1. Precontact Native Americans
U.S. History I

3. The First Immigrants to America
Siberian hunters crossed “Beringia” before 12,000 BCE & spread southwards
Ice Age lowered sea level about 350 feet, exposing land under Bering Sea
Siberians hunting wooly mammoths, mastadons, etc. followed them across to Alaska
Quickly killed off large mammals
included horses & camels
thus only dogs & llamas domesticated
Others may have crossed by sea from Asia or SW Europe
Peopled both continents by 10,000 BCE
Copyright 2001, A.B. Longman

4. Mesoamerican Civilizations
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Agriculture began in Mesoamerica 5000 BCE
Maize, beans & squash
Olmecs & Zapotecs (1st millenium BCE)
Teotihuacán (300 BCE CE)
150,000 people living in stucco apartment complexes
Temple of the Sun over 200’ high
Trade in cocoa, rubber, feathers, obsidian & pulque
Ruins of Teotihuacán

5. The Mayan Civilization
3 million population on the Yucatan peninsula
City-states ruled by powerful kings
Polytheistic religion
Human sacrifice
Ceremonial ball game
Developed hieroglyphics
Overcultivation coupled with prolonged drought led to collapse of southern cities in 9th – 10th centuries
New urban centers in northern Yucatan flourished under Toltecs
Mayan pyramid at Uxmal

6. Mayan Glyphs carved on wall at Palenque, Mexico
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Mayan Glyphs carved on wall at Palenque, Mexico

7. Mayan Pyramid at Chichen-Itza
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Mayan Pyramid at Chichen-Itza

8. The Aztecs
Mexica (Aztecs) migrated from the northwest (Land of Aztlán)
Founded Tenochtitlán on island in Lake Texcoco
Politics and society:
Monarch had both divine and secular responsibilities
Hereditary nobility trained in harsh temple schools
Commoners belonged to calpulli (kinship group) headed by elected chief
Held land in common & maintained temples & schools
Responsible for taxes and conscription
Women could own property & make contracts, but not equal to men
©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.

9. Aztec Religion and Culture
Polytheistic religion:
Ometeotl = all-powerful creator god
Huitzilopochtli = sun god; protector of Aztec people
Quetzalcoatl = feather serpent god of learning; left in 10th century but destined to return one day
Fatalistic religion – believed world had been created & destroyed 4 times
Human sacrifice necessary to prevent 5th destruction of world
Impressive art and sculpture
Aztec Calendar Stone

10. Examples of early South American ceramics (6th - 9th centuries, Peru)
©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
Examples of early South American ceramics (6th - 9th centuries, Peru)

11. The Inca Empire Inca Empire est. by Pachakuti in 1440s
Highly centralized gov’t
Provinces & districts had equal numbers of residents
Governors members of royal family
Collective farming under state control
Forced labor used to build:
cities like Cuzco & Machu Picchu
24,800 miles of roads with rest houses, storage depots & suspension bridges
20,000-man army raised by universal conscription
No writing, but system of knotted strings (quipu) served as mnemonic devices for messengers
©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.

12. Peoples of North America
Agriculture & pottery entered North America around 2000 BCE
Hohokam & Anasazi (Pueblo) culture flourished in Southwest from 700 – 1300 CE
Irrigation to grow crops
Clay & timber buildings
Adena & Hopewell cultures in Ohio & Illinois River valleys, 100 BCE – 400 CE
Mississippian chiefdoms flourished in Southeast between 700 – 1500 CE
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Bandelier, NM

13. Mississippian Culture (700 – 1300)
Cahokia: city of 20,000 at its height ( CE)
Central city enclosed by wooden stockade nearly 6 square miles
Central plaza covered 50 acres
“Monks Mound” feet high, topped with large palace/temple
“Woodhenge” – circles of wooden posts served as calendar to mark solstices & equinoxes
Climate change &drought led to dwindling population after 1200 – abandoned by 1400
Artist’s conception of Cahokia

14. Native North American Cultures
Eastern Woodlands
Algonquian – Wampanoag, Mahican, Lenni Lenape, Powhatans
Iriquoian – 5 Nations, Hurons, Susquehannocks, Cherokee
Muskogean – Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw
Great Plains
Sedentary farmers – Mandans, Hidatsas
Nomadic buffalo hunters – Sioux, Crow, Comanche
Southwestern
Athapascans - Apache & Navajo
Pacific Northwest
Chinook, Salish

15. Eastern Woodlands Culture
Matrilineal descent
Husband joined wife’s clan
Iriquois women chose chiefs
Algonquin women could be chiefs
Clans & villages were primary identity, not tribes
Wars fought for 2 reasons:
Make other village pay tribute
Gain captives to be adopted
No written language
European diseases spread ahead of contact through trade
Algonquian Village