THE FIRST AMERICANSChapter 2, Section 1

The First Americans

Left no written record Scientists have evidence that the first

people reached the Americas during the last ice age.

The Land Bridge

Glaciers: thick sheets of ice covered much of the earth between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago.

Water was locked up in ice so sea levels fell and land was uncovered.

Beringia: land bridge that connected Siberia in northeastern Asia to Alaska in North America. Today this land is under the Bering Strait.

First Americans were hunters

Followed herds of wooly mammoths, bison, and other game across Beringia.

Arrival of the first Americans is believed to be about 30,000 to 15,000 years ago.

Search for hunting grounds led newcomers across the Americas.

Global Warming

12,000 years ago temperatures rose around the globe.

Glaciers melted : Beringia is again covered by water

Wooly mammoths and mastodons die Americas people adapted by fishing,

hunting small game, and gathering berries and grain

Farming

5,000 years ago people learned to grow corn, beans, and squash.

Changed life because migration was no longer necessary for survival.

Built permanent villages. Farming methods improved, more food

was produce, and populations grew.

The Study of Early People

To learn about early Americans ,experts are studying ancient peoples of northeast Asia

Also studying languages of Native Americans to trace how people spread across the Americas.

Native Americans: descendants of the first people to reach the Americas.

Examining Artifacts like stone tool weapons, baskets, and carvings

Archeology: the study of evidence left by early peoples.

Studying the Evidence

Applying scientific methods to analyzing artifacts can lead to opening information such as approximate dates, climates, and skills.

Forming Theories About Culture

Culture: the entire way of life that people have developed. Including behavior, customs, beliefs, and skills. Also includes homes, clothes and government.

Protecting Native American Burial Grounds

Some laws have been passed to protect Native American burial grounds.

At times hinders archeologists ability to study ancient sites

The Mound Builders

Mound Builders: built thousands of earthen mounds scattered between the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi Valley and from Wisconsin to Florida.

Mound Builders belonged to various group who lived from about 3,000 years ago until the 1700’s.

Purpose of the Mounds

Burial grounds probably for important leaders Inside mounds things like sculptures, copper

weapons, tools and ornaments have been found.

Found turquoise from the Southwest and shells from the Gulf of Mexico which suggests trade.

Purpose of the Mounds

Religious ceremonies Pyramid shaped with a flat top. Built temples and homes on top for the

ruling class.

A Sprawling City Cahokia: Large city built between 700

and 1500. 30,000 people lived there. Built Monk’s Mound, 16 acres or 14 ½

football fields long and hundreds of other small mounds.

Built a fence around Cahokia and circles of evenly places posts believed to be used as a calendar to help farmers know when planting and harvesting seasons began.

Early Cultures of the Southwest

Desert region with an annual rainfall only 5 to 10 inches and temperatures above 100 degrees

Hohokams: lived in present day Arizona. Developed ways to turn desert into

farmland by digging irrigation ditches from the Salt and Gila rivers. They grew corn, squash, and beans.

Early Cultures of the Southwest

Anasazi ( In Navajo means ancient ones): also framed the desert by irrigation.

Built large multistoried houses made of stone and sundried brick called adobe.

Pueblos: Villages: This is what Spanish explores called these house made of adobe.

Cliff Dwellers Adobe house along the faces of cliffs, built

to protect their villages from warlike neighbors.

Climbed up and down cliff walls using toeholds.

Built roads connecting villages for trade of items such as sandals, blankets, and cotton.

Roads even led into present day Mexico for trade.

Drought: Long dry spells, forced Anasazis to abandon their villages.