Chapter 2

1. Chapter 2 Before the First Global Age Prehistory - 1600

2. Section 1: The First Civilizations of the Americas • Key Terms: • Glacier • Surplus • Causeway • Quipu • Terrace • Culture • Adobe • Pueblo • Mound Builders

3. Reaching the Americas • The first Americans left no written records to tell us where they came from or when they arrived • Scientist have found evidence to suggest that the first people reached the Americas sometime during the last ice age. • Geologist have stated that the Earth has gone through many ice ages. • The last one occurred over 100,000 years ago. • At this time thick sheets of ice called glaciers, covered almost 1/3 of the Earth.

4. a. Crossing the Land Bridge • In the far north, a land bridge joined Siberia in northeastern Asia to Alaska in North America. • Most scientist believe that bands of hunters reached North America across this land bridge. • Other scientist believe that the first American arrived to North America by the icy arctic waters. • Another theory claims that people came to the Americas from Europe, Africa or in the South Pacific. • What made these hunters spread to North, Central and South America was for the search of food. • Native Americans would eventually settle in different environments and develop different languages and customs.

5. b. Adapting to New Conditions • About 12,000 years ago, when the last ice age ended, the glaciers melted and the land bridge between Siberia and Alaska disappeared under the Bering Strait. • Due to larger animals dying the human diet changed to smaller animals, wild berries, nuts, grains and fish. • About 5,000 years ago, the people learned how to grow crops, this is how farming began, and the people could now settle down and stop move from place to place. • They grew corn, beans and squash. • As the farming process developed, this in turn allowed the population to grow.

6. Olmec Civilization • In central America, farming communities began growing surplus or extra food to support large population, which lead to the first cities. • Cities marked the first civilizations in the Americas. • Civilizations included things like a method of record keeping and a complex religion. • The Olmecs are the earliest known civilization in Central America. • They lived in the lowlands along the Gulf of Mexico about 3,500 years ago. • Their farmers supplied nearby cities. • Their powerful leaders built stone temples. • They left few written records. • They studied the stars and created a calendar, to predict the changes of the seasons and mark the passing of time.

7. The Mayas • The Mayas were influenced by the Olmecs. • They lived in the rain forests of what are today Guatemala and Mexico. • They began farming about 3,000 years ago. • They grew corn, which was enough to feed large cities. • They also began a trade network along the roads that linked the inland cities to the coast.

8. a. Social Classes • Priests held great power. • They were the only one that could perform the ceremonies needed to bring good harvest or victory in battle. • Nobles also enjoyed high status. • They were warriors and government officials. • Near the bottom of Mayan society were laborers and farmers. • Below them were slaves, most who were prisoners.

9. b. Advances in Learning • Priests studied the sun, moons and stars to know when to honor the Mayan gods. • Priests made advancements in the studies of astronomy and mathematics. • They created an accurate 365 day calendar. • They created a number system which included zero. • Around A.D. 900, the Mayans abandoned their cities. • Some speculate that it was over war or drought. • The Mayan people still live today in the areas of Guatemala and southern Mexico.

10. The Aztecs • Far north rose a new civilization known as The Aztecs, who were nomads – people who moved from place to place in search of food. • In the 1300’s the Aztecs settled around Lake Texcoco in central Mexico. • They would build a powerful empire here.

11. a. Tenochtitlán • This was the location of the Aztec capital. • They constructed causeways or raised roads. • They learned to farm the shallow swamps of lake Texcoco. • They harvested several crops on floating garden called chinampas. • The civilization prospered from trade and conquest.

12. b. Religion • Aztec priests studied the heavens and developed complex calendars. • They used this to know when to plant and harvest their crops. • They paid special attention to the sun god. • They called themselves “warriors of the sun.” • They sacrificed thousands of captives to the sun god, as they believed it was needed for the sun to rise each day.

13. c. A Powerful Empire • By 1500, the Aztec ruled a huge empire, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. • There were many revolts due to heavy taxes and the scarifies of a huge number of prisoners. • This would eventually lead to their demise.

14. The Incas • Far to the south, the Incas built one of the largest empires in the Americas. • By 1500, it stretched 2,500 miles along the west coast of South America. • Their capital and center was Cuzco, located in the Andes. • All nobles tried to visit at least once in their lifetime, as it was a holy city. • In the center of the city was the palace of the emperor, known as the Sapa Inca. • The emperor was regarded as a god and descended of the sun god.

15. The emperor ruled over more than 10 million people from Cuzco. • He sent governors out to check on all the people and made sure they did work for the state. • They had roads to unite the empire. • Runners were sent out through the roads to spread messages. • They always carried a quipu, which was a cord or string with knots that stood for quantities. • Quipu were also used by government officials to keep records. • They were skilled engineers building stone temples and forts. • They also built terraces, or wide steps of land.

16. Early Cultures of North America • Scholars have found Mayan and Aztec ideas farther north. • Traders and migrating people carried food, art, etc. to early people in North America. • This lead to culture, which is the entire way of life of a people – including their homes, economy, government, etc.

17. a. People of the Southwest • 3,000 years ago the knowledge of farming spread northward. • This lead to the farming societies of the Hohokams and Anasazis. • The Hohokams lived about 2,000 years ago in present-day southern Arizona. • The Anasazis lived in the Four Corners region, where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet. • They irrigated the desert like the Hohokams in order to farm. • They also developed roads to link dozens of towns to encourage trade.

18. b. Anasazi Houses • They built large houses with walls of stone and adobe, or sundried brick. • The Spanish called their homes pueblos, or villages. • About 1,000 years ago the villages faced attacks from warlike neighbors, so they escaped and built new homes along steep cliffs.

19. c. Mound Builders • Another farming culture also developed, the Mound Builders - which were various cultures that built large earth mounds beginning about 3,000 years ago. • They were found from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi Valley and from Wisconsin to Florida. • The first mounds were used for burials. • The best known group of Mound Builders were the Hopewells and the Mississippians. • Between A.D. 700 and 1500 the Mississippians built a large city at Cahokia. • END

20. Section 2: Native American Cultures • Key Terms: • Culture area • Tribe • Pit house  • Potlatch • Kachina • Clan • League of the Iroquois • Sachem

21. Culture Areas of North America • A culture area is a region in which people share a similar way of life. • Each area had many tribes or a community of people who share common customs, language and rituals. • Tribal leaders often made decisions for the group.

22. a. Hunting, Gathering, and Fishing • Native American develop ways to meet their needs. • They hunted animals, fished and gathered nuts and fruits for food. • They made boats out of animal skins and canoes from trees.

23. b. Farming • Other tribes survived from farming and planting corn, beans and squash. • They developed dozens of varieties of corn, including larger ears of corn.

24. c. Trade • Indians traded for goods not found within their region. • Some goods traveled more than 1,000 miles from one end to another. • Trade goods included dried salmon, shells, fish oil, skins, etc.

25. Climate, Resources and Culture • Climate and natural resources influenced the crops people grew and the animals they hunted. • It also affected their clothing and shelter. • It affected their tribal organization. • Where climates were harsh and resources limited forced the people to be nomadic. • They would live in small hunting bands. • If the climate was more favorable, the families were larger and the people stayed longer.

26. a. Cultures of the Far North and Plateau Regions • Frozen seas ad icy, treeless plains made up the world of the Inuits, who lived in the Arctic region. • They gathered the resourced they could with each season change. • They lived in pit houses or houses dug into the ground and covered with wood and skin. • The Plateau region has a cold and dry environment. • People who lived here were the Utes and Shoshones. • They were hunters and gathers. • They had limited possessions.

27. b. Cultures of the Northwest • The people of the Northwest Coast enjoyed milder temperatures and abundant food supplies. • They stayed in one place, building permanent villages. • A family gained status, by how much they owned. • A family might have held a potlatch or ceremonial dinner, to show off its wealth. • It would last many days, the family invited many and gave their guest gifts.

28. c. Cultures of the Southeast • In the Southeast were the Natchez tribe. • The climate was warm and moist. • They were farmers, hunters and fishermen. • They had a calendar with 13 months. • The ruler of the Natchez was known as the Great Sun and was worshipped as a god. • Socials levels included Little Suns (ruler’s family), Nobles, Honored People, and Stinkards or commoners. • Marriage laws ensured that membership in each class kept changing.

29. Shared Beliefs • The many Native American groups had a wide variety of beliefs, but shared some basic ideas.

30. a. Respect for Nature • Central to Native American belief was a deep respect for the earth. • Their prayers and ceremonies were designed to maintain balance between the people and the forces of nature. • They believed that the world was full of powerful, unseen forces and spirits. • The Kwakiutls from the Pacific Northwest chanted a prayer when they caught their first fish of the season.

31. b. Special Ceremonies • In farming areas, tribes held ceremonies to endure great rainfall. • In midsummer, the Kachinas or spirits, who were represented by masked Native American dancers would come. • In the Southeast, tribes held a Green Corn Ceremony when the corn ripened in the fall.

32. The Iroquois Confederacy • They lived in the Western Woodland, or present say New York State. • They called themselves “The People of the Long House” because of their sturdy dwellings. • The women owned all the household property and were in charge of planting and harvesting. • Women chose the clan leader and could remove him if he did not do his job. • A clan was a group of two or more related families.

33. The Iroquois included five nations that spoke similar languages: the Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida and Cayuga. • Until the late 1500’s they were frequently at war. • In 1570 they came together to form one alliance – this became the League of the Iroquois. • A council of 50 specially chosen tribal leaders called sachems met once a year. • END

34. Section 3: Trade Networks of Africa and Asia • Key Terms: • First global age • Islam • Quran  • Silk Road • Caravan • City-state • Swahili • Savanna • Extended family • Kinship

35. Setting the Scene • Ibn Battuta was a scholar from North Africa that wanted to learn all he could from the many different people and lands of the Muslim world. • In 30 years he would travel 73,000 miles. • Trade and travel in the 1400’s was booming, as the land reached from along the Atlantic Ocean to the boarders of China. • Historians call this time the first global age.

36. The Muslim World • Arab merchants played a major role in the growing trade. • Arabia’s location in the Middle East made it a major crossroads of the world.

37. a. Rise and Spread of Islam • In the early 600’s, a new religion, Islam, emerged in Arabia. • The founder was the prophet Muhammad. • Followers called Muslims. • The sacred book of Islam is the Quran. • Followers carried Islam across North Africa and into Spain., it was also spread eastward, from Persia to India and beyond. • People travel every year to Mecca to pray.

38. b. Trade Routes • Muslim traders traded across a vast area to ports around the Indian Ocean. • They travels in large ships that had triangular sails.

39. c. Silk Road • Other traders traveled through overland routes including Central Asia and linked China and the Middle East. • These routed were called the Silk Road, because prized Chinese silks had been carried westward along them for more than 2,000 years. • Traders formed caravans or groups of people who travel together for safety. • Trade items included fine porcelains, cloth, ivory, gold and spices.

40. African Trading States and Cultures • Trade also existed in Africa. • Trade here included salt, dried fish, gold, fabrics, jewelry, and slaves.

41. a. City-States of East Africa • Trade flowed up and down the coast of East Africa. • Gold, hardwoods and ivory were shipped from Africa to India and China. • Wealth from these trades helped East African rulers to build strong city-states, or a large town that has its own government and controls the surrounding countryside. • Many rulers became Muslim. • The blend of cultures led to a new language, Swahili, which blended Arabic words and local African languages.

42. b. Trading Kingdoms of West Africa • A region of grasslands, called the savanna, covers mush of West Africa. • The best known are Mali and Songhai. • Their trading center was in the city of Timbuktu. • Mali rose in about A.D. 1200. • Its most famous ruler was Mansa Musa. • Songhai rose as the most powerful kingdom in West Africa in the 1400’s.

43. c. Village and Family Life • Most in Africa made their living from herding, fishing or farming. • Families consisted of an extended family, or several generations living in one household. • The grandparent or elders were highly respected for their knowledge. • Ties of kinship or sharing a common ancestor, linked families. • Religion beliefs varied.

44. Chinese Voyages of Trade and Exploration • Africa had many different cultures and kingdoms, but in China, power was centered on the emperor. • Chinese rulers allowed trade, but were often suspicious of outsiders.

45. a. The Great Treasure Fleet • The emperor in 1402, wanted trade and ordered a huge fleet to be built and wanted Zheng He to command it. • The fleet had more than 300 ships and 28,000 sailors. • Between 1405 and 1433 He made 7 voyages.

46. b. The Voyages End • The great fleet brought exotic good and animals. • In 1435, He dies. • A new emperor takes over in China, and outlaws foreign trade. • Many historian wonder what would have happened if He sailed farther out, around the southern tip of Africa or across the Pacific. • Could he have discovered America before Columbus did in 1492? • END

47. Section 4: Tradition and Change in Europe • Key Terms: • Salvation • Missionary • Direct democracy • Republic • Feudalism • Manor • Crusades • Astrolabe • Renaissance School of Athens

48. Jewish and Christian Traditions • European civilization emerged slowly during the long period from about A.D. 500 to 1400. • European beliefs were shaped by two religions of the ancient Middle East, Judaism and Christianity.

49. a. Judaism and the Importance of Laws • Judaism refers to the religious beliefs of the Israelites, who lived more than 3,000 years ago. • They are now known as Jews • They believe in one God • Their history and laws are recorded in the Torah. • They believe that all Jews should obey the Ten Commandments. • Where ever they went they obeyed their religion’s laws.

50. b. Christianity and the Teachings of Jesus • About 2,000 years ago a Jew named Jesus began to preach about the goodness and mercy of God. • Some followers called him the Messiah. • The Gospels, recount about the life of Jesus. • The Local officials say him as a threat and ordered he be crucified. • His teachings inspired a new religion – Christianity. • Jesus taught about salvation, or everlasting life. • Around A.D. 391, Christianity became the official religion of the empire. • The church would send out missionaries, or people who spread Christian teachings across Europe.