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Ch. 1, Sec. 1 (Prehistory-‐1500
¡ 1. Students will understand how people may have first reached the Americas
¡ 2. Students will find out how people learned to farm
¡ 3. Students will explore the civilizations of the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas.
¡ The First Americans § The Land-‐Bridge Theory § Other Theories § Learning to Farm
¡ Three Civilizations § Mayas § Aztecs § Incas
¡ Glacier – thick sheets of ice ¡ Irrigate – a method to water crops by channeling water from rivers or streams
¡ Surplus – extra ¡ Civilization – an advanced culture in which people have developed cities, science, and industries
¡ Between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago, much of the world was covered by glaciers
¡ As more water froze, the water level in the oceans dropped
¡ Areas where shallow water had been turned into dry land
¡ One of these such areas stretched between Siberia and Alaska
¡ A bridge of land, many miles wide appeared, now it lies under a narrow waterway called the Bering Strait
¡ The Land-‐Bridge may have appeared and disappeared several times
¡ Scientists believe that the first people came to the Americans 20 to 30,000 years ago
¡ They also believe that they were probably hunters, searching for large mammals such as the wooly mammoth
¡ Hunting bands slowly spread across North and South America
The Land-‐Bridge Theory (Video)
¡ Not everyone accepts the Land-‐Bridge theory as truth, some believe that people may have first crossed the arctic waters by boat and traveled southward along the Pacific Coast § Known as the coastal route theory
¡ Many Native Americans also dispute both theories, having their own creation stories which differ among each tribe
¡ For most of early civilizations, hunting was the primary means of survival.
¡ Game animals provided food, furs for clothing, and bones for tools
¡ In time, after much hunting, many larger animals began to disappear
¡ Deprived of their primary food source, hunters had to change their patterns
¡ In many place, hunters became gatherers, moving from place to place looking for small game & plants
¡ Around 8,000 years ago, gatherers in Mexico began growing food plants, including squash and lima beans.
¡ The discovery of farming transformed life and led to the development of modern civilizations
¡ No longer did families have to wander in search of food
¡ In dry regions, farmers began to develop systems of irrigation.
¡ They also learned how to raise animals such as cattle, pigs and llamas
¡ With a more dependable food supply, the population grew much more rapidly
¡ Native Americans began producing a surplus and trading with other groups
¡ No longer did families have to wander in search of food
¡ In dry regions, farmers began to develop systems of irrigation.
¡ They also learned how to raise animals such as cattle, pigs and llamas
¡ With a more dependable food supply, the population grew much more rapidly
¡ Native Americans began producing a surplus and trading with other groups
How do scientists think people first reached the Americas?
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How do scientists think people first reached the Americas?
Most scientists believe that the first people arrived by land.
¡ The development of farming led to the development of cities
¡ The development of cities led to the beginning of civilizations
¡ Over the centuries, several significant civilizations rose and declined in the Americas.
¡ The largest 3 were the Mayas, Aztecs, and the Incas
¡ The Mayas existed in what is now Mexico and Central America
¡ They built splendid cities containing large public plazas lined with pyramids, temples, ball courts, and palaces.
¡ They also developed arts, a system of government, and a written language.
¡ Their observation of the stars led to the most accurate calendar available, until modern times
¡ They carved the stories of their Gods and their histories into the stones of their buildings
¡ Around 900 A.D., they began to abandon their cities
¡ Why this happened remains a mystery. Most agree that it was either disease or over-‐population
¡ The Mayan language is the root of over 20 civilizations in Central America today.
¡ As the Mayan civilization declined, another was on the rise
¡ The Aztecs built a great capital city, Tenochtitlan, on the site of present-‐day Mexico City
¡ It was built on a series of small islands in the middle of a large lake
¡ The city was connected to the mainland by stone roadways
¡ Many farmers raised crops on floating platforms ¡ More than 200,000 people resided here during the height of the Aztecs, making it the largest city in the world at that time
¡ The center of the city was a sacred place with dozens of temples that honored Aztec gods
¡ Religion dominated Aztec life ¡ To the Aztec’s, prosperity depended on the good will of the Gods
¡ They, like a number of other civilizations, practiced human sacrifice as an offering to their Gods.
¡ During the 1400’s, Aztec armies brought half of modern-‐day Mexico under their control
¡ They had effective, but harsh rulers ¡ Conquered tribes were forced to send treasure, food, and prisoners to the Aztec capital.
¡ They also forced these conquered people to pay extremely high taxes
¡ Resentful subjects would eventually turn on the Aztecs when they needed allies
¡ In the 1400’s, the largest empire was in South America
¡ The Incan Empire stretched down the coast of South America along the Andes mountains, across the Atacama desert, and reached the fringes of the Amazon rain forest
¡ At the center of the Incan empire was Cuzco, their capital
¡ It was linked to other cities by a great series and system of roads
¡ They constructed buildings of huge stones, carefully shaped to fit together.
¡ They built walls solid enough to contain soil, canals to carry water, and bridges over deep canyons.
¡ They produced fine weavings and metalwork ¡ They wore jewelry made from gold and silver
Where were the Aztec and Inca civilizations located?
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Where were the Aztec and Inca civilizations located?
The Aztec civilization was in Central America and the Inca civilization was in South America.
¡ 1) Name one skill that people had to learn in order to grow crops
¡ 2) What benefits could farmers get from learning to raise animals?
¡ 3) What is a civilization? ¡ 4) How did the Mayas and Aztecs fit the definition of a civilization?
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