th century. it was class that there existed private property and relations of domination and subordination; a state arose. With all this, there is no doubt that Aztec society retained many remnants of the primitive communal system.

Aztec religion and culture

The Aztec religion reflected the process of transition from a tribal system to a class society. In their pantheon, along with personifications of the forces of nature (the god of rain, the god of clouds, the goddess of corn, the gods of flowers), there are also personifications of social forces. Huitzilopochtli, the patron god of the Tenochki, was revered both as the god of the sun and as the god of war. The most complex image is of Quetzalcoatl, the ancient deity of the Toltecs. He was depicted as a feathered snake. This is the image of a benefactor god who taught people agriculture and crafts. According to the myth, he retired to the east, from where he must return.

Aztec ritual included human sacrifice.

The Aztecs, partly under the influence of the Toltecs, developed a writing system that was transitional from pictography to hieroglyphics. Historical legends and myths were captured with realistic drawings and partly with symbols. The description of the wanderings of the tenochki from their mythical homeland in the manuscript known as the Codex Boturini is indicative. The clans into which the tribe was divided are indicated by drawings of houses (in the main elements) with family coats of arms. The dating is indicated by the image of a flint - “the year of one flint.” But in some cases, the sign depicting an object already had a phonetic meaning. From the Mayans, through the Toltecs, the chronology and calendar came to the Aztecs.

The most significant works of Aztec architecture that have survived to this day are the step pyramids and temples decorated with bas-reliefs. Sculpture and especially Aztec painting serve as a magnificent historical monument, as they reproduce the living life of the carriers of Aztec culture.

Ancient peoples of the Andes region

The Andes region is one of the significant centers of ancient irrigated agriculture. The most ancient monuments developed agricultural culture here dates back to the 1st millennium BC. e., its beginning should be attributed to approximately 2000 years earlier.

The coast at the foot of the Andes was devoid of moisture: there are no rivers and almost no rain falls. Therefore, agriculture first arose on the mountain slopes and on the Peruvian-Bolivian plateau, irrigated by streams flowing from the mountains during the melting of snow. In the Lake Titicaca basin, where there are many species of wild tuberous plants, primitive farmers cultivated potatoes, which from there spread throughout the Andes region, and then penetrated into Central America. Of the cereals, quinoa was especially widespread.

The Andes region is the only one in America where animal husbandry developed. Llamas and alpacas were domesticated, providing wool, skins, meat, and fat. The people of the Andes did not drink milk. Thus, among the tribes of the Andean region in the first centuries of our era, the development of productive forces reached a relatively high level.

Chibcha or Muisca

A group of tribes of the Chibcha language family, who lived in what is now Colombia in the Bogota River valley, also known as the Muisca, created one of developed cultures ancient America.

The Bogotá Valley and the surrounding mountain slopes are rich in natural moisture; together with the mild, even climate, this contributed to the formation of densely populated areas here and the development of agriculture. The Muisca country was inhabited in ancient times by primitive tribes of the Arabian language family. The Chibcha tribes entered the territory of what is now Colombia from Central America, through the Isthmus of Panama.

By the time of the European invasion, the Muisca grew many crops: potatoes, quinua, corn on the mountain slopes; in the warm valley - cassava, sweet potatoes, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes and some fruits, as well as cotton, tobacco and coca bushes. Coca leaves serve as a drug for the people of the Andean region. The land was cultivated with primitive hoes - knotty sticks. There were no domestic animals except dogs. Fishing was widely developed. Hunting was of great importance as the only source of meat food. Since hunting big game (deer, wild boar) was the privilege of the nobility, ordinary members of the tribe could, with the permission of noble persons, hunt only rabbits and poultry; they also ate rats and reptiles.

Tools - axes, knives, millstones - were made from hard rocks of stone. The weapons were spears with tips made of burnt wood, wooden clubs, and slings. Of the metals, only gold and its alloys with copper and silver were known. Many methods of processing gold were used: massive casting, flattening, stamping, overlaying with sheets. The Muisca metal processing technique makes a major contribution to the original metallurgy of the peoples of America.

The great achievement of their culture was weaving. Cotton fiber was used to spin threads and weave fabric that was smooth and dense. The canvas was painted using the printed method. The clothes of the Muisca were cloaks - panels made of this fabric. Houses were built from wood and reeds coated with clay.

Exchange played an important role in the Muisca economy. There was no gold in the Bogota Valley, and the Muisca received it from the province of Neiva from the Puana tribe in exchange for their products, as well as as tribute from their conquered neighbors. The main items of exchange were izuiruda, salt and linen. It is interesting that the Muisca themselves traded raw cotton from their Panche neighbors. Salt, emeralds and chibcha linen were exported along the Magdalena River to large bazaars that took place on the shore, between the modern cities of Neiva, Coelho and Beles. Spanish chroniclers report that gold was exchanged in the form of small discs. Panels of cloth also served as a unit of exchange.

The Muisca lived in patriarchal families, each in a special house. The marriage was carried out with a ransom for the wife, the wife moved into the husband's house. Polygamy was widespread; ordinary members of the tribe had 2-3 wives, nobles had 6-8 wives, and rulers had several dozen. By this time, the clan community began to disintegrate and a neighboring community began to take its place. We do not have information about what the forms of land use and land tenure were.

Written and archaeological sources show the beginning process of class formation. Spanish chroniclers report the following social groups: heralds - the first persons at court, usak - noble persons and getcha - high-ranking military men who guarded the borders. These three groups exploited the labor of the so-called “tax payers,” or “dependents.”

The nobility was distinguished by their clothing and jewelry. Only the ruler had the right to wear painted robes, necklaces and tiaras. The palaces of rulers and nobles, although wooden, were decorated with carvings and paintings. Nobles were carried on stretchers lined with gold plates. The new ruler assumed his duties in a particularly magnificent manner. The ruler went to the shore of the sacred lake Guata Vita. The priests coated his body with resin and sprinkled it with gold sand. Having ridden out on a raft with the priests, he threw offerings into the lake and, having washed himself with water, returned. This ceremony served as the basis for the legend of "El Dorado" ( Eldorado means “golden” in Spanish.), which became widespread in Europe, and “Eldorado” became synonymous with fabulous wealth.

While the life of the Muisca nobility was described in some detail by the Spaniards, we have very few descriptions of the working conditions and situation of the masses of the ordinary population. It is known that “those who paid taxes” paid it in products Agriculture, as well as handicrafts. In case of arrears, the ruler's envoy with a bear or puma settled in the arrears' house until the debt was repaid. Special group were made up of artisans. The chronicler reports that the inhabitants of Guatavita were the best goldsmiths; therefore, “many Guatavians lived scattered throughout all regions of the country, making gold items.”

Source reports about slaves are especially scarce. Since slave labor is not described in the sources, we can conclude that it did not play a significant role in production.

Religion

Muisca mythology and pantheon were poorly developed. Cosmogonic myths are scattered and confused. In the pantheon, the main place was occupied by the goddess of earth and fertility - Bachuye. One of the main ones was the god of exchange. In the cult practice of the Muisca, the first place was occupied by the veneration of the forces of nature - the sun, the moon, the sacred Lake Guatavita, etc. Boys were sacrificed to the sun to stop the drought.

The cult of ancestors occupied a large place. The bodies of nobles were mummified and gold masks were put on them. The mummies of the supreme rulers, according to beliefs, brought happiness; they were taken to the battlefield. The main deities were considered the patrons of the nobility and warriors; the common people were associated with the temples of other deities, where modest gifts could be sacrificed. The priesthood was part of the ruling elite of society. The priests collected food, gold and emeralds from the community and received food from the nobility.

Muisca on the eve of the Spanish conquest

There are no written monuments left from the Muisca culture. Chroniclers have recorded a few oral traditions that cover events just two generations before the Spanish conquest. According to these legends, around 1470 Saganmachika, the sipa (ruler) of the kingdom of Bakata, with an army of 30 thousand people, made a campaign against the principality of Fusagasuga in the valley of the Pasco River. The frightened Fusagasugians fled, abandoning their weapons; their ruler recognized himself as a vassal of the Sipa, in honor of which a sacrifice was made to the sun.

Soon the ruler of the principality of Guatavita rebelled against Bakata, and the latter’s sipe, Saganmachika, had to ask for help from the ruler of the kingdom of Tunja, Michua. Having provided the requested help, Michua invited Sipa Saganmachika to appear in Tunja and justify himself in the crimes that the rebel prince of Guatavita attributed to him. Sipa refused, and Michua did not dare to attack Bakatu. Further, the legend tells how Saganmachika fought back the neighboring Panche tribe. The war with him lasted 16 years. After defeating Panche, Saganmachika attacked Michua. In a bloody battle, in which 50 thousand soldiers took part on each side, both rulers died. The victory remained with the Bakatans.

After this, Bakata's sepoy became Nemekene (literally meaning "jaguar bone"). He also, according to legend, had to repel the attack of the Panche and suppress the uprising of the Fusagasugians. Military clashes with the latter were especially persistent; in the end their prince capitulated. Nemekene introduced his garrisons into the defeated provinces and began to prepare for reprisals against the ruler of Tunja. Having gathered an army of 50-60 thousand and having made human sacrifices, he went on a campaign; in a terrible battle, Nemekene was wounded, the Bakatans fled, pursued by the warriors of Tunha. On the fifth day after returning from the campaign, Nemekene died, leaving the kingdom to his nephew Tiskesus.

During the reign of the latter, when he intended to take revenge on the ruler of Tunja, Spanish conquistadors invaded Bacata.

Thus, the small, unstable Muisca associations never united into a single state; the process of state formation was interrupted by the Spanish conquest.

Quechua and other peoples of the Inca state

The ancient history of the peoples of the central Andean region became known thanks to archaeological research the last 60-70 years. The results of these studies, along with data from written sources, make it possible to outline the main periods of the ancient history of the peoples of this area. First period, approximately 1st millennium BC. e. - the period of the primitive communal system. The second period began on the verge of the 1st millennium and lasted until the 15th century; This is the period of the emergence and development of class society. The third is the period of history of the Inca state; it lasted from the beginning of the 15th century. until the middle of the 16th century.

During the first period, ceramics and construction techniques began to develop, as did gold processing. The construction of large buildings made of cut stone, which had a religious purpose or served as the dwellings of tribal leaders, presupposes the use of the labor of ordinary tribesmen by the nobility. This, as well as the presence of finely minted gold items, indicates the decomposition of the clan community that began towards the end of the first period. The linguistic affiliation of the speakers of these cultures is unknown.

In the second period, two groups of tribes came to the fore. On the northern coast in the VIII-IX centuries. The Mochica culture was widespread, the speakers of which belonged to an independent language family. From this time, the remains of canals stretching for hundreds of kilometers and ditches that brought water to the fields have been preserved. The buildings were erected from raw brick; stone-paved roads were laid. The Mochica tribes not only consumed gold, silver and lead in native form, but also smelted them from ore. Alloys of these metals were known.

Mochica ceramics are of particular interest. It was made without a potter's wheel, which the peoples of the Andean region never used later. Mochica vessels, molded in the form of figures of people (most often heads), animals, fruits, utensils and even entire scenes, represent a sculpture that introduces us to the life and everyday life of their creators. Such, for example, is the figure of a naked slave or captive with a rope around his neck. Paintings on ceramics also contain many monuments of the social order: slaves carrying their masters on stretchers, reprisals against prisoners of war (or criminals) who are thrown from cliffs, battle scenes, etc.

In the VIII-IX centuries. The development of the most significant culture of the pre-Inca period began - Tiahuanaco. The site that gave it its name is located in Bolivia, 21 km south of Lake Titicaca. Ground buildings are located on an area of ​​about 1 sq. km. Among them is a complex of buildings called Kalasasaya, which includes the Gate of the Sun, one of the most remarkable monuments of ancient America. The arch of stone blocks is decorated with a bas-relief of a figure with a face surrounded by rays, which is obviously the personification of the sun. Basalt and sandstone deposits are found no closer than 5 km from the Kalasasaya buildings. Thus, the slabs of 100 tons or more from which the Gate of the Sun was built were brought here by the collective efforts of many hundreds of people. Most likely, the Gate of the Sun was part of the complex of the Temple of the Sun - the deity depicted in the bas-relief.

The Tiahuanaco culture developed over 4-5 centuries, starting from the 8th century, in different parts of the Peruvian-Bolivian region, but its classic monuments are located in the homeland of the Aymara people, whose tribes were, obviously, the creators of this high culture. In Tiahuanaco sites of the second period, dating approximately to the 19th century, in addition to gold, silver and copper, bronze also appears. Ceramics and weaving with artistic ornamentation developed. In the XIV-XV centuries. On the northern coast, the culture of the Mochica tribes, which in the later period is called Chimu, flourishes again.

Archaeological monuments indicate that the peoples of the Andes region already from the 10th century. BC e. knew irrigated agriculture and domesticated animals, they began to develop class relations. In the first quarter of the 15th century. The Inca state arose. Its legendary history was recorded by Spanish chroniclers from the era of the conquest. The emergence of the Inca state was presented as a result of the invasion of the Cuzco Valley by highly developed peoples who conquered the original inhabitants of this valley.

The main reason for the formation of the Inca state is not conquest, but the process of internal development of society ancient Peru, the growth of productive forces and the formation of classes. In addition, the latest archaeological data inclines scientists to abandon the search for the ancestral home of the Incas outside the territory of their state. Even if we can talk about the arrival of the Incas in the Cusco Valley, then the movement took place only over a distance of several tens of kilometers, and this happened long before the formation of their state.

On the plateau, in the valleys and on the coast of the Andes region lived many small tribes of several linguistic groups, primarily the Quechua, Aymara (Colas), Mochica and Puquina. The Aymara tribes lived in the Lake Titicaca basin, on a plateau. The Quechua tribes lived around the Cusco Valley. In the north, on the coast, lived the Mochica, or Chimu, tribes. The distribution of the Pukina group is now difficult to determine.

Formation of the Inca state

From the 13th century In the Cusco Valley, the so-called Early Inca culture begins to develop. The term Incas, or rather Inca, acquired a variety of meanings: the ruling stratum in the state of Peru, the title of the ruler and the name of the people as a whole. Initially, the name Inca was borne by one of the tribes that lived in the Cusco valley before the formation of the state and, obviously, belonged to the Quechua language group. The Incas during their heyday spoke Quechua. The close relationship of the Incas with the Quechua tribes is also evidenced by the fact that the latter received a privileged position compared to others and were called “Incas by privilege”; they did not pay tribute, and from among them they did not recruit slaves - Yanakuns - to work for the Incas.

Historical legends of the Incas name 12 rulers who preceded the last supreme Inca, Atahualpa, and report on their wars with neighboring tribes. If we accept the approximate dating of these genealogical legends, then the beginning of the strengthening of the Inca tribe and, possibly, the formation of a tribal union, can be dated back to the first decades of the 13th century. However, the reliable history of the Incas begins with the activities of the ninth ruler - Pachacuti (1438-1463). From this time on, the rise of the Incas began. A state was formed, which began to quickly grow stronger. Over the next hundred years, the Incas conquered and subjugated the tribes of the entire Andean region, from southern Colombia to central Chile. According to rough estimates, the population of the Inca state reached 6 million people.

The material culture and social structure of the Inca state are known not only from archaeological, but also from historical sources, mainly Spanish chronicles of the 16th-18th centuries.

Inca economy

Mining and metallurgy are of particular interest in Inca technology. The greatest practical importance was the mining of copper and tin: the alloy of both yielded bronze. Silver ore was mined in huge quantities, and silver was distributed very widely. Lead was also used. The Quechua language has a word for iron, but apparently it meant meteoric iron, or hematite. There is no evidence of iron mining or iron ore smelting; Iron in its native form is absent in the Andes region. Axes, sickles, knives, crowbars, heads for military clubs, tongs, pins, needles, and bells were cast from bronze. The blades of bronze knives, axes and sickles were calcined and forged to give them greater hardness. Jewelry and religious objects were made from gold and silver.

Along with metallurgy, the Incas reached a high level in the development of ceramics and weaving. Fabrics made from wool and cotton, preserved from the times of the Incas, are distinguished by their richness and fineness of finish. Fleecy fabrics for clothing (such as velvet) and carpets were made.

Agriculture in the Inca state achieved significant development. About 40 species of useful plants were cultivated, the main ones being potatoes and corn.

The valleys crossing the Andes are narrow, deep gorges with steep slopes, along which streams of water flow during the rainy season, washing away the soil layer; in dry times there is no moisture left on them. To retain moisture in the fields located on the slopes, it was necessary to create a system of special structures, which the Incas systematically and regularly maintained. The fields were arranged in stepped terraces. The lower edge of the terrace was reinforced with stonework, which retained the soil. Diversion channels led from mountain rivers to the fields: a dam was built at the edge of the terrace. The channels were lined with stone slabs. The complex system created by the Incas, which drained water over long distances, provided irrigation and at the same time protected the soil of the slopes from erosion. To supervise the serviceability of structures, special officials were appointed by the state. The land was cultivated by hand and no draft animals were used. The main tools were a spade (with a tip made of hard wood and, less commonly, bronze) and a hoe.

Weaver. Drawing from the chronicle of Poma de Ayala

There were two main roads across the country. A canal was built along the roads, on the banks of which fruit trees grew. Where the road ran through the sandy desert, it was paved. Bridges were built where roads crossed rivers and gorges. Tree trunks were thrown across narrow rivers and crevices, which were crossed by wooden crossbars. Suspension bridges crossed wide rivers and chasms, the construction of which represents one of the greatest achievements of Inca technology. The bridge was supported by stone pillars, around which five thick ropes woven from flexible branches or vines were fastened. The three lower ropes, which formed the bridge itself, were intertwined with branches and lined with wooden crossbars. The ropes that served as railings were intertwined with the lower ones, protecting the bridge from the sides.

As you know, the peoples of ancient America did not know wheeled transport. In the Andean region, goods were transported in packs on llamas. In those places where the width of the river was too large, they were crossed over a pontoon bridge or using a ferry, which was an improved raft made of beams or beams of very light wood, which was rowed. Such rafts could lift up to 50 people and large loads.

In ancient Peru, the separation of crafts from agriculture and cattle breeding began. Some members of the agricultural community were engaged in the production of tools, textiles, pottery, etc., and natural exchange took place between the communities. The Incas selected the best craftsmen and moved them to Cuzco. Here they lived in a special quarter and worked for the supreme Inca and the serving nobility, receiving food from the court. What they did in excess of the given monthly lesson, they could barter. These masters, cut off from the community, actually found themselves enslaved.

Girls were also selected in a similar way, who had to study spinning, weaving and other handicrafts for 4 years. The products of their labor were also used by noble Incas. The work of these craftsmen was an embryonic form of craft in ancient Peru.

Exchange and trade were little developed. Taxes were collected in kind. There was no system of measures, with the exception of the most primitive measure of bulk solids - a handful. There were scales with a yoke, from the ends of which bags or nets with a weight to be weighed were suspended. The exchange between the inhabitants of the coast and the highlands was most developed. After the harvest, residents of these two zones met in certain places. Wool, meat, furs, leather, silver, gold and products made from them were brought from the highlands; from the coast - grain, vegetables and fruits, cotton, as well as bird droppings - guano. In different regions, salt, pepper, furs, wool, ore and metal products played the role of universal equivalent. There were no bazaars inside the villages; exchange was random.

In the Inca society, unlike the Aztec and Chibcha society, there was no distinguished layer of free artisans; therefore, exchange and trade with other countries were poorly developed, and there were no trade intermediaries. This is obviously explained by the fact that in Peru the early despotic state appropriated the labor of slaves and partly communal workers, leaving them with little surplus for exchange.

Social system of the Incas

The Inca state retained many remnants of the primitive communal system.

The Inca tribe consisted of 10 divisions - hatung aylyu, which in turn were divided into 10 aylyu. Initially, the aylyu was a patriarchal clan, a clan community. Ilyu had her own village and owned the adjacent fields; members of the Aylyu were considered relatives among themselves and were called by family names, which were passed down through the paternal line.

The Aylyu were exogamous; it was impossible to marry within the clan. Members of the Aylyu believed that they were under the protection of ancestral shrines - huaka. Ailyu was also designated as pachaka, i.e. hundred. Khatun-aylyu (“big clan”) represented a phratry and was identified with a thousand.

In the Inca state, the aylew turned into a rural community. This becomes obvious when considering land use regulations. All land in the state was considered to belong to the Supreme Inca. In fact, she was at the disposal of the Ilyu. The very territory that belonged to the community was called a mark (a coincidence with the name of the community among the Germans). The land that belonged to the entire community was called marka pacha, i.e. community land.

The cultivated land was called chakra (field). It was divided into three parts: the “fields of the Sun” (actually the priests), the fields of the Incas and, finally, the fields of the community. The land was cultivated jointly by the entire village, although each family had its own share, the harvest from which went to this family. Community members worked together under the leadership of one of the elders and, having cultivated one section of the field (field of the Sun), moved on to the fields of the Incas, then to the fields of the village residents, and finally to the fields, the harvest from which went to the general fund of the village. This reserve was spent to support needy fellow villagers and various general village needs. In addition to fields, each village also had fallow lands and “wild lands” that served as pastures.

Field plots were periodically distributed among fellow villagers. A separate section of the field remained fallow after three or four harvests had been harvested from it. The field allotment, tupu, was given to the man; For each male child, the father received another such allotment, for a daughter - another half of the tupa. Tupu was considered temporary possession, as it was subject to redistribution. But, in addition to the tupu, on the territory of each community there were also plots of land called muya. Spanish officials refer to these areas in their reports as “hereditary land”, “own land”, “vegetable garden”. The muya plot consisted of a yard, a house, a barn or shed and a vegetable garden and was passed down from father to son. There is no doubt that the muya plots have actually become private property. It was on these plots that community members could obtain surplus vegetables or fruits on their farm, could dry meat, tan leather, spin and weave wool, make pottery vessels, bronze tools - everything that they exchanged as their private property. The combination of communal ownership of fields with private ownership of personal plots characterizes aylya as a rural community in which consanguinity has given way to territorial ties.

The land was cultivated only by communities of tribes conquered by the Incas. In these communities, a clan nobility also emerged - the kuraka. Its representatives supervised the work of the community members and ensured that the community members paid taxes; their plots were cultivated by community members. In addition to their share in the community herd, the Kuraka had privately owned livestock, up to several hundred heads. On their farms, dozens of concubine slaves spun and wove wool or cotton. The products of animal husbandry or agriculture of the Kuraka were exchanged for jewelry made of precious metals, etc. But the Kuraka, as belonging to the conquered tribes, were still in a subordinate position; the Incas stood above them as the ruling layer, the highest caste. The Incas did not work; they constituted a military-service nobility. The rulers endowed them land plots and workers from conquered tribes, the Yanakuns, who were resettled to Inca farms. The lands that the nobility received from the supreme Inca were their private property.

The nobility was very different from ordinary subjects in its appearance, special hair cutting, clothing and jewelry. The Spaniards called the noble Incas ore-jones (from the Spanish word “oreh” - ear) for their huge gold earrings and rings that stretched their earlobes.

Priests also occupied a privileged position, for whose benefit a portion of the harvest was collected. They were not subordinate to local rulers, but constituted a separate corporation governed by the highest priesthood in Cuzco.

The Incas had a number of Yanakuns, whom the Spanish chroniclers called slaves. Judging by the fact that they were fully owned by the Incas and performed all the menial jobs, they were indeed slaves. Particularly important is the message of the chroniclers that the position of the Yanakuns was hereditary. It is known that in 1570, i.e. 35 years after the fall of the Incan power, there were another 47 thousand Yanakuns in Peru.

Most of the productive labor was performed by community members; they cultivated fields, built canals, roads, fortresses and temples. But the appearance of a large group of hereditarily enslaved workers, exploited by the rulers and the military elite, suggests that Peruvian society was early slave-owning, with significant remnants of the tribal system retained.

The Inca state was called Tawantinsuyu, which literally means “four regions connected together.” Each region was ruled by a governor; in the regions, power was in the hands of local officials. At the head of the state was a ruler who bore the title “Sapa Inca” - “solely ruling Inca.” He commanded the army and headed the civil administration. The Incas created centralized system management. The Supreme Inca and senior officials from Cuzco watched over the governors and were always ready to repel the rebel tribe. There was a constant postal connection with fortresses and residences of local rulers. Messages were transmitted by relay race by messengers-runners. Postal stations were located on the roads not far from each other, where messengers were always on duty.

The rulers of ancient Peru created laws that protected the dominance of the Incas, aimed at securing the subordination of conquered tribes and preventing uprisings. The peaks split up the tribes, settling them piecemeal in foreign areas. The Incas introduced a language compulsory for all - Quechua.

Religion and culture of the Incas

Religion occupied a large place in the life of the ancient people in the Andean region. The most ancient origins were the remnants of totemism. The communities bore the names of animals: Numamarca (puma community), Condormarka (condor community), Huamanmarca (hawk community), etc.; The cult attitude towards some animals has been preserved. Close to totemism was the religious personification of plants, primarily potatoes, as a crop that played a huge role in the life of the Peruvians. Images of the spirits of this plant have come down to us in sculptural ceramics - vessels in the form of tubers. The “eye” with sprouts was perceived as the mouth of a plant awakening to life. The cult of ancestors occupied a large place. When the aylyu turned from a tribal community into a neighboring community, the ancestors began to be revered as patron spirits and guardians of the land of this community and the area in general.

The custom of mummifying the dead was also associated with the cult of ancestors. Mummies in elegant clothes with jewelry and household utensils were preserved in tombs, often carved into rocks. The cult of the mummies of rulers reached particular development: they were surrounded by ritual veneration in temples, and priests walked with them during major holidays. They were credited with supernatural power, they were taken on campaigns and carried onto the battlefield. All tribes of the Andean region had a cult of the forces of nature. Obviously, along with the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, the cult of mother earth, called Pacha Mama (in the Quechua language, pache - earth), arose.

The Incas established a state cult with a hierarchy of priests. Obviously, the priests generalized and further developed existing myths and created a cycle of cosmogonic mythology. According to him, the creator god Viracocha created the world and people on the lake (obviously on Lake Titicaca). After the creation of the world, he disappeared over the sea, leaving behind his son Pachacamac. The Incas supported and spread among the conquered peoples the idea of ​​​​the origin of their legendary ancestor Manco Capac from the sun. The Supreme Inca was considered a living personification of the sun god (Inti), a divine being who therefore possessed unlimited power. The largest cult center was the Temple of the Sun in Cusco, also called the “Golden Compound”, since the walls central hall the sanctuaries were lined with gold tiles. Three idols were placed here - Viracocha, the Sun and the Moon.

The temples owned enormous wealth, a large number of ministers and craftsmen, architects, jewelers and sculptors. The priests of the highest hierarchy used these riches. The main content of the Inca cult was sacrificial ritual. During numerous holidays timed to coincide with various moments of the agricultural cycle, various sacrifices were made, mainly with animals. In extreme cases - at a festival at the moment of accession to the throne of a new supreme Inca, during an earthquake, drought, epidemic disease, during a war - people, prisoners of war or children taken as tribute from conquered tribes were sacrificed.

The development of positive knowledge among the Incas reached a significant level, as evidenced by their metallurgy and road construction. To measure space, there were measures based on the sizes of parts of the human body. The smallest measure of length was the length of the finger, then a measure equal to the distance from the bent thumb to the index finger. The most commonly used measure for measuring land was a measure of 162 sl. A counting board and abacus were used for counting. The board was divided into stripes, compartments in which counting units and round pebbles were moved. The time of day was determined by the position of the sun. In everyday life, time was measured by the period required for potatoes to be cooked (approximately 1 hour).

The Incas deified the celestial bodies, so astronomy was associated with religion. They had a calendar; they had an idea of ​​the sun and lunar year. The position of the sun was observed to determine the timing of the agricultural cycle. For this purpose, four towers were built in the east and west of Cusco. Observations were also made in Cusco itself, in the city center, in a large square where a high platform was built.

The Incas used some scientific techniques to treat diseases, although the practice of magical healing was also widespread. In addition to the use of many medicinal plants, surgical methods were also known, such as craniotomy.

The Incas had schools for boys from among the nobility - both the Incas and the conquered tribes. The duration of study was four years. The first year was devoted to the study of the Quechua language, the second - the religious complex and the calendar, the third and fourth years were spent studying the so-called quipus, signs that served as “knot writing”.

The kippah consisted of a woolen or cotton rope, to which cords were tied at right angles in rows, sometimes up to 100, hanging down in the form of a fringe. Knots were tied on these cords at different distances from the main rope. The shape of the nodes and their number indicated numbers. Single knots furthest from the main rope represented units, the next row represented tens, then hundreds and thousands; the largest values ​​were located closest to the main rope. The color of the cords denoted certain objects: for example, potatoes were symbolized by brown, silver by white, gold by yellow.

The manager of the state warehouses is counted with a "khipu" before the Supreme Inca Yupanqui. Drawing from the chronicle of Poma de Ayala. XVI century

Kipus were used mainly to convey messages about gatherings officials taxes, but also served to record statistical data general, calendar dates and even historical facts. There were specialists who knew how to use a kippah well; They had to, at the first request of the Supreme Inca and his entourage, provide certain information, guided by the corresponding knots tied. Quipu was a conventional system for transmitting information, but it has nothing to do with writing.

Before last decade In science, there was a widespread idea that the peoples of the Andean region did not create writing. Indeed, unlike the Mayans and Aztecs, the Incas did not leave written monuments. However, the study of archaeological, ethnographic and historical sources forces us to pose the question of Inca writing in a new way. The painting of Mochica culture vessels includes beans with special signs. Some scientists believe that the signs on the beans had a symbolic, conventional meaning, like ideograms. It is possible that these beans with icons served for fortune telling.

Some chroniclers of the era of conquest report the existence of a secret writing among the Incas. One of them writes that in a special room in the Temple of the Sun there were painted boards on which the events of the history of the Inca rulers were depicted. Another chronicler says that when in 1570 the Viceroy of Peru ordered the collection and recording of everything known about the history of Peru, it was found that the ancient history of the Incas was recorded on large boards inserted into golden frames and kept in a room near the Temple of the Sun. Access to them was prohibited to everyone except the reigning Incas and specially appointed guardians and historiographers. Modern researchers of the Inca culture consider it proven that the Incas had writing. It is possible that this was a picture letter, a pictograph, but it did not survive due to the fact that the “pictures” framed in gold were immediately destroyed by the Spaniards, who captured them for the sake of the frames.

Poetic creativity in ancient Peru developed in several directions. Hymns (for example, the hymn of Viracocha), mythical tales, poems have been preserved in fragments historical content. The most significant poetic work of ancient Peru was the poem, later transformed into a drama, “Ollantay”. It glorifies the heroic exploits of the leader of one of the tribes, ruler Antisuyo, who rebelled against the supreme Inca. The poem, obviously, found an artistic reflection of the events and ideas of the period of formation of the Inca state - the struggle of individual tribes against the subordination of their centralized power to the Inca despotism.

The end of the Inca state. Portuguese conquests

It is generally believed that with the capture of Cuzco by Pizarro's troops in 1532 and the death of Inca Atahualpa, the Inca state immediately ceased to exist. But his end did not come instantly. An uprising broke out in 1535; although it was suppressed in 1537, its participants continued to fight for more than 35 years.

The uprising was raised by the Inca prince Manco, who initially went over to the side of the Spaniards and was close to Pizarro. But Manco used his proximity to the Spaniards only to study his enemies. Having begun to gather forces at the end of 1535, Manco in April 1536 approached Cuzco with a large army and besieged it. He further used Spanish firearms, forcing eight captive Spaniards to serve him as gunsmiths, artillerymen and powder makers. Captured horses were also used. Manco centralized the command of the besieging army, established communications and guard service. Manco himself was dressed and armed in Spanish, rode on horseback and fought with Spanish weapons. The rebels combined the techniques of original Indian and European warfare and at times achieved great success. But the need to feed a large army, and most importantly, bribery and betrayal forced Manco to lift the siege after 10 months. The rebels fortified themselves in the mountainous region of Vilcapampe and continued to fight here. After Manco's death, young Tupac Amaru became the leader of the rebels.

Great geographical discoveries began with the search for the rich treasures of India. In 1456, the Portuguese reached the Cape Verde Islands, in 1486 the expedition of Bartalameo Dias circumnavigated Africa, and in 1492. At the end of the 15th century, the Spaniards were also looking for new routes. In 1492, the Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus arrived at the court of the Spanish kings Ferdinand and Isabella and proposed his project, approved by Toscanelli, to reach the shores of India by sailing west across the Atlantic (before that he had proposed in vain to the Portuguese, French, and English monarchs). The situation for the Spaniards after the end of the reconquista was financially difficult. The nobles did not do household chores; they were accustomed to free lands from the war. Due to its geographical location and the long struggle with the Arabs of Spain in the 15th century. found itself cut off from trade along the Mediterranean Sea, which was controlled by Italian cities. Expansion at the end of the 15th century. Turkish conquests made trade with the East even more difficult for Europe. The route to India around Africa was closed to Spain, since advancement in this direction meant a clash with Portugal. The idea of ​​overseas expansion was supported by the top catholic church. It was also approved by scientists from the University of Salamanca, one of the most famous in Europe. An agreement was concluded between the Spanish kings and Columbus, according to which the great navigator was appointed viceroy of the newly discovered lands, received the hereditary rank of admiral, the right to 1/10 of the income from the newly discovered possessions and 1/8 of the profits from trade.

On August 3, 1492, a flotilla of three caravels sailed from the harbor of Palos (near Seville), heading southwest. Passed the Canary Islands and reached the Sargasso Sea, algae created the illusion of proximity to land. We wandered among the seaweed for several days; there was no shore. A mutiny was brewing on the ships. After two months of sailing under pressure from the crew, Columbus changed course and moved southwest. On the night of October 12, 1492, one of the sailors saw land, and at dawn the flotilla approached one of the Bahamas (the island of Guanahani, called San Salvador by the Spaniards). During this first voyage (1492-1493), Columbus discovered the island of Cuba and explored its northern coast. Mistaking Cuba for one of the islands off the coast of Japan, he tried to continue sailing west and discovered the island of Haiti (Hispaniola), where he found more gold than in other places. Off the coast of Haiti, Columbus lost his largest ship and was forced to leave part of the crew on Hispaniola. A fort was built on the island. The fortress on Hispaniola - Navidad (Christmas) - became the first Spanish settlement in the New World. In 1493, Columbus returned to Spain, where he was received with great honor. Columbus's discoveries worried the Portuguese. In 1494, through the mediation of the Pope, an agreement was concluded in the city of Tor Desillas, according to which Spain was given the right to own lands to the west of the Azores, and Portugal to the east.

Columbus made three more voyages to America: in 1493--1496, 1498--1500 and in 1502--1504, during which the Lesser Antilles, the island of Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad and others were discovered, and there was also the coast of Central America was surveyed. And in the following routes they did not find rich deposits of gold and precious metals; the income from the new lands only slightly exceeded the costs of their development. The discontent of the conquistador nobles in the New World was especially great, whom the admiral severely punished for disobedience. In 1500, Columbus was accused of abuse of power and sent to Spain in shackles. Columbus was soon rehabilitated and all his titles were returned to him. During his last voyage, Columbus made great discoveries: he discovered the coast of the mainland south of Cuba and explored the southwestern shores of the Caribbean Sea over a distance of 1,500 km. It has been proven that the Atlantic Ocean is separated by land from the "South Sea" and the coast of Asia. While sailing along the coast of Yucatan, Columbus encountered tribes who wore colored clothes and knew how to smelt metal. Which later turned out to be part of the Mayan state.

Portuguese colonization. In 1500, the Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral landed on the coast of Brazil and declared this territory the possession of the Portuguese king. In Brazil, with the exception of certain areas on the coast, there was no settled agricultural population; the few Indian tribes that were at the stage of the tribal system were pushed into the interior of the country. The lack of deposits of precious metals and significant human resources determined the uniqueness of the colonization of Brazil. The second important factor was the significant development of trading capital. Organized colonization of Brazil began in 1530, and it took the form of economic development of coastal areas. An attempt was made to impose feudal forms of land tenure. The coast was divided into 13 captains, the owners of which had full power.

Spanish colonization of the Caribbean. In 1500--1510 expeditions led by participants in Columbus's voyages explored the northern coast of South America, Florida and reached the Gulf of Mexico. The Spaniards captured the Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles (Trinidad, Tabago, Barbados, Guadeloupe, etc.), as well as a number of small islands in the Caribbean. The Greater Antilles became an outpost of Spanish colonization of the Western Hemisphere. The Spanish authorities paid special attention to Cuba, which was called the “key to the New World.” Fortresses and settlements for immigrants from Spain were built on the islands, roads were laid, and plantations of cotton, sugar cane, and spices arose. Gold deposits were insignificant. The Spanish government began to attract immigrants from the northern regions of Spain here. The resettlement of peasants was especially encouraged; they were given plots of land and were exempt from taxes for 20 years. Work force was not enough, and from the middle of the 16th century. African slaves began to be imported to the Antilles. Started in 1510 new stage the conquests of America - colonization and development of the interior of the continent, the formation of a system of colonial exploitation. In historiography, this stage, which lasted until the middle of the 17th century, is called the conquest (conquest). This stage began with the invasion of the conquistadors on the Isthmus of Panama and the construction of the first fortifications on the mainland (1510). In 1513, Vasco Nunez Balboa crossed the isthmus in search of El Dorado. Going out to the Pacific coast, he planted the banner of the Castilian king on the shore. In 1519, the city of Panama was founded - the first on the American continent. In 1517--1518 The detachments of Hernando de Cordoba and Juan Grijalva, who landed on the Yucatan coast in search of slaves, encountered the most ancient of pre-Columbian civilizations - the Mayan state. In the temples and palaces of the nobility, the Spaniards discovered many decorations, figurines, vessels made of gold and copper, and chased gold discs with scenes of battles and scenes of sacrifice. By the time the Spaniards arrived, the territory of Yucatan was divided between several city-states. From local residents, the Spaniards learned that precious metals were brought from the Aztec country, located north of Yucatan. In 1519, a Spanish detachment headed by Hernan Cortes, a poor young hidalgo who arrived in America in search of wealth and glory, set out to conquer these lands. The Aztec state extended from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Ocean. Numerous tribes lived on its territory, conquered by the Aztecs. The center of the country was the Valley of Mexico. Unlike the Mayans, the Aztec state achieved significant centralization, and the transition to the hereditary power of the supreme ruler was gradually carried out. However, the lack of internal unity and the internecine struggle for power made it easier for the Spaniards to win this unequal struggle. The final conquest of Mexico spanned more than two decades. The last Mayan stronghold was captured by the Spaniards only in 1697, i.e. 173 years after their invasion of Yucatan. Mexico lived up to the hopes of its conquerors. Rich deposits of gold and silver were found here. Already in the 20s of the 16th century. The development of silver mines began. The merciless exploitation of Indians in mines and construction, and massive epidemics led to a rapid decline in population. In 1524, the conquest of the territory of present-day Colombia began, and the port of Santa Marta was founded. From here, the conquistador Jimenez Quesada reached the Bogotá plateau, where the Chibcha-Muisca tribe lived - among other things, jewelers. Here he founded Santa Fede Bogota.

The second stream of colonization came from the Isthmus of Panama south along the Pacific coast of America. The rich country of Peru, or Viru, as the Indians called it. One of the detachments was led by the semi-literate hidalgo from Extremadura, Francisco Pizarro. In 1524, together with his fellow countryman Diego Almagro, he set sail south along the west coast of America and reached the Gulf of Guayaquil (modern Ecuador). Returning to Spain in 1531, Pizarro signed a capitulation with the king and received the title and rights of adelantado - leader of a detachment of conquistadors. His two brothers and 250 hidalgos from Extremadura joined the expedition. In 1532, Pizarro landed on the coast, quickly conquered the backward scattered tribes living there and captured an important stronghold - the city of Tumbes. The path opened before him to conquer the Inca state - Tahuantisuyu, the most powerful of the states of the New World, which was experiencing a period of greatest growth at the time of the Spanish invasion. In 1532, when several dozen Spaniards embarked on a campaign into the interior of Peru, a fierce civil war was going on in the state of Tahuantisuyu. Meeting almost no resistance. In 1535, Pizarro made a campaign against Cuzco, which was conquered after a difficult struggle. In the same year, the city of Lima was founded, which became the center of the conquered territory. A direct sea route was established between Lima and Panama. The conquest of Peru lasted more than 40 years. The country was shaken by powerful popular uprisings against the conquerors. In the inaccessible mountainous regions, a new Indian state arose, conquered by the Spaniards only in 1572. Simultaneously with Pizarro’s campaign in Peru in 1535-1537. Adelantado Diego Almagro began a campaign in Chile, but soon had to return to Cuzco, which was besieged by the rebel Indians. An internecine struggle began in the ranks of the conquistadors, in which F. Pizarro, his brothers Hernando and Gonzalo and Diego d'Almagro died. The conquest of Chile was continued by Pedro Valdivia. The Araucanian tribes living in this country put up stubborn resistance, and the conquest of Chile was finally completed only in the end of the 17th century. The colonization of La Plata began in 1515, lands along the La Plata and Paraguay rivers were conquered. Detachments of conquistadors, moving from the southeast, entered the territory of Peru. In 1542, two streams of colonization merged here. If at first the precious metals accumulated by Indian civilizations were exported, then the development of mines began.