Chapter 14 The Americas

Chapter 14 Lesson 1: The First Americans Bell Ringer Turn to page and complete questions 1-4 of the Map Focus activity.

Guiding Question How did geography shape the ways people settled in the Americas?  Geography of the Americas  Descendants of the first settlers of the Americas are called Native Americans  Their ancestors came from N.E. Asia to Alaska  They lived different lifestyles depending on local resources  A Diverse Region  They stretch 11,000 miles long  The geographical areas are North, South, Central, and the Caribbean  Central America is an isthmus

 A Diverse Region (continued)  The Americas have many different geographical features/climates  North America has climates from sub-arctic to tropical  Central/South America mostly have a warm, rainy climate  Towering Mountains  Western mountain chains run up and down the Americas  Rocky Mountains/Pacific Coastal Mountains  Eastern mountains run near the Atlantic coast  Appalachians  The Andes stretch along the Pacific coast of South America  World’s longest mountain system

 Rolling Plains  North America has many inland and coastal plains  The Great Plains are located in central N.A.  South American has large plains as well  Amazon Basin covers 2.7 million square miles  Has the world’s largest rain forest  Pampas in the south is great for farming/herding cattle  Rushing Rivers  Large river systems drain the Americas  Begin in mountain ranges, flow through plains to the oceans  Transport goods, people, ad ideas  Mississippi River is largest in N.A.  Flows 2,350 miles  Amazon largest in South America  Flows about 4,000 miles

Guiding Question How did prehistoric people reach the Americas and form settlement?  15,000-20,000 years ago sea levels dropped exposing the “land bridge”  This connected Asia and Alaska  Historians are mixed on how humans got the to Americas  Some believe they walked across the land bridge  Some believe they sailed long before the last ice age

 Native American Stories  Native American’s created stories which explained their origins  These stories were passed on from generation to generation  Hunters and Gatherers  First Americans lived in small, nomadic groups  They used natural resources for food, clothing, and shelter  Large animals like bison, caribou, and the woolly mammoth provided meat, hides for clothes, and bones for tools  Beginnings of Agriculture  The temperature warmed after the last Ice Age  Early Americans learned to plant seeds and harvest crops about 10,000 years ago  Earliest farming began in Mesoamerica  Climate and soil were perfect for farming  Corn became the most important crop

Guiding Question How did farming make civilization possible in the Americas?  First American Cultures  First complex civilization developed in Mesoamerica and along the western coast of S.A.  These were made possible by the ability to grow/trade crops

 Olmec Culture  1200 BC – the Olmec build the oldest civilization in Mesoamerica  Lasted about 800 years  Harvested beans and salt and traded with other people for jade and obsidian  Built pyramids and stone monuments for religious purposes  Teotihuacan – The First Planned City  400 BC – The Olmec civilization collapses and another group comes to power in Mesoamerica  They built one of the first planned cities  120k-250k people lived there, it lasted from AD 250 – AD 800  Their main street was lined with temples

 Other Mesoamericans  The Zapotec lived in south-central Mexico  Capital city of Monte Alban  Built many farms and cities  Developed writing based on hieroglyphics  Declined after AD 500  The Maya lived in the rain forests of Yucatan Peninsula  They traded with peoples throughout Mesoamerica  Early Civilizations in South America  Several thrived along the Pacific coast  900 BC – Chavin people develop civilization in what is now Peru/Ecuador  Built many stone temples/statues of deities  Declined around 200 BC

Guiding Question Why did a large number of civilizations develop in North America?  Early Cultures in North America  Archaeologists have found artifacts from many different cultures  These groups learned farming much like their neighbors in Mesoamerica  As it developed, so did civilizations

 The Hohokam  AD 300 – the Hohokam lived in the Arizona desert  Planted on lands between the Salt and Gila Rivers  Dug hundreds of miles of canals to water their fields  The Anasazi  Lived during the same time as Hohokam  They settled the canyons and cliffs and used water that ran off the cliffs for farming  Built large stone houses called pueblos, connected villages with roads  AD Abandoned settlements and formed smaller groups due to drought

 The Mound Builders  Lasted from 1000 BC – AD 400  Got their name from large mounds of Earth they constructed for ceremonies  Hopewell built mounds to look like birds, snakes, and bears  Evidence in the mounds shows they traded with other civilizations  Who Were the Mississippians?  AD 700 – located in the Mississippi River Valley  Had very rich soil and their plants grew extremely well  Their farming abilities led to the rise of cities

 An Orderly Society  Some cities contained 10,000 people or more  Cahokia was the largest city, and contained 16, ,000  Mississippians built mounds as well, in the shape of pyramids  Largest was 100 ft tall  Mississippian society organized and complex  Social classes included chiefs, priests, warriors, and farmers/artisans  They were allowed to change social classes  The civilization collapsed during the AD 1200s  Historians are not sure why