Download The Americas

The Americas
The Earliest Americans
► Explain
how people first arrived in the
Americas.
► Describe
the changes that the development
of agriculture brought to the Americas.
Physical Setting
► Stretches
more than 9000 miles from
Greenland to Cape Horn in South America
► Rocky
Mountains stretch from North
America into South America, where they
are called the Andes
► Mississippi
► Amazon
► Bering
River in North America
River in South America
Strait- a narrow strip of water
First Arrivals
► Followed
animal herds across
the land bridge
► Many
were hunter-gathers
► Depended
on hunting,
fishing, and plants
► Created
origins
Myths to explain their
Development of Agriculture
who hunted wild animals and
gathered plants
► Climate change destroyed the large animal
population
► Created new way of life…Farming
► Earliest known farming in America is in
Mexico
► Practiced subsistence farming
► Nomads
Mammoths
Mastodons
Cultures of North America
► Explain
how geography and climate affected
life in different regions of North America
► Distinguish
between the early American
cultures in the Pacific Northwest, the
Southwest, the Great Plains, and the
Eastern Woodlands.
The Northwest
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Located on the Northwest coast of
North America
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Achievements in fishing, weaving ,
and woodworking
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Known for Totem Poles- carvings
that that tell the history of people
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Held gift giving ceremonies called
potlatches
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Organized by clan or family
The Southwest
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Hohokam people lived in SW
United States
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Achievements in irrigation
networks, farming, and cliff
dwellings
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Climate change made them
abandon their communities
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The Pueblo built house made
of adobe, sun dried brick and
raised corn
The Southwest
The Great Plains
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Located between the Rocky Mtns
and MS River
Achievements in hunting buffalo,
making tools and pottery, and
farming
Hunted buffalo by the jump-kill
method or chasing them over cliffs
Built cone shaped dwellings called
tepees
Lived in square or rectangular
houses built in a small pit
Organized by villages
The Eastern Woodlands
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Stretched from Canada to the Gulf of
Mexico and from Atlantic to MS River
Achievements in building cities,
conducting trade over long distances,
building mounds, farming, and skilled
artists
Organized by ceremonial centers or
villages
Hopewell built mounds in the shape of
animals
Mississippians settlements centered
around ceremonial mounds
Mesoamerica &
Andean South America
► Identify
characteristics of the Olmec, Toltec,
and Maya Cultures
► Explain how the Aztecs and the Incas built
and strengthened their empires
Olmec & Chavin
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Earliest known in Mexico
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Large class of farmers and
small elite
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Worshipped god that is part
jaguar part human
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Known for giant stone heads
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Mysteriously disappeared
Maya
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Most advanced
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Skilled architects & engineers
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Developed written system based on
hieroglyphs
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Worshipped many gods…Rain god
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Used astronomy for agriculture calendar
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Considered stars and planets to be gods
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Warfare & overuse of land are reasons
for decline
Toltec
► Ruled
by military class
► Erected
pyramid buildings
► Introduced
metal work
► Worship
Quetzalcoatl
(feathered serpent)
 Chief god of ancient Mexico
 Practiced human sacrifice
Aztecs
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Wandering warriors
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Most powerful in Mexico
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Farmed on Chinampus
 Fields made from mud lakes
 Increased the amount of food for farmers
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Military dominated society
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SUN god constant struggles/sacrifices…prisoners of war
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Declined due to discontent among people forced to pay
heavy tributes
The Inca:
“ Children of the Sun”

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Emperor had absolute power
Built fortresses, irrigation systems,
paved roads, and storehouses
Steps to unify
 Move villages to colonize new
lands
 Established educational
system w/ common
language…Quechua
Record keeping by Quipu- series of
knots on parallel strings
Advanced in the practice of
medicine
Viracocha