Transcript The Americas - Thomasville High School

Ancient Americans
Section 1.1
Main Idea
• People arrived on the
American continents
thousands of years
ago and developed
flourishing societies.
North America
• 1st Americans
– Crossed over the Bering Strait over 8,000
years ago
– Migrated during Ice Age
– Spread all throughout North America, South
America, and Caribbean
– Nomads: moved form place to place.
Agricultural Revolution
• 10,000 to 4,000 BCE
• Humans began developing systematic
agriculture
• Domestication of animals for food and
labor
• Cultivation of wild crops
• Why would this change human life?
Answer
• Humans had limited control over their
environment.
• Humans could abandon their nomadic
lifestyle.
• Communities could develop.
• A stable food supply = larger population
• More free time to create and think
Cultures of Mesoamerica
The ancient civilizations of the Olmec, Maya,
and Aztec developed sophisticated
societies long before European contact.
Each developed written language and
complex social structures.
Located in Mexico and Central America,
their respective empires covered much
land.
All 3 civilizations created huge pyramids that
still stand today.
Inca
• Dominated South America before
European arrival.
• Excellent engineers (created roads and
cities).
• Largest of all pre-Columbian Indian
groups.
Incan City
Mound Builders
• Developed agriculture
• Created hug earthen mounds for tombs
• Lived from the great lakes to the Gulf of
Mexico (Eastern US)
• Also known as the Hopewell or
Mississippian people
Serpent Mound
Mounds
Anasazi
• Southwest US (desert)
• Dug long canals to irrigate fields
• Lived in pueblos, could be several stories
high
• Like most American Indians they farmed
corn, beans, and squash.
Pueblo