Armillas' Mesoamerica is smaller than Kirchhoff's. His criteria facilitates explanation of
Peruvian-Mesoamerican similarities (food triumvirate, emphasis on blood sacrifice and heart excision, metallurgy)
"Mesoamerica saw the development of a 'high
civilization'. The criteria for
civilization are the boundaries of Mesoamerica"
1. Surplus - level of agricultural production above that of simple subsistence.
2. Social mechanism enabling Storage of Surplus
3. Full Time specialists in Gov, Religion, trade, war, crafts
4 Some form of currency (cacao beans)
5. External trade (outside the group)
6. A form of Theistic religion (belief in god or gods).
7. A series of Formal Laws
8. Numerical Systems - a way of accounting
A. Astronomy
B. Calendar (they had a monopoly on this "scientific" knowledge
9. Urban Centers (cities) in which archaeologists will find:
a) Monumental Architecture
b) More or less regular layout of buildings and streets
c) Concentration of Specialists in the Cities
d) water system and/or drainage and/or pavements and/or rubbish disposal
e) religious and/or commercial and/or industrial centers in City
10. Warfare - which concentrated surplus and built up empire.
11. Differential Power Concentration - government
12. Classes - upper class having control of all or part of production
(this because agriculture depends on 3 things:
1) land
2) water
3) labor force