D. EARLY MESOAMERICA AND ANDEAN SOUTH AMERICA: FOR EVERY RULE THERE’S AN EXCEPTION

In the Americas, two early civilizations existed: the Olmec, in what we know today as Mexico, from 1500 to 400 B.C.E., and the Chavin in the Andes from 900 to 200 B.C.E.

The Olmec were an urban society supported by surpluses of corn, beans, and squash. Like most early societies, they mastered irrigation techniques and constructed large-scale buildings; they were polytheistic, and developed a system of writing and a calendar.

The Chavin were another urban civilization, and their people were also polytheistic. But, while mostly agricultural, they also had access to the coast, and therefore supplemented their diet with seafood. The Chavin developed ways to use metals in tools and weapons. Interestingly, the Chavin used llamas as their beasts of burden.

If much of this sounds familiar to you, it’s because the Olmec and the Chavin developed similarly to other early civilizations discussed previously. So why bring them up separately? Two reasons. First, they demonstrate that the same patterns of development occurred in an entirely different part of the globe, a part that had no contact with the other civilizations discussed in this chapter. This suggests that developments within civilizations can occur independently—not necessarily as a result of exposure to other civilizations.

Second, neither the Olmec nor the Chavin civilization developed in a river valley. True, the Olmec and Chavin had access to water from streams and small rivers, but no major river system served as the generator of agricultural production or as the hub of culture and transportation. Their existence, therefore, disproves the hypothesis that river valleys are essential for the emergence of early civilizations. That’s not to say, however, that rivers aren’t extremely important—after all, the civilizations in the river valleys were among the most powerful and wealthy in all history.

Contrast Them: Olmec and Chavin Civilizations and Other Early Civilizations

Although you probably won’t have to remember the details of the Olmec and Chavin civilizations, you should definitely remember this: They are unique in that they didn’t develop in river valleys, as did all the other major early civilizations.