Different World’s Meet

THE FIRST AMERICANS

A. Native Americans

1. Migration from Asia

a. Across Land Bridge (Beringia)during last Ice

Age

1. Earth had an Ice Age-period of time when

temperatures on Earth were very cold

a. Northern half of world covered with

glaciers-large, slow-moving sheets of ice

b. Oceans froze , exposing a strip of land

(ocean floor) that connected Asia with North

America

c. Animal herds (bison, mammoths, caribou) crossed it- looked for grazing areas

d. Asian hunters, needed animals for meat, followed

the herds and stayed

2. Living in Americas

a. Hunter-gatherers- first Americans hunted for

the meat- learned to gather roots, berries,

nuts,etc.

1. Made tools and weapons out of stone, wood,

and bone

2. Archeologists –scientists who search for

traces of people in the past, believe the hunter-

gatherers migrated throughout North/South

America

http://www.tcnj.edu/~fickas3/index.htm

ANCIENT MIGRATING HERDS

MAMMOTHBISON

CARIBOU

b. Ice Age ends

1. Land bridge covered by water

2. Large animals became extinct or died out

3. Hunter-gatherers learned to hunt smaller

animals, fish

a. began to settle down into permanent areas

b. Some began to farm-grew maize (corn)

3. Early Cultures

a. Culture- total way of life a people follow to

satisfy their needs and wants

1. Three major cultures from 2,000 years ago

Early tools and weaponsused by the hunter-gatherers

A. Anasazi - “Ancient Ones” in Navajo language

1. cliff dwellers –built their houses on the

walls of canyons/on cliffs

B. Hohokam – called the Canal Builders

1. lived in desert area called the Tucson Basin

a. lived in “pit houses” in villages

1. built irrigation canals

C. Moundbuilders

1. Settled in Midwest and Southeast America

a. The Mississippian Culture -also known as the

Temple Mound Builders

1. built the first cities in North America

a. Cahokia- their biggest village

Anasazi cliff dwellings

Anasazi Pueblo

ADOBE BRICK

Hohokam irrigation

Ancient irrigation canals outside Phoenix airport

HOHOKAM PIT HOUSE

CAHOKIA

4.Cultures of the North American Geographic Areas

a. nations -different groups of Native Americans

1. Similarities – people in each nation usually

spoke same language and shared cultural

traits, had several leaders who made decisions

2. Beliefs –most nations believed in the power of

spirits found in nature

a. Shamans –religious leaders

b. Cultures

1. Artic and Subartic

a. Igloos- houses made of ice blocks

b. kayaks- used small boats made of skins for

fishing and travel

2. Northwest Fishermen

a. lived in Pacific Northwest-fished

b. totem poles-tall wooden posts with carvings

c. potlatches –feasts where wealthy host family

gave valuable gifts to members of the

community

3. The Plateau or Intermontane (between mountains)

a. between Cascade and Rocky Mountains

4. Great Basin

a. dry, desert area

5. Southwest

a. The Pueblo nation-lived in adobe houses- sun-

dried brick

6. The Plains

a. lived across the Great Plains

b. buffalo –major source of everything to them (food, clothes, tools)

TOTEM POLES

People arriving to a potlatch.

Potlatch Ceremonial Drum

ALUETS

Inuits

IGLOO

7. Southeast

a. most densely-populated- Cherokee, Seminole,

Natchez

b. Women had a higher standing in these cultures

8. Eastern Woodlands-Iroquois and Algonquin

a. Iroquois League –five nations fought until a

Mohawk leader, Hiawatha, suggested they

join together-formed the first true representative

government in North America-the Iroquois

League

Hiawatha Pueblo Taos, New Mexico

5. Empires of the South

a. created civilizations –group of people with an

culture

1. has some form of writing, government,

religion, cities and social classes

a. specialized workers – those who only do

one kind of work

EX: Jewelry maker

A. Mayan Empire (present day Mexico and

Central America)

1. Skilled farmers –built terraces (leveled off strips

of land) – to farm on hillsides

2. Master builders- cities were tall pyramids built

of limestone blocks- temples on top for religious

ceremonies

3. Astrologers and mathematicians- priests

studied the stars, created two calendars, and a

number system with the number zero.

a. Hieroglyphs –system of writing using

symbols or pictures

B. Aztec Empire

1. wanderers that settled on an island in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City)

Mayan Alphabet

Mayan Hieroglyphs

Mayan Numbers

Mayan CalendarMayan Pyramid

TERRACE FARMING

a. Causeways- raised highways over water connected city to mainland

b. aqueducts –channels or big pipes for flowing freshwater from the mountains- also created chinampas-floating gardens

c. conquered many people-forced them to pay a Tribute-a tax that could be paid in goods

C. Incas Empire

1. Largest empire in South America

a. conquered peaceful means unlike Aztec warriors

2. Cuzco- capital city high in the Andes

3. Created 10,000 mile of road to connect all Incans

Aztec Empire

Chinampas-Floating gardens

Tenochtitlan

Aqueducts

Tenochtitlan and its causeways MONTEZUMA II and Hernan Cortes

CUSCO INCAN RULER

Cusco Wall

TERRACE F ARMING

INCA ROADS INCAN SUSPENSION BRIDGES