Mesoamerica Outcome: The Earliest Americans

The Earliest Americans 1. North and South America a.Stretches unbroken 9,000 miles b.Originally connected to Asia by a land bridge called Beringia c.Most inhabitants (or ancestors) migrated this way d.Others traveled by boat

Beringia

The Earliest Americans 2. Peopling of America a.Started arriving after the Ice Age (1.9 million – 10,000 B.C.) b.Ice Age lowered sea levels (hence Beringia) and allowed wild herds from Siberia to migrate to the Americas c.People followed the herds and became first Americans ( hunters and gatherers )

The Earliest Americans 2. Peopling of America (continued…) d.Some say earliest humans found in North or South America date back to 40,000 B.C. or 10,000 B.C. e.Evidence? Spearheads found in New Mexico date back to 9,500 B.C. f.12,000-10,000 years ago the Ice Age ended - Ice melted and Beringia was swallowed g.Agriculture began about 7,000 B.C. h.With agriculture came permanent settlements

What is Mesoamerica?

The Olmec People

The Earliest Americans 3. Mesoamerica a.Olmec i.Located in the jungles of S. Mexico around 1200 B.C. ii.Often called Mesoamerica’s “ mother culture ” iii.Large head discovered in 1860 iv.Built columns, altars, & colossal sculpted heads v.Olmec thrived from B.C. vi.Believed to have worshipped variety of nature gods including the jaguar spirit vii.Collapse: Unknown. Possibilities include decline by outside rulers or possibly that the Olmec began destruction of their monuments when their leaders died

Olmec Head

The Earliest Americans b. Zapotec i.Developed around time of declining Olmec in Oaxaca Valley ii.Oaxaca Valley has fertile soil, mild climate, and enough rainfall to support agriculture iii.By 500 B.C. they had created early forms of writing and a calendar system

The Zapotec

The Earliest Americans iv.First real urban center in Mesoamerica: Monte Alban, which at its peak had 25,000 people 1.Paved stones 2.Towering Pyramids, temples, palaces v.Decline of Zapotec is also a mystery

Monte Alban

The Earliest Americans c. Olmec and Zapotec Legacy i.Influence powerful Maya ii.Olmec left notions of planned ceremonial centers & some glyph writing iii.Zapotec leave hieroglyphics & calendar system iv.Zapotec are America’s first city builders

The Earliest Americans 4. Other a. Moche, Nazca, and Chavin build centers in South America b.Nazca lines This spider was created more than 1,000 years ago. It survived because the region has little erosion. The plains are one of the driest regions on earth with only 20 minutes of rain a year. Also, the ground is flat and stony, so wind rarely carries away the soil.

Extra Information: Nazca Lines Etched on the plains of southeastern Peru are more than 1,000 drawings of animals, plants, humans, and geometric shapes. Most of them are so large that they can be recognized only from the air. Scientists believe that the Nazca people made the drawings between 200 B.C. and A.D. 600.

Extra Information: Nazca Lines Since the lines were discovered in 1927, people have proposed many theories about their purpose, including the following: o The Nazca people worshiped mountain or sky gods and created the drawings to please them. o The lines indicated where surface water entered the plain and marked elevated land between ancient riverbeds. o The lines are a huge map that marks the course of underground aquifers, or water sources. (This is the most recent theory.)

Extra Information: Nazca Lines

The Earliest Americans Result: The Earliest Americans left a lasting legacy on North and South America that would eventually influence two of Mesoamerica’s greatest cultures: The Mayas and the Aztecs.