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The isolation affected the way that cultures
developed because they had different
resources different groups and were not
caught up on things like technology and
agriculture. Also religions and language
differed. This was all caused by the Americas
being isolated from the other main
civilizations.
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Olmec art was very closely tied with religion,
and in turn religion was tied to power. Rulers
associated themselves with the gods and
immortalized their godly images in carvings,
such as the large Olmec stone heads, rulers
used artistic architecture to separate
themselves from the common population,
making them seem even more malevolent
and distant
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The Chavín lived along the South American
coast, where they collected fish and mollusks.
Fish then became incorporated into their
artwork. Other animals that lived in their
environment also influenced Chavín art and
religion. Jaguars were very influential in
Chavín culture. Their deity was half jaguar,
and half man. The jaguar was incorporated in
Chavín art and architecture.
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They believed in a jaguar-god
Polytheistic
It helped leaders keep control because they
were associated with jaguars, which were
deities. Therefore people respected them and
their authority
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The llamas helped carry goods all over their
territories.
Could carry up to 70 pounds
Humans could only carry 50 pounds worth of
goods.
One herder could control 10-30 llamas
They provided wool and meat
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In the Chavín, as in the civilizations in China
and Nubia, metals and metallurgy were
developed to make trade goods, tools, as well
as weapons. Metal’s rarity also lent those who
possessed it authority and power. In all these
civilizations, metals were incredibly
important, they were used to make life easier,
make valuable trade goods, and defend the
civilization.
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The Olmec had no flowing rivers that
provided easier irrigation to crops. The Olmec
had to build irrigation/canals to provide their
crops with water. Also, since the Olmec
weren’t built on a river, they didn’t have an
easier route for trade and travel. They had to
go by land or by ocean.