Unit 1: Cultures of the Americas, Africa, and Europe

1. Unit 1: Cultures of the Americas, Africa, and Europe Part 1: Migration and Settlement

2. Migration to the Americas • Pangaea • Earth was originally one single super continent • 225 million years ago large chunks of land began to break away from the huge continent to form the geography we know today

3. Migration to the Americas

5. Migration to the Americas • Last Great Ice Age • ICE AGE– • Extended period of extreme cold where large volumes of water turned to ice • Characterized by a corresponding drop in sea level that causes land once below sea level to be uncovered • The Last Great Ice Age began 45 million years ago

7. Migration to the Americas • Beringia/Bering Land Bridge • 1,000 mile corridor uncovered during the Last Great Ice Age • Linked Asia to North America • Traveled by human and animals from Asia who populated North and South America • Named for Vitus Bering

8. Migration to the Americas

9. Vitus Bering 1681-1741 Danish explorer Working for Russia during the 18th century Explored waters of the North Pacific between Asia and North America Bering Land Bridge, Bering Sea, Bering Straight Migration to the Americas

10. Paleo-Indians Asian nomadic hunters who followed food sources over the land bridge 1st discoverers of the Americas about 15,000 to 30,000 years ago Hunted large migratory prey Migrated for thousands of years until the ice caps melted Migration to the Americas

11. Migration to the Americas • End of the Ice Age • Warming caused the ice caps to melt and covered the land bridge with water, preventing further migration on foot • Lands bridge disappeared under the Bering Strait • Wooly mammoth died out • Climate changes • Over hunting • Paleo-Indians searched for alternative food sources

12. Migration to the Americas • Effects of the End of the Ice Age: • Opens once ice covered land throughout North and South America • Allowed the spread of people and animals • By 1492, about 72 million people inhabited the Americas • People split into groups that created their own cultures

13. Migration to the Americas • Evidence of Asian Migration: • Similarities between Asian and Native American populations • Racial • Skeletal • DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid • Used to trace ethnic and geographic origins • Radiocarbon Dating • Scientific method of measuring the age of wood or bones

14. Settlement of the Americas • Agricultural Revolution • Definition • Gradual transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to permanent settlements • Transitioned from roaming for food to the deliberate cultivation of crops • Why is it called a Revolution? • Great significance and degree of change in lifestyle

15. Settlement of the Americas • Agricultural Revolution • Incentives to settle • Climate changes meant longer travel to find food • Began to settle near reliable water sources • Began planting wild seed near settlements • Agriculture gave more control over food supply • Required settlement near water sources

16. Settlement of the Americas • Effects of the Agricultural Revolution • Decreased nomadic movements • Permanent Settlements • Domestication of Animals • Produce food: milk, meat, fertilizer • Workers • Clothing: leather, wool, hides • Shelter: animal skins • Tools: bones and teeth • More modifications to the natural environment • Clearing land for crop cultivation and settlements • Ability to sustain larger populations • Reliable food source means groups can support more people

17. Settlement of the Americas • Effects of the Agricultural Revolution • Reliance on crops as a food source – maize #1 crop grown • Pumpkin, pepper, squash, beans, maize (corn) • Specialization of Skills • Basket weaver, potter, hunter, farmer • Leads to increased trade • Increased leisure time • Development of new technologies • Tools for cutting, digging, and grinding • Pottery – need to store food • Construction • Development of Civilizations • Highly organized societies marked by trade, government, the arts, science, and often written language