The First Americans

1. The First Americans Chapter 2

2. Lesson 1 Vocabulary • Glacier -a huge thick sheet of slowly moving ice • Migration -movement of people or animals from one region to another • Agriculture -growing plants for food; farming • Civilization -a culture with cities, government, and many different jobs for people to do • Paleo-Indians -ancestors of modern American Indians • Ancestor -relatives who lived before you

3. Ancient Americans • One theory is scientists think the first Americans came from Asia • Hunters crossed a land bridge that once connected Asia to North America as they followed migrating herds of animals as the Ice Age was ending Around 10,00 years ago the Ice Age ended and as the glaciers melted the land bridge was covered with water!

4. These people were nomadic hunters and gatherers for thousands of years Nomads are people who move from place to place looking for food usually following herds of animals. Paleo Indians hunted Woolly Mammoths and other large mammals. Paleo-Indians

5. Civilizations Develop • Nomads began to settle in different regions and become farmers • Some of the 1st farmers were in Mexico • They learned how to grow useful wild plants as crops • Growing crops takes time so people stayed in one place • Populations grew and people built villages and cities • Systems of government, religion and culture develop

6. The Mound Builders • The Adena, Hopewell and the Mississippians created some of the earliest villages in North America • These early civilizations are called “Mound Builders” • They built giant hills of dirt that were used to bury dead, jewelry, tools and pottery This is the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio made by the Adena people.

7. The Ancient Pueblo Indians Pueblo homes • These people lived in the southwest • They lived in large buildings with many rooms • The used mud and stone and built homes on top of each other some look like modern day apartments • The also built underground rooms called Kivas for religious ceremonies Kivas at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

8. The Aztecs • The Aztecs lived in central Mexico. • They had their own calendar. • The constructed hundreds of buildings and roads. • They built large temples for their many different gods. • They sacrificed humans to please their gods!

9. Lesson 1 questions use pages 38-43 • 1. Which two continents did the Beringia land bridge connect? • 2. When did the migration over the land bridge stop? • 3. Why did people cross over the land bridge? • 4. How did farming help create civilizations? • 5. Why were the Adena, Hopewell and Mississippians called Mound Builders? • 6. Where did the Ancient Pueblo live? • 7. What is a Kiva? • 8. Name some of the accomplishments of the Aztec civilization.