180 likes | 292 Views
Native Americans. Theodore de Bry engraving. New World Beginnings. Migration from Asia 15,000-10,000 B.C.-8,000 B.C. Bering Strait: land bridge is impassable, which results in Native Americans isolation. Nomadic, Semi-nomadic lifestyles. Mammoths and Other Animals of the New World:.
E N D
Native Americans Theodore de Bry engraving
New World Beginnings • Migration from Asia • 15,000-10,000 B.C.-8,000 B.C. • Bering Strait: land bridge is impassable, which results in Native Americans isolation
Mammoths and Other Animals of the New World: • Waco Mammoth Site: • http://www.wacomammoth.com/ • Fish • Birds • Reptiles • Other winged creatures
Farming and Crop Cultivation • 7,000 B.C.—advent of farming in Mesoamerica • Olmecs, Mayans, Aztecs (Mesoamerica) • Incas (South America)
Complex societies in North America: • The Anasazi (cultural height: 900-1200 a.d.) Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park
Mississippian Tradition • Settled along rivers such as the Mississippi, Ohio, etc. • 700 A.D.—European settlement • Main food crops: eastern flint maize and pole beans • Importance of the sun, corn, and temple mounds in religion • Women’s roles
Located in what is now Southern Illinois, just outside of downtown St.Louis, MO • The Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers intersect forming a fertile landscape • Existed at the center of the Mississippian civilization • Largest city built before Europeans arrived in America (20,000-30,000 people in the 1100s) • At least 109 mounds
Monks Mound • 100-feet high • Named in 1700’s by French Monks • Most likely the mound where the principal ruler built his house or where a temple existed • Contains 14 million baskets of soil and its base stretches 14 acres long
Birdman Tablet • Birdman Tablet symbolized the union between heaven and earth • Birdman symbolism figured prominently in Cahokian religion. • Found during excavation of Monks Mound • Has become logo of Cahokia Mounds • Actual use of tablet is still a mystery • The birdman was represented by the king, who could have been believed to be the incarnation or earthly representative of the Birdman
Diversity of Native American Culture Farming, fishing, hunter-gatherers, nomadic, semi-nomadic, sedentary Up to 1,000 different languages among Native Americans in North America by 1492
Native Americans v. Europeans: A Clash of Ideas • 1. Attitudes toward the natural world • 2. Attitudes toward land ownership • 3. Attitudes about women • 4. Attitudes about religion