Native Peoples of America: Diversity and Commonalities

1. Ch 1 Native Peoples of America to 1500

2. Unit Key Concept (Multiple choice and short answer questions will be based on this) • Before the arrival of Europeans, • native populations in North America developed a wide variety of social, political, and economic structures based in part on interactions with the environment and each other.

3. overview (pg. 2) • Native American settlements were established 10,000 years before Columbus’ arrival in 1492. There was great cultural diversity among the indigenous people, but also important commonalities: • 1) Identified as families and tribes, not as individuals. No belief in individual land ownership. • 2) A sense of mutual obligation maintained among communities • 3) Everything in nature was part of the supernatural (animism) • 4) Each tribe was ethnocentric (not in reading). What problems would this create?

4. The First Americansc. 13,000-2500 B.C. (pgs. 2-7)

5. Migration theories • Siberian hunters pursuing game crossed the land bridge from Asia to America during the last Ice Age c. 10,500 B.C. • Settlers arrived by boat much earlier and followed the coastline of Alaska and progressed southward Example: coastal settlements as far south as Monte Verde, Chile, reveal evidence of settlement from about 10,500 B.C.

6. Native American oral traditions Creation stories vary by tribe and offer conflicting views on origins and migration. They are also ethnocentric. Example: The Iroquois trace their ancestry to a pregnant woman who fell from the sky

7. Paleo & Archaic societies • Scholars call the earliest migration groups Paleo-Indians. • After 8000 B.C. Paleos adapted their way of the warming Earth’s atmosphere, developing agriculture. Archeologists call these groups Archaic peoples. • The most sophisticated horticultural societies lived in Mesoamerica and cultivated maize, squash, and beans. • By 1000 B.C. the Aztec and Mayan had built empires that dominated Mesoamerica

8. Mesoamerica & south America • Aztecs – first challenge to Maya, built Tenochtitlan • Human sacrifice • Large pyramid complex • Chinampas – artificial islands built to grow crops in swampy areas • Tax collection and tribute from conquered peoples • Trade by pochteca (professional merchants) • Incas – built a capital at Cuzco and conquered peoples living in the Andes regions. Known for: • Terraced irrigation and preservation • Well-developed roads and bridges

9. homework • Read the remainder of chapter 1 (pages 8-19 starting with the heading “The Southwest” ) and take hand-written notes in blue or black pen. Use the following outlining tips…

10. Tips for outlining • Manage your time and plan to work in two shorter segments. • Develop a short-hand for long terms or names • Read 1-2 paragraphs at a time without writing anything down. • Look for terms on the study guide, causes, effects, what changed, & what events mark a period