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Chapter 1 Ancient America and Africa

Chapter 1 Ancient America and Africa. The American People , 6th ed. The Peoples of America Before Columbus. Migration to the Americas. Archaeologists have unearthed remains pointing to the arrival of humans in America at about 35,000 B.C.E.

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Chapter 1 Ancient America and Africa

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  1. Chapter 1Ancient America and Africa The American People, 6th ed.

  2. The Peoples of America Before Columbus

  3. Migration to the Americas • Archaeologists have unearthed remains pointing to the arrival of humans in America at about 35,000 B.C.E. • Scientists generally agree that the first inhabitants of the Americas were nomadic travelers from Siberia. • These peoples traversed an ancient land bridge which connected northeast Asia with Alaska.

  4. Hunters, Farmers, and Environmental Factors • The first wave of humans found an abundance of megafauna: gigantic animals. Changes in environment and over-hunting wiped most out. • Adaptable humans learned to exploit new sources of food from plants in the agricultural revolution. • Erosion, deforestation, and salinization added to America’s environmental stresses over the centuries.

  5. Mesoamerican Empires • Mesoamerica: the middle region bridging the great land masses of North and South America. • The Aztec people of present-day Mexico numbered about 20 million in 1492. • The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan later became Mexico City. • Aztec society was divided into four classes: nobility, free commoners, serfs, and slaves.

  6. Regional North American Cultures • In the southwestern region of North America, Hohokam and Anasazi societies developed established communities thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans (who called them the “Pueblo” people). • Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest formed societies emphasizing fishing, wood craftsmanship and ceremonies such as the Potlatch. • Several societies of Mound Builders developed in the Mississippi River valley and Great Plains.

  7. The Iroquois • A confederation of five distinct tribes with unified land and goals: • The Mohawk (People of the Flint) • The Oneidas (People of the Stone) • The Onondagas (People of the Mountain) • The Cayuga (People at the Landing) • The Seneca (Great Hill People)

  8. Pre-Contact Population • Recently, scholars have estimated that the pre-contact population of America north of the Rio Grande stood at about 4 million. • Some estimates put the population of the Western Hemisphere at about 50 to 70 million at the same period.

  9. Contrasting Worldviews • The stark differences in European and American cultures stemmed from perceptions of social relationships and interaction with the environment. • Differences included concepts of property and communal ownership of goods and food sources.

  10. Africa on the Eve of Contact

  11. The Spread of Islam • Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, began preaching the tenants of his revelations in 610 B.C.E. • Islam spread rapidly across the Arabian Peninsula and the whole of northern Africa. • Eventually, the religion encompassed most of the Eastern Hemisphere.

  12. The Kingdoms of Central and West Africa • The Ghana Empire • The Mali Empire • The Songhai Empire • The Kongo Kingdom

  13. African Slavery • Slavery existed as a normal social condition in this period and had little to do with skin color. • Slaves were a sign of wealth for the owners, who treated their property very well. • The status of slavery was not inherited and always held the potential for reversal.

  14. The African Ethos • As in Europe, the center of African social organization was the family unit, which was often matrilineal. • Individualism was seen as distasteful and widely disdained. • Africans believed in a Supreme Creator and worshipped ancestors.

  15. Europe on the Eve of Invading the Americas

  16. The Rebirth of Europe • Stemmed from revived Italian trade with long-distance ports. • Led to a rediscovery of forgotten ancient knowledge. • Economic and political implications for societies that survived the Black Death. • Enclosure of estates • Development of English Parliament

  17. The New Monarchies and the Expansionist Impulse • From 1450 onwards, France, England, and Spain sought social and political stability. • Economic distress, civil disorder, plague, and Renaissance culture encouraged impulses to expand into the New World. • The Europeans ultimately hoped to discover an eastern oceanic route to Asia and exploit the African gold trade.

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