Chapter 1 “The First Americans” American History.
-
Upload
tyler-bradford -
Category
Documents
-
view
232 -
download
0
Transcript of Chapter 1 “The First Americans” American History.
Chapter 1
“The First Americans”
American History
Early American History• Early American history is divided into two
time periods, Pre-Columbian and Post-Columbian.
• Pre-Columbian means before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 in North America.
• Post-Columbian means after the arrival of Christopher Columbus on the North American Continent.
Studying the Past
Where?
Why
How
Where
Culture
Section I: Early peoples
Studying the Past
Where were these Natives settling before the
Americas
Before the Americas,
natives settles along major
rivers in Asia.They were nomads – people
who follow their food.
Why
How Culture
Where
Section I: Early peoples
Studying the Past – Why?
What caused early Native Americans to migrate
to the Americas
Why It was a chain reaction of
events
Change in climate; ice age
Shrinking animal food
supply
Man followed their food
supply
Why
How Culture
Where
Section I: Early peoples
Studying the Past
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Equator
Section I: Early peoples
The Ice Age Coming
Studying the Past
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Equator
Section I: Early peoples
The Ice Age Coming
Studying the Past – How?
How did these early Native arrive to the
Americas
The Earth enters a long
Ice AgeWaters in the Bering Strait
freeze
Water levels drop, exposing the
Beringia land bridge
Why
How Culture
Where
Section I: Early peoples
Studying the Past
Section I: Early peoples
Studying the Past
Section I: Early peoples
Read pages 20-21
Studying the Past – How?
How?
Hunters from Asia cross
into North AmericaPeople spread through the
Americas
Native Americans create new
cultures.
Why
How Culture
Where
Section I: Early peoples
Studying the Past - Culture
They brought and developed culture
Use of plants and animals
Weapons
Civilizations and
Communities
Why
How Culture
Where
Section I: Early peoples
Review Section I
Causes
The Earth enters a long
Ice Age
Waters in the Bering
Strait freeze
Water levels drop,
exposing the Beringia
land bridge
Effect
Hunters from Asia cross
into N. America
People spread through
the Americas
Native Americans create
new cultures
Section I: Early peoples
Natives to the Americas
These are the 4 Pre-
Columbian Empires that
rose to powera) Olmec
b) Mayan
c) Aztec
d) Inca
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
Section II: Cities and Empires
The Olmec Empire – 1500 BCE – 300 BCE Contributions
Excellent farmers
Sculpted large monuments
Built stone pavements and
drainage systems
Religion – polytheistic
(believed in many gods)
Close society
Olmec capitol Teotihuacan
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Mayan Empire - 300 C.E. to 1000 C.E.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Mayan Empire - Agriculture
The Mayan culture was based
on farming.
They grew maize (corn), beans,
sweet potatoes, cotton and
cacao (chocolate).
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Mayan Empire - Architecture
They built cities that were very
organized.
They also built large
pyramids.
The top of the pyramid was
used for religion and
government.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Mayan Empire – Religion/Government
Religion
They were polytheistic
(believed in many gods)
The most revered deities
(gods) were Itzamna and Ix
Chel, father and mother of
all other gods and Chac
the rain god.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Mayan Empire – Religion/Government
Government
Their government was a
Theocracy – ruled by religious
leaders
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Mayan Empire – OtherContributions
Astronomy – developed a 365 day calendar that was the world’s most accurate until this century!
Complex writing – used a system of hieroglyphics made up of 800 signs. It was so complex they have still not been fully decoded.
Established a market system- exchange of goods (crops, pottery, meat, salt)
The pyramid was used as a calendar – 4 stairways, each with 91 steps and a platform at the top making 365 (the number of days in a year)!
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Mayan Empire – Decline 900 AD
Revolting of slaves and farmers
Not enough food
Earthquakes
Invasion by outside armies
All these things together resulted in the
downfall of the Mayan Empire by 900 AD.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Aztec Empire 1325 CE – 1400 CE
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Aztec Empire - Architecture
Their capital city of
Tenochtitlan, set in the
lake, was a beautiful city.
They built pyramids, mile-
long floating roads,
aqueducts and
marketplaces.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Aztec Empire - Government
The Aztecs were a tribe living on the edge of Lake Texcoco, the site of present day Mexico City.After conquering neighboring tribes, the Aztecs ruled the largest empire Mexico had ever seen.100,000 people lived there.Their government was highly codified (a strict system of rules to follow).It was a monarchy – government ruled by an all-powerful emperorThe emperor collected taxes from the conquered people and gave land to his people, especially the warriors.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Aztec Empire - Religion The Aztec Religion was polytheistic – believed in many gods.They believed that human sacrifices were needed to please the gods and to have a good harvest.The Aztec god Quetzacoatl was the god of intelligence and creation. He was their most important god.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Aztec Empire - Other The Aztecs used a calendar similar to the Mayans. It was based on a 365 day year.In the mythology of the Aztecs, there were 5 ages of humans.1. The first age of mankind ended
with the animals devouring the humans.
2. The second age was ended by wind.
3. The third age ended by fire.4. The fourth age ended by water.5. The fifth age is called Nahui-
Olin (Sun of Earthquake). It began in 3113 BC and ended on December 24, 2011. Many believed this would be the end of the world. Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Aztec Empire - Writing The Aztec language was based on symbols representing words.They would combine symbols to create sentences.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Neighborhood
Section II: Cities and Empires
The Inca Empire – 1200 CE – 1535 CE
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Inca Empire – Agriculture
Agriculture The Inca grew maize
(corn), squash, tomatoes,
peanuts, chili peppers,
melons, cotton, potatoes
and coca (chocolate).
They developed drainage
systems and canals to help
grow more crops.
They used llamas for
transportation and meat.
Because they had enough
food and resources, their
population grew to about
9,000,000 people.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Inca Empire - Government
GovernmentThe Incas followed a monarchy – government ruled by a king or queen. They were led by King Pachacuti.Their society was arranged by a strict structure.
1. The highest level was the Sapa – high priest or ruler and the army commander2. The temple priests, architects and regional army commanders were next.3. The two lowest classes were the artisans, army captains, farmers and herders.
Farmers provided most of the food for the rest of the population.They had to pay tax in the form of gold, which was distributed to the higher classes.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Inca Empire - Economy The Inca lived in the part of South America extending from the Equator to the Pacific coast of Chile.Their capital was Cuzco.The main resources available to the Inca Empire were agricultural land, labor, mines (producing gold, silver and copper) and fresh water.With careful use of these resources, the Incas kept things moving the way they wanted.Tribute in the form of service (mita) played an important role in maintaining the empire.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Inca Empire - Religion
The Inca were polytheistic –
believed in many gods.
Their most important god was
Machu Picchu (The sun god)
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca
The Inca Empire - Other The Incas developed an incredible system of roads.Since the Incas lived in the Andes Mountains, the roads took great skill to build.They built stone walls to prevent travelers from falling off cliffs.They used simple writings called quipus.They developed weapons – spears, clubs, and spiked copper balls on ropes.
Section II: Cities and Empires
Olmec Mayan
Aztec Inca