1. Chapter 1 The First Americans Prehistory - 1492
US HISTORY
Chapter 1
The First Americans
Prehistory

2. Lesson 1 – Migration to the Americas
Where did they come from?
Asia
Europe, Africa, South Pacific, etc.?
How did they get here?
Beringia – land bridge
Boat crossings?
When did they get here?
15,000-70,000 years ago
How long did it take to settle both continents?
Many archaeologists believe it took less than 1000 years...this supports the idea of more than one entrance
Entrance to the Americas

3. Lesson 2 – Cities and Empires
OLMEC
1200 BC – 300 BC
Located on Gulf Coast of Mexico, Guatemala, & Honduras
Cause of decline is unknown
Known in modern times for large statues they created...evidence of contact with Africa & Europe?

4. Lesson 2 – Cities and Empires
MAYA
Peaked b/w
Located in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, & Belize
Built large cities  each contained at least one stone pyramid
Some pyramids reached 200 ft. tall
Pyramids had temples on top
theocracy – society ruled by religious leaders
Pyramid at Chichen Itza

5. Lesson 2 – Cities and Empires
MAYA
Astronomy – were able to predict eclipses and developed a 365-day calendar...end of the world on December 21, 2012?
Cause of decline is unknown (900) but descendants of Maya are still around in Central America today
Mayan Astronomers

6. Lesson 2 – Cities and Empires
AZTEC
Peaked
Located in Mexico
Tenochtitlan
Capital city
Located on an island in the middle of a lake
One of the largest cities in the world at the time
Military Empire
Conquered nearly all of central & southern Mexico
Conquered peoples became slaves
Human sacrifice important part of religious ceremonies
Tenochtitlan

7. Lesson 2 – Cities and Empires
INCA
Peaked
Located in western South America in Andes Mtns. (3000 miles in length)
Daily Life
At its height, population was over 9 million
Built over 10,000 miles of paved roads and rope bridges
Extensive messenger system – similar to Pony Express
No system of writing – used quipus system of using various colors & lengths of string with knots to keep records
Used terraces to help with farming on mountainsides
Inca Rope Bridge

8. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
EARLY NORTH AMERICAN CULTURES
MOUND BUILDERS
Found in central & eastern North America
ADENA – one of the earliest groups, built the Great Serpent Mound in present-day Ohio
HOPEWELL – built mounds in the shapes of birds, bears, and snakes
The Great Serpent Mound

9. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
EARLY NORTH AMERICAN CULTURES
MOUND BUILDERS
MISSISSIPPIANS – built Angel Mounds (near Evansville, IN)…also built city of Cahokia (present-day Illinois)
contained Monks Mound (100 ft. high)
was largest city in US until Philadelphia in the 1800s
Cahokia

10. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
EARLY NORTH AMERICAN CULTURES
HOHOKAM
Peaked
Located in present-day Arizona
Used irrigation channels to water their fields
Shells found on sites show they had contact with coastal peoples
Hohokam Irrigation Channel

11. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
EARLY NORTH AMERICAN CULTURES
ANCIENT PUEBLOANS
Formerly called “Anasazi”-descendants dislike the name
Lived around the same time as the Hohokam
Lived in the “Four Corners” region of the American Southwest  AZ, NM, CO, UT
Built large stone dwellings – some in the walls of steep cliffs
Disappeared from the area around 1300 AD
Mesa Verde National Park - Colorado

12. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
NATIVE AMERICANS circa 1492
NORTHERN PEOPLES
INUIT
Found in the area around Arctic Ocean
May have been the last group to cross land bridge from Asia
Built igloos, used sea and land for food and resources
Inuit village

13. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
Haida totem poles – Field Museum (Chicago)
NATIVE AMERICANS circa 1492
WESTERN PEOPLES
TLINGIT, HAIDA, & CHINOOK
Found in Alaska, Canada, Washington, & Oregon
Used forest & sea for resources
NEZ PERCE & YAKIMA
Found in eastern WA & ID
Lived in earthen homes

14. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
NATIVE AMERICANS circa 1492
WESTERN PEOPLES
POMO
Found in central California
Pounded acorns into flour for food
UTE & SHOSHONE
Found in Great Basin (Nevada & Utah)
Nomadic – temporary shelters made from branches & reeds

15. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
NATIVE AMERICANS circa 1492
SOUTHWESTERN PEOPLES
HOPI, ACOMA, & ZUNI
Built homes from adobe
Used irrigation channels to grow different crops
APACHE & NAVAJO
Primarily hunters & gatherers
Navajo lived in square homes called ‘hogans’

16. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
NATIVE AMERICANS circa 1492
PLAINS PEOPLES
Found in Great Plains region of US
Nomadic people – move frequently, lived in tepees
Tamed wild horses – were able to use spears and bows while riding
Tepee village

17. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
NATIVE AMERICANS circa 1492
EASTERN PEOPLES
IROQUOIS LEAGUE
Confederation made up of Onondaga, Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, & Cayuga
Located in northern NY & Canada
Had a constitution and representative form of government

18. Lesson 3 – North American Peoples
NATIVE AMERICANS circa 1492
SOUTHEASTERN PEOPLES
CREEK, CHEROKEE, & CHICKASAW
Creek - farming was very important – corn, squash, tobacco, etc.
Cherokee – farmed in the Appalachian Mtns….Smokies
Chickasaw – farmed in fertile river bottomlands