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Early Americas

Early Americas. Early Migration into the Americas. Migration of Early Peoples Hunter-gatherer/Nomads migrated to the Americas Land Bridge theory Northern Asians Came across primarily on glaciers that connected Asia and North America around 15,000 to 40,000 years ago

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Early Americas

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  1. Early Americas

  2. Early Migration into the Americas

  3. Migration of Early Peoples • Hunter-gatherer/Nomads migrated to the Americas Land Bridge theory • Northern Asians Came across primarily on glaciers that connected Asia and North America around 15,000 to 40,000 years ago • The land bridge disappeared, melting around 10,000 years ago

  4. Coastal Route theory • Came across the Pacific ocean, travelling along the coast of Russia/Alaska around the same time as the land bridge • Other migrations • Anthropologists and Archaeologists have found evidence of migration from Vikings, Ancient africans, Polynesians (south Pacific Islanders), and Eastern Asian settlements

  5. Mayaand Aztec Mesoamerica

  6. Mesoamerica • From the valley of Mexico south to Costa Rica • Included the tropical Yucatan Peninsula • The area had great farmland with volcanic soil and a good climate

  7. Grew crops such as pumpkins, peppers, squash, gourd, and beans • Eventually maize was developed from a grass with a single cob measuring only one inch to get bigger cobs with more cobs per plant

  8. Olmec • Large trading empire for 800 years beginning around 1200BC • Traded salt and beans for jade and obsidian (volcanic glass) • Used basalt to carve gigantic stone heads

  9. Olmec trade centered on using rivers • Inland tribes began to dominate trade and the Olmec civilization disappeared • One of these civilizations was centered at Teotihuacan • Around 400AD had 120,000-200,000 people

  10. The Maya • Settled in the jungle lowlands of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico and Guatemala • Cleared the area to farm beans, squash, avocados, and maize • The remaining forests provided plenty of animals for food and building materials • Lived in small, isolated villages and started to trade growing their wealth and size

  11. The Maya • Classic Age(AD250-900) • Grew to over 40 large city-states with each having its own government and own king • Trade kept these cities in alliance • Built large temples, palaces, plazas, canals, and sports arenas

  12. Social Structure • Kings held religious and political power as he was believed to be related to the gods • Priests, merchants, and noble warriors were included in the upper class • They all held all of the power • Lower-class was made up of large families living outside the city • Women cared for children, cooked, made yarn, and wove cloth

  13. Men hunted, farmed, and crafted tools • Had to pay taxes to the rulers with crops, cloth, and salt • People Were made to build the temples and palaces, be a part of the military, and if capture became slaves • Slaves • Carried goods along trade routes, worked as servants, or farmers for the upper-class Mayans

  14. Religion • Polytheistic, believing the gods intervened in aspects of daily life • The gods could be helpful or harmful • Believed the gods needed blood to prevent disasters or the end of the world • Every person offered a blood offering by piercing their tongues or skin • Sometimes made human sacrifices, using slaves from battle using their hearts as offerings on stone carvings of the gods

  15. Achievements • Built observatories to study the positions of the stars and planets • Developed two calendars: one a very accurate 365-day farming calendar and the other a 260-day religious calendar • Skilled mathematicians using zero before many other civilizations • Writing system based on symbols • Great metalworkers, jewelers, and builders

  16. Decline of the Maya • Began to collapse around AD900 • Stopped building and left the cities going back into the country-side • Possible reasons for decline • Invasions, wars, rebellion, decreased crop production due to overuse of the soil, or drought • By the arrival of the Spanish, the Maya culture was extinct

  17. What resources did the Maya get from the forests? • How do you think the Maya villages grew into large cities? • What features did Maya cities include? • How did trade increase the influence of the Maya? • What do you think was the most impressive cultural achievement of the Maya? Why?

  18. The Aztecs • Founded their capital on an island in Lake Texcoco then started to conquer nearby towns forcing them to pay tribute • Militaristic and merchant society • Merchants served as spies as well

  19. Built up the capital of Tenochtitlan • Built causeways to connect the island to shore • Built canals to travel across the city • Increased farmland by creating floating gardens anchored to trees • 200,000 people lived there among temples, palaces, and a large marketplace

  20. Life • Upper-Class • The king/emperor was the most important person in society • His nobles were tax collectors, judges, and other government officials • Noble positions were hereditary

  21. Warriors were also respected, but priests were very influential • They led religious ceremonies; kept history, calendars; and decided when to plant and harvest • Second-class • Merchants and artisans • Lower-class • Farmers and laborers (majority) • Paid most of the tributes (taxes) • Slaves

  22. Religion • Same as the Maya • Sacrificed more humans, up to 10,000/year according to Spanish accounts • Victims came from wars on neighboring villages • Cultural Achievements • Built pyramids and statues; used gold, gems, and feathers to make masks; embroidered their clothing • Studied astronomy, wrote their history

  23. Fall of the Aztecs • Spanish Conquistadors reached Mexico in 1519 • Sought gold, land, and Catholic converts • Led by Hernán Cortez • Emperor Montezuma II welcomed Cortez believing he was a god prophesied to return • Gave them gold and other gifts • Cortez took the emperor prisoner

  24. Aztecs attacked the Spanish and won, but Montezuma was killed in the battle • Cortez came back allied with Indians who were Aztec enemies • Defeated the Aztecs with numbers and better weapons ending the civilization • Smallpox and other diseases severely weakened the Indians

  25. How might Tenochtitlan’s location be both a benefit and a hindrance? • How did the Aztecs seek to please their gods? • Why did allies help Cortez defeat the Aztecs? • If the Aztecs had first viewed Cortez as a threat, how might history have been changed?

  26. Moche and Inca South America

  27. Moche • Settled in the coastal desert region of Peru • Dug irrigation canals from the Andes Mtns to use for agriculture • ATE Corn, squash, beans, peanuts, llamas, guinea pigs, and fish

  28. The abundance of food allowed the Moche the time to build large pyramids like the Pyramid of the Sun • Never expanded their empire, but traded as far as the Amazon

  29. Incas • Started like the Aztecs, as small tribes with their capital at Cuzco, Peru • A leader named Pachacuti expanded the empire to stretch from Ecuador to N. Chile • Had a population of about 12 million

  30. Had a strong central government • Limited the power of the people • Replaced local officials with loyal supporters • Made children of conquered leaders come to Cuzco and learn Incan traditions/customs until they were adults • Had an official language of Quechua

  31. Economy • Strictly controlled by government • Told each household what to do • Had to spend time working for the gov as well as themselves (paid taxes with labor instead of money- mita) • Farmers, weavers, miners, soldiers, builders

  32. No merchants and no money • All goods were distributed by the government • Kept leftovers at the capital for shortages

  33. Life • Social classes • Upper Class – emperor, priests, and government officials • Lived in stone houses and wore expensive clothing • Didn’t have to pay the labor tax and could used the royal retreat in Machu Picchu

  34. Lower Class – farmers, artisans, and servants • (No slavery) • Most were farmers – grew maize, peanuts, and potatoes; raised llamas • Wore plain clothes • Was illegal for them to own more than they needed to survive

  35. Religion • Thought that rulers were related to the sun god and never really died • Priests brought mummies of former kings to religious ceremonies, and people gave them food and gifts • Rarely sacrificed humans, but did sacrifice cloth, food, and llamas • Also worshiped holy places and spirits/gods

  36. Achievements • Architecture • Expert masons, or stone workers, that could cut a rock so that it wouldn’t need cement mortar • Built a massive system of roads and bridges

  37. Art • Known for their pottery; gold and silver jewelry; fine textiles • Quipus • System of keeping records with knotted cords; had no system of writing • Oral History • Had official “memorizers” who kept the history of the Inca • Conquistadors later collected these stories

  38. Francisco Pizarro • A civil war weakened the Incan military, leaving Atahualpa king • Pizarro attacked and took Atahualpa hostage • The Incas gave Pizarro 24 tons of precious metals for his freedom • Atahualpa was killed anyway and the Incas were eventually defeated

  39. How did the Incas controlled their economy? • Do you think the mita system was good government policy? Why/why not? • How might the Inca road system have helped strengthen the empire? • Why do you think Pizarro was able to defeat the much larger forces of the Inca? • What social classes existed in Inca society?

  40. Hohokam, Anasazi, Mississippians, and others North America

  41. Farming spread from Mesoamerica north to the American Southwest and up the coast to the Mississippi/Ohio/Missouri river valleys

  42. Hohokam • Settled outside of modern day phoenix near two rivers • Dug 500 miles of canals to carry water to their fields • Thrived for 1000 years, ending in AD1300s

  43. Anasazi • Settled in the canyons and cliffs of Arizona, New Mexico collecting water from the runoff channeling it to their fields

  44. Their biggest settlement was in Chaco Canyon where they Used turquoise like money • Lived in apartment-like houses carved into cliffs • Disappeared around 1000AD after a 50 year drought

  45. Mound Builders • Lasted1000BC to 400AD • Two groups called the Adena and the Hopewell that settled from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico • Built large burial mounds sometimes in the shape of animals

  46. Were hunter-gatherers and might have experimented with farming • Corn made it there by the year 100AD by traders

  47. Mississippians • Mound building culture that farmed corn, squash, and beans • Largest city was Cahokia with 30,000 (near ST. Louis)

  48. Built mounds as big as the pyramids • Monks Mound is over 100ft high • The mounds held temples, homes for the rich, and burial places • Mississippians disappeared around AD1300

  49. Northern Groups • Inuit (and eskimos) • Arrived after the ice age by boat • Built igloos, used dogsleds and seal-skinned boats to survive the harsh temperature • Hunted and ate whales, seals, walruses, and land animals like caribou and polar bears • Used whale and seal lard for oil and calories

  50. Western Coast Groups • Like the Tlingit, Haida, and Chinook • Used tall cedar trees for houses and canoes • Fished for fish, otter, seals, and whales • Used different resources depending on where they lived • They adapted to their environment

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