The Americas, 400-1500

The People of North America Early Civilizations in Mesoamerica Early Civilizations in South America

The Peoples of North America

Objectives: 1. Identify and describe the rst inhabitants of the Americasthe hunters and gatherersand describe later inhabitants, who practiced farming 2. Discuss the great variety of climate and geographic features that contributed to the many different cultures that emerged in the Americas

The Lands of the Americas

The Americas, 9,000 miles from the Arctic Ocean to Cape Horn Various landscapes: icecovered lands, dense forests, river valleys, coastlines, tropical forests, and deserts Major mountain ranges: Rocky Mountains and Andes Major Rivers: Mississippi and *Amazon

The First Americas

Between 100,000 and 8,000 years ago, the last Ice Age produced a low sea level and created a land-bridge in the *Bering Strait between Asia and North America Hunters pursued herds of bison and caribou into North The rst Americans were hunters and food gatherers

The Peoples of North America Arctic and Northwest: The Inuit

About CE, a group of people called the *Inuit moved into North America from Asia learned unique ways to survive in a cold environment Harpoons and spears made from horns and tusks; homes of stone and turf Iglootemporary shelter

Eastern Woodlands: The Mound Builders Arounds 1000 BCE, Eastern Woodlands, from the Great Lakes to the *Gulf of Mexico The *Hopewell people in the Ohio River valley, known as the Mound Builderselaborate earth mounds: tombs for the wealthy *Cahokia, near the modern city of East St. Louismassive burial mound civilization; In the 13th century, the Cahokia collapsed

Eastern Woodlands: The Iroquois

The *Iroquois lived in villages that consisted of *longhouses surrounded by a wooden fence for protection hunted deer, bear, caribou, and small animals Women owned the dwellings, gathered wild plants, planted the seeds, and harvested the cropsthree sisters (corn, beans, and squash)

Wars were commonAccording to legend, Deganawida appeared and preached the need for peace The Great Peace alliance of ve groups called the Iroquois League A council of representatives known as the Grand Council which met to settle differences among the league Women of each *clan selected the male members of the Grand Councilthe experiment in democracy

Peoples of the Great Plains The *Plains Indians cultivated beans, corn and squash Every summer, the men left their villages to hunt buffalo (stampede over a cliff) Ate the meat, used the skin for clothing, and tools from bones *tepees from skin

Peoples of the Southwest: The Anasazi Conditions are dry in the Southwest territories (Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado) sufcient raining for farming *Anasazi peoples established an extensive farming society: 500 and 1200 CE Skilled at making baskets and potterystone and *adobe (sun-dried brick) to build *pueblos

Chaco Canyon (Pueblo Bonito) in New Mexico was the center of their civilization50 year drought destroyed them A large community emerged at *Mesa Verde (buildings in the recesses of the cliff walls)drought led to its abandonment

Objectives: 1. Identify and describe the rst inhabitants of the Americasthe hunters and gatherersand describe later inhabitants, who practiced farming 2. Discuss the great variety of climate and geographic features that contributed to the many different cultures that emerged in the Americas

The Americas, 400-1500

Objectives: 1. Characterize early Mesoamerican civilizations that ourished with fully developed political, religious, and social structures 2. Explain how the Aztecs succumbed to diseases brought by the Spanish

The Olmec and Teotihuacan *Mesoamericaareas of Mexico and Central America: civilized before the Spaniards arrived *Olmec c. 1200 BCE: swampy lowlands and coasts of the Gulf of Mexico south Veracruz; Large cities were centers for religious rituals The Olmec carved colossal stone heads, probably to represent their gods; Around 400 BCE, the Olmec civilization declined

*Teotihuacan (Place of the Gods)the rst major city in Mesoamerica Capital of an early kingdom from 250 BCE to 800 CE Trade center located near Mexico City Pyramid of the Sun, four tiers to a height of over 200 feet

The Maya and Toltec

The civilization of the *Maya arose on the *Yucatan Peninsula from 300 to 900 CE The Maya built splendid temples and pyramids and developed a complicated calendar Decline occurred for unknown reasons; theories include invasion, internal revolt, or natural disaster Overuse of the land led to reduced crop yields; Cities were abandoned and covered by dense jungle growth

Political and Social Structures Mayan cities were built around a central pyramid topped by a shrine to the gods The urban centers such as *Tikal may have had a hundred thousand inhabitants Ordinary soldiers were captured in battle and became slavessome were used for human sacrice

Rulers claimed to be descended from the gods and all life was in the hands of the divine powers Supreme god *Itzamna; Jaguar god of nightevil divinity Human sacrice as a way to appease the gods

Writings and Calendar The Maya created a sophisticated writing system based on *hieroglyphs Bishop Diego de Landa believed this writing was superstition and lies of the devil and burned all Mayan texts he could nd The Spanish applied their own religious views to the native civilization

The calendar was based on a belief in cycles of creation and destruction (3114 BCE to 2012 CE) Measured time according to Astronomysolar calendar of 365 days (also used to foretell the future)

The Toltec
The Northwest of presentday Mexico City who reigned from 900 CE to 1200 CE They were a erce and warlike people who conquered the Mayan lands of Guatemala and northern Yucatan *Chichen ItzaToltec capital

The Aztec
Rise of the Aztec

12th to 16th century CE, establishing their capital at *Tenochtitlan on an island in the middle of *Lake Texcoco The city featured temples, public buildings, houses, and roadways They consolidated their rule over much of modern Mexico *tribute was paid by conquered peoples

Political and Social Structures

Women in Aztec society were not equal to men but they were allowed to own and inherit property and to enter into contracts Women were expected to work in the home, weave textiles, and raise childrenor become a priestesses

Religion and Culture

Huitzilopochtli, the patron war deity of the Aztec; god of the sun Quetzalcoatl, feathered serpent god The Aztec believed Quetzalcoatl would return and would be preceded by the sign of an arrow through a sapling treesimilar to a cross Aztec religion unending struggle between the forces of good and evil throughout the universe; The Aztec practiced human sacrice

The Destruction of Aztec Civilization

In 1519, a Spanish force under *Hernan Cortes landed at Veracruz with 550 soldiers *Montezuma believed that they were representatives of Quetzalcoatl and poured out gifts of gold The Spanish took Montezuma hostage and pillaged the city eventually the Aztec drove them from the city Guns, Germs, and Steel

Objectives: 1. Characterize early Mesoamerican civilizations that ourished with fully developed political, religious, and social structures 2. Explain how the Aztecs succumbed to diseases brought by the Spanish

The Americas, 400-1500

Objectives: 1. Describe the wellorganized militaristic empire of the Inca 2.Summarize how Incan communities undertook sophisticated building projects and established a high level of culture development

Early Civilization
Caral, located in Peru, has been identied as the oldest major city in the Americas (abandoned in 2000 to 1500 BCE) Buildings included apartment complexes and grand residences; complex irrigation system

C. 200 BCE, another advanced civilization appeared near the Pacic coast near *Ecuador along the *Moche River *Maize (corn), peanuts, potatoes, and cotton were staples The Moche people had not written language but pottery implies the dominance of warfare (prisoners and sacricial victims)

The Inca
After the Moche civilization, the kingdom of Chimor emerged only to be replaced by the *Inca In the late 1300s, the Inca a small community in the area of *Cuzco The powerful ruler *Pachacuti launched a campaign of conquest, solidifying the region under his control

Political Structures His immediate successors extended the boundaries of the empire as far as Ecuador, central Chile, and the edge of the Amazon basin All young men were required to serve in the Incan army used to create a well-organized empire divided into four quarters rulered by governors The emperor was believed to have descended from the gods

All Incan subjects were responsible for labor service, building roads (25 thousands miles) and other projects These roads extended from modern day Colombia to chile

Social Structures Incan society was highly regimented; marriage was conned social groups Many lived in farming communities and homes built of stone and adobe Terraced farms watered by irrigation

Building and Culture

Structures were built of closetting stones with no mortar a solution to the frequent earthquakes *Machu Picchubuilt on a lofty hill top surrounded by mountain peaks 8,000 ft. The Inca had no writing system but kept records using a system of knotted strings called the *quipu

Conquest of the Inca

The Incan Empire, still ourish in the 16th century, encountered *Francisco Pizarro and his 180 men An epidemic of smallpox devastated the civilization The empire fell into civil war during which Pizarro exploited the chaos

Objectives: 1. Describe the wellorganized militaristic empire of the Inca 2.Summarize how Incan communities undertook sophisticated building projects and established a high level of culture development