First inhabitants were nomadic hunters and gatherers. These
nomads probably arrived in North America around 40,000 years ago,
following a land bridge that formed between North America and Asia.
It is believed that another group of humans migrated from Asia into
North America around 12,000 years ago.
Slide 3
As these various groups traveled into the new world following
wild game, they spread out across the land, forming new cultures,
and in some cases, complex civilizations.
Slide 4
For thousands of years, these early inhabitants of the Americas
made a life by hunting game and gathering food from seeds, berries
and wild plants. Around 5000 B.C., an agricultural revolution took
place near present day Mexico.
Slide 5
For thousands of years, the inhabitants who lived on the
American continents lived off the land. Then, in 5000 B.C. near
present day Mexico, many groups of people began to discover
farming.
Slide 6
They realized that they could plant crops such as corn,
pumpkins, potatoes and squash, and by doing so, could better
provide for the needs of their people. This new technology spread
from Mexico outward to other parts of the Southwest, so that by
3000 B.C., many groups of people in the region were actively
practicing farming.
Slide 7
The practice of farming the land led to the development of
villages. The people no longer had to travel in search of wild game
and plant life. Instead, they could settle down in one place, and
begin to build more permanent structures.
Slide 8
These permanent villages allowed for more complex societies and
cultures to evolve in the region. New religions and governments
began to form, and individuals began to become more specialized in
their jobs.
Slide 9
This specialization of work tasks allowed technology to really
take off, so that great advancements were made. The people became
more skilled in tool making, creating special implements for
farming, fishing, building and so forth. All of this meant that the
standard of living in the Americas could be greatly improved. This
improved standard of living led to a population explosion. By A.D.
1500 it is estimated that more than 50 million people lived in the
Western Hemisphere.
Slide 10
The various peoples inhabiting North America gradually
developed many different and unique cultures. Each culture was
heavily influenced by the land and natural resources around the
people. These cultures included their traditions, religious
practices, and their everyday lives and customs.
Slide 11
As this happened, the various cultures became regionalized: the
cultures of different groups of people were very similar to one
another in the same region, but very different from the cultures of
the peoples in another region. The process of cultures developing
in a specific region is known as cultural differentiation. The
regions that developed in North America were the Arctic, the
Northwest, the California region, the Great Basin, the Southwest,
the Great Plains, and the Eastern Woodlands.
Slide 12
Native American Culture Areas
Slide 13
The peoples who settled in the Arctic lived in an area of
frigid temperatures. The hostile cold created a condition in the
ground known as permafrost. This permafrost was a layer of ice
underground that never melted. This meant that farming the land was
impossible.
Slide 14
These peoples survived by hunting seals, whales, bears, sea
birds, and other animals. Because resources were scarce, they
learned to make use of every part of the animals they hunted. The
meat and fat could be used as food, while the bones could be used
to build huts, and skins could be used to create warm
clothing.
Slide 15
The peoples of the Northwest settled along the West Coast of
North America. The warm ocean currents helped keep the climate in
this region more moderate. Like the peoples of the Arctic, the
Northwest peoples lived off of the ocean and rivers. They fished
and hunted wildlife.
Slide 16
Slide 17
The peoples of the Northwest had an advantage, though, that the
Arctic peoples did not. Their lands were covered with thick
forests. These forests provided another source of food, including
many wild animals, as well as wild berries, nuts and fruits. Over
time, these peoples became experts in hunting and fishing,
developing some of the most advanced hunting and fishing
technologies of the era. They also developed trade routes with
other native peoples in order to obtain goods that they could not
produce themselves.
Slide 18
The peoples who lived along the California coast and mountains
enjoyed a lifestyle that was somewhat easier than that of other
inhabitants of North America. Their lands were warm year round, and
were endowed with abundant rainfall and wildlife. This warm climate
and abundant food allowed these peoples to spend more time
developing their culture, including art and religion.
Slide 19
The Great Basin is an area in North America where there is
little water, and as a result, little wildlife. This made this
region a difficult place to live.
Slide 20
The peoples of the Great Basin did not have permanent housing.
Instead, they moved about from place to place in search of food. To
survive, they often ate grasshoppers, lizards, and other small
insects and animals.
Slide 21
The peoples of the Southwest lived in some of the most extreme
conditions in North America. The North American deserts were hot,
dry, and offered little in the way of food and shelter. Yet,
despite these difficult circumstances, the people of the Southwest
were well adapted to their environments. They developed complex
systems for irrigating their crops, including massive irrigation
projects. They also created unique methods for building
villages.
Slide 22
One group of peoples in this region, known as the Pueblo, built
their villages into the side of desert cliffs. These villages were
made out of cement and stone, and often included buildings that
could be several stories high. The ruins of many of these villages
still exist to the present day, showing just how skilled these
builders were.
Slide 23
Slide 24
The Great Plains stretched from the eastern edge of the Rocky
Mountains out to the Mississippi River. This vast region of rolling
hills and regular rainfall was covered in wild grasses. These
grasses supported a wide variety of wildlife, which included bison
herds that were almost unimaginable in size.
Slide 25
These herds could stretch across miles of terrain and include
millions of individual animals. The peoples who lived in this
region depended heavily on the bison as a source of food as well as
skins which they used to create clothing and shelters.
Slide 26
One group of people who lived near the Mississippi River began
to build large mounds where they buried their dead, along with
tools and implements in elaborate religious ceremonies.
Slide 27
Slide 28
The people who inhabited Central America formed a number of
advanced civilizations between 1500 B.C. and 1200 A.D. As one
civilization faded in the region, another developed to take its
place. Later civilizations borrowed many aspects of culture from
earlier civilizations, as well as creating their own unique
traditions.
Slide 29
Slide 30
Historians call these civilizations the Mesoamerican cultures.
The word meso means middle. These peoples all lived in Middle
America.
Slide 31
Slide 32
The first civilization to evolve in Mesoamerica was that of the
Olmecs. Around 1500 B.C., villages in Mesoamerica became more
complex and specialized. These people formed a nation which they
called Olmec.
Slide 33
The Olmecs built huge religious stone emblems of their gods and
rulers. Some of these emblems were more than nine feet tall, and
weighed more than 40 tons. These massive figures were transported
miles across the terrain without the use of wheels or the aid of
animals.
Slide 34
The Olmec villages were organized, with a market square in the
center where trade and business could take place. They worshipped a
variety of gods and deities. Their chief god was believed to be a
being with a human body and a jaguar face.
Slide 35
The Olmecs were expert farmers and practiced a type of farming
known as slash- and-burn farming. They would cut the trees of a
forest down and wait a period of several months as the trees dried
out. They would then light the trees on fire, burning them all into
ashes. These ashes acted as a fertilizer, making the soil more
fertile. These farmers then farmed the land a few years until it
was no longer fertile, at which point they moved on to the next
forest.
Slide 36
Around 900 B.C., a group of people known as the Mayans begin to
settle the territory around the Yucatan Peninsula. By 300 A.D., the
Mayan culture had become quite advanced. The Mayans were not ruled
by a central government. They shared the same language, traditions
and culture, but they were led by small local governments.
Slide 37
The Mayans believed that the universe was made up of two
separate worlds. The everyday world and the otherworld. The
everyday world was the world in which they lived. The otherworld,
they believed, was where gods, spirits, and their dead ancestors
lived.
Slide 38
The village chief acted as the leader of political life as well
as the priest. He was responsible for standing between his people
and the otherworld. He performed important religious ceremonies
that the Mayans believed would earn the favor of those in the
otherworld and bring about their blessings. These ceremonies
included the sacrifice of humans as well as the blood letting of
the priest.
Slide 39
The Mayans are one of the first peoples to develop and play
professional sports. One of the most important sports played by the
Mayans was called Pok-a-tok. Using a solid rubber ball, which was
about the size of a basketball, teams battled one another in a way
that reminded the people of ancient Mayan battles and legends. To
protect themselves from injury, these players wore protective
padding.
Slide 40
The goal of this game was to hit the ball into a stone hoop.
The ball could not be picked up, however. It had to be bounced off
of leather shields that were attached to the players' arms, legs
and chest.
Slide 41
The Mayans became excellent scientists in many different
fields, including medicine, astronomy and mathematics. They tracked
the movement of the stars and planets across the sky, and were able
to accurately predict celestial events such as eclipses.
Slide 42
Slide 43
One of the most important advancements developed by the Mayans
was written language. The Mayans developed a complex system of
writing, which consisted of both an alphabet, as well as symbols,
which represented whole words or thoughts.
Slide 44
Slide 45
These writings were recorded in books made out of bark and
plaster, as well as carved into monuments, bones and stone. Many of
these writings have survived to the present, and help give us an
accurate look at the Mayans history and culture.
Slide 46
By 900 A.D., the Mayan culture began to decline. It is not
entirely clear as to why; however, many historians believe that war
broke out between different members of royal families. This civil
war made farming difficult, and as a result, many people died from
hunger and disease. By the late 900s A.D., almost all signs of this
once great civilization were gone.
Slide 47
Slide 48
Just outside of present day Mexico City, a civilization
developed known as the Teotihuacanos. This people built a massive
capital city that at its height had more than 200,000 inhabitants.
This city was expertly laid out, with wide streets, town squares,
markets and plazas.
Slide 49
Slide 50
This massive city had over 600 pyramids, which were believed to
be used for religious purposes. It also had well over 2000
apartment buildings where many of the people of this civilization
lived. The Teotihuacanos thrived for nearly 750 years. Then, in 750
A.D., invaders from the north, known as the Toltecs, conquered and
destroyed them.
Slide 51
Around 750 A.D., a new empire began to form in Mesoamerica.
Using their powerful armies, the Toltecs began to conquer much of
the territory in the region. Their capital city was called
Tula.
Slide 52
Slide 53
The Toltecs were expert miners and effective traders. These
efforts brought significant wealth to their empire. In 1170 A.D.,
invaders attacked the capital of Tula and were able to conquer it.
As a result, the empire itself collapsed.
Slide 54
In 1200 A.D., a group of nomadic hunters called the Aztecs
migrated into Mesoamerica in search of food and wild game. By 1325
A.D., the Aztecs had settled in present day Mexico City, and had
built a large, beautiful and powerful city on a small island which
they called Tenochtitlan.
Slide 55
As the population of Tenochtitlan grew, the island became too
small. Their innovative solution was to make the island bigger.
They built large wooden rafts, which they covered with mud and
secured to the lakebed with stakes. Many people lived and farmed on
these floating parcels of land.
Slide 56
By 1500 A.D., the Aztecs had used both their military strength
as well as political ties to conquer almost all of the territory in
and around their capital city. Their empire stretched from the
Pacific Ocean in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east.
Slide 57
The Aztec Empire ca.1500
Slide 58
The Aztecs founded a strong, secure central government. This
helped provide stability, and allowed the empire to thrive. At the
top of this government was the royal family, headed by an emperor,
or king.
Slide 59
The emperor appointed various authorities to rule different
regions of his empire. These leaders swore allegiance to the
emperor himself. The emperor maintained his control over the empire
through the use of his vast and powerful army.
Slide 60
In 1521 A.D., the peoples who were ruled by the Aztecs grew
tired of the treatment they received at their taskmasters' hands.
The Aztecs required all conquered peoples to pay heavy and
burdensome taxes. They also often sacrificed their men to the Aztec
gods as part of their religious practices.
Slide 61
These people joined forces with the Spanish explorers, who had
arrived in the region, and attacked the Aztec capital. They were
quickly able to overthrow the Aztec Empire.
Slide 62
In the Andes Mountains around A.D. 1200, a civilization
developed independently from the civilizations of Mesoamerica. This
civilization would become known as the Incas.
Slide 63
By the late 1200s A.D., the Incas had settled in the city of
Cuzco, which would eventually become their capital. In 1438 A.D.,
Pachacuti became the king of the Incas. He and his son Topa began a
great period of expansion, creating what would be the largest
empire in the New World, and one of the largest empires in the
entire world.
Slide 64
The Incas formed a powerful central government. Pachacuti
allowed local leaders to continue governing the people so long as
they remained loyal to him. If they did not, he relocated the
people to distant parts of his kingdom where they would not pose a
threat. He passed and recorded laws that were consistent throughout
the empire, and founded courts, trade routes, and initiated many
building projects that strengthened his empire.
Slide 65
In order to further unite the people, Pachacuti required all
his subjects to learn and speak a common language. This language
was called Quechua. There are still many people in these regions
who speak Quechua to this day.
Slide 66
Cuzco became a hub for the Inca road system. The main road went
through the highlands from the capital to Quito and into Colombia.
Another segment went south through Bolivia to Santiago and
northwest Argentina. The entire road system webbed more than 25,000
miles. These roads were narrow with distance of 3 to 52 ft wide and
the mountain roadways were even more narrower and winding than
those located along the coast. Road from Aguas Calientes up to
Machu Picchu (Machu Picchu 2011)
Slide 67
In 1533 A.D., the Spanish arrived in South America. Hungry for
territory and for converts to Christianity, the Spanish overwhelmed
the Incan Empire. Their armies were no match for the far superior
Spanish technologies. While the Incan Empire disappeared
completely, the Incan people remained in the region. To this day,
many descendants of the Incas still inhabit the nations of Chile,
Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. These people still speak Quechua, the
official Incan language, and still practice Incan culture.