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Chapter 1: Section 1The First Americans: Migration to the Americas
Where did the first Americans come from and how did they survive?
The first Americans came from Asia and they were hunters and gatherers
The First Americans: Migration to the Americas
The Journey from Asia
● The first Americans were hunters and gatherers who migrated from Asia
● By A.D. 1500, millions of Native Americans were living on North and South
America
● spotlight video
The First Americans: Migration to the Americas
The Journey from Asia
Crossing the Land Bridge
● The most recent Ice Age began 100,000 years ago and ended about
12,000 years ago
● A land bridge known as Beringia was exposed during the ice age due to
the lower sea level
○ Beringia joined Asia and the Americas and allowed early Americans to
come across those two lands
○ Beringia now lies under the Bering Strait
Beringia and the Bering Strait
The Land Bridge
Beringia and the Bering Strait
The Land Bridge
Searching for Hunting Grounds
Early Americans were nomads.
They ate grains and fruits but they were also hunters
It is believed that they were following mammals for food when they crossed Beringia into what is
now Alaska and Canada (see map on pg. 8)
These early Americans migrated as far east as the Atlantic Ocean and as far south as the tip of
South America
Hunting for Food
Huge mammals roamed the Earth in ancient times:
Hunting for Food
• Early Americans hunted these huge animals in groups
• Armed with spears, they stalked herds of bison, mastodons and mammoths.
• A single mammoth provided enough meat to feed a group of people for months
• Skin and bones were used to make clothing, weapons and shelter
Settling Down
• About 15,000 years ago, the Earth’s temperatures began to rise.
• The sea levels rose and Beringia was submerged into the ocean.
• The large animals disappeared and early Americans needed to find other food sources
Planting Seeds and Farming
Agriculture changed the way of life for early Americans
• About 9,00 years ago, people living in what is now known as Mexico learned to grow maize.
• They also grew pumpkins, beans, and squash
Settling Down
Agriculture changed the way of life for early Americans
• Farming allowed people to spend time on activities other than finding food, improving the lives of early Americans
• Scientists have discovered villages dating back 5,000 years ago supporting the theory that agriculture changed the lives of these early Americans
• Early Americans who settled down built permanent shelters from clay, stone, or wood and made pottery and cloth
• These early Americans developed their own cultures as they settled down into villages with permanent shelters
Chapter One- Section One Vocabulary
1. archaeology
2. artifact
3. nomad
4. migration
5. maize
6. carbon dating
7. culture
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
Chapter 1, Section 2: Cities and Empires
The Olmec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations of Mexico and Central America flourished long before the arrival of Europeans.
The Olmec, Maya and Aztec
The Olmec, Maya and Aztec were three of the largest and most advanced civilizations in what is now Mexico and Central America.
• Each of these civilizations spread out over hundreds of miles, included millions of people and thrived for several centuries
The Olmec
• 1500 B.C. – 300 B.C.
• Lived along the Gulf Coast of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras
• Produced enough food to sustain cities
• Stone monuments, pavements and drainage systems
• Declined and collapsed for unknown reasons
The Olmec are well known for gigantic heads carved from huge boulders
The Maya• A.D. 300 – A.D. 1100
• Rainforests of present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize
• Built large cities and stone pyramids
• Theocracy- society ruled by religious leaders
• The Maya believed the gods controlled everything that happened on Earth
The Maya
• Developed 365-day calendar
• Used a number system of dots and bars
• Developed hieroglyphics, a form of writing that uses symbols or pictures to represent things, ideas, and sounds
• Maya hieroglyphic writing was the only true system of writing in the Americas before the 1400s
Maya Transport and Trade
• Carried goods on their backs
• Farmers traded maize and vegetables for cotton cloth, pottery, deer meat, and salt
• Maya traders also carried goods up and down Mexico’s coast to trade jade statues, turquoise jewelry, and cacao beans
Decline of the Maya
• By A.D. 1100, Maya civilization was mostly gone
• Cause of the civilization’s decline is unknown; possible theories:
Soil too exhausted by erosion and fire to produce enough food
• Maya Video
The Aztec
• 1325-1521
• Aztec legend: Eagle with snake in its beak sitting on cactus was a sign from their god that meant they had found their permanent home
Aztec War and Religion
