Some Central and South American Civilizations (16 December 2015, 4 Tevet, 5776)
Origins
The Amerindians according to both linguistic and DNA studies mostly originated in Central Asia, Northern China, Mongolia, and especially Siberia. There were also minor infusions from the Pacific Islands and Australian type populations. These may have preceded the Amerindians from Asia. The Amerindians of North and South America are considered all part of the one cultural and ethnic continuum.
Southern Amerindian Civilizations
North America is what interests us but the great Amerindian civilizations were all in the south.
Olmec Civilization in the Gulf region of southern Mexico lasted from 1200 BCE to ca. 400 BCE. Olmec statuettes show some individuals with distinct Negroid features and others with Phoenician-type Caucasian ones. Links with Carthage have been suggested. The Olmecs influenced the civilizations that came after them.
The Toltecs in the center of Mexico arrived in ca. 1000 CE and lasted till the fall of their capital in 1150 CE.
The Aztecs claimed to be descended from the Toltecs. They were originally nomads from the north of Mexico who are said to have originated in what later became Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Linguistically their language is similar to that of Tribes in the US southwest including that of the Apaches. In the 1300s the Aztecs came to the area of Mexico City and ruled over most of Mexico until the Spanish conquest in the 1520s.
The Aztecs practiced human sacrifice on a large scale. The numbers killed exceed those of natural increase. An article by Tim Stanley (2011), concerning the Aztecs reported that:
"Defeated soldiers were not killed on the battlefield, but captured and returned to Tenochtitlan for sacrifice. The Aztec rulers were convinced that the end of the world was nigh and butchered thousands to appease the gods. This was a culture obsessed with death: they believed that human sacrifice was the highest form of karmic healing. When the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan was consecrated in 1487 the Aztecs recorded that 84,000 people were slaughtered in four days. Self-sacrifice was common and individuals would pierce their ears, tongues and genitals to nourish the floors of temples with their blood."
The Mayas also practiced human sacrifices. The Mayas in southern Mexico and Central America lasted from ca. 250 BCE until the Spanish conquest.
The Incas were centered on Peru but ruled over a large area. The Inca Empire included large parts of Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. They ruled from the 1200s CE until the Spaniards in 1533. Mummified remains indicate that the ruling class among the Incas may have included many with red hair. Others (e.g. Thor Heyerdahl) opine that the red-haired rulers preceded the Incas as we know them and were expelled by them. Individuals with red hair were also to be found among the nobility of Polynesia.
To Be Continued