CIVILIZATIONS OF THE AMERICAS(1400 B.C.-A.D. 1570)

ROC By CL

Early American Civilizations

First American civilization were the Olmecs

Lived in the tropical forest along the Gulf Coast in Mexico

Lasted from about 1400 B.C to 500 B.C.

Civilizations of Middle America

First settlers in America were nomadic hunters

Probably came over on a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska

Populated two fast continents From 8500 B.C. to 2000 B.C. Neolithic

people began to farm crops in Mexico

The Mayans

Mayan farmers cleared rain forests for farming to feed their cities

Their society was divided into social classes Each city had its own chief Priests were highly regarded Pyramid temples and palaces served as burial

places and altars They developed a single ruler or emperor at the

top. Conquered people commonly served as

sacrifices

The Mayas cont.

As a result of the human sacrifices the people who conquered people often revolted

When the Spanish army arrived they found allies who were ruled by the Aztecs

The World of the Incas

For more than 2000 years civilizations rose and fell in Mexico

In the 1400s the Incas came from the mountains of Peru

They were led by Pachacuti They quickly conquered an empire that stretched

2500 miles down the Andes and along the Pacific coast.

By the 1500s they had established a centralized government in Peru

They were ruled by a god-king and a powerful class of priests

Incan Government

The emperor had the absolute power over the Incan empire

He claimed to be divine and lived in splendor

He ruled from the capital at Cuzco His chain of command reached every

village Specially trained officials kept records on

quipus, collections of knotted strings

Incan Achievements

They worked to unite their conquered people

They imposed their own language Quechua and religion on the people

They also created one of great road systems in history

Roads wound more than 12000 miles through mountains and deserts

Fighting in the 1500s crippled them shortly before the Spanish came to Mexico

Peoples of North America

Before 1500 there were many groups of Native Americans with many different kind of lifestyles in that lived in North America

Culture groups included peoples in the Artic, Northwest Coast, California, Great Basin, Southwest, Great Plains, Southeast, and Eastern Woodlands

The Anasazi

Are the best known society of the desert southwest Built large villages called pueblos by the Spanish Were made of stone and adobe brick There was a kiva a large underground chamber used for religious rituals in

the middle of the village In the 1100’s they began building housing complexes in the shadow of

canyon walls Reason was it provided better protection from raiders Their traditions live on by the ways of the Hopi and Pueblo Indians

The Mound Builders

They lived by the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys

The Hopewell people (a.k.a the Mound Builders) left behind mounds of earth in many different forms

The objects found in the mounds suggest that networks stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes

By about 800 A.D. the culture had been replaced by that of the Mississippians who grew corn and other crops

Mound Builders cont.

They built large towns and ceremonial centers

Their greatest center Cahokia in present day Illinois that could house as many as 40,000 people by 1200A.D.

Different climates influenced the way other tribes lived such as Intuits adapted to the frozen terrain in the far north

Review Questions

What was the first civilization in the Americas, it was in the Tropical Forests of Mexico? The Olmecs

Nomadic hunters came to North America across what? A land bridge between Siberia and Alaska

What civilization grew up in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, used flat top pyramids, and had an accurate calendar? Tourists still visit the pyramids built by this civilization. The Mayans

What warrior tribe had conquered the valley of Mexico by the 1500s, and built its capital where Mexico City is located today? The Aztecs

What is the name of the capital city that Mexico City sits on? Tenochtitlan

What Spanish Conquistador killed Montezuma and conquered the above civilization? Hernandez Cortez

What is a Tribute? A payment from conquered peoples

What civilization grew up in the Andes Mountains of South America? The Aztecs

What was the capital city of the above civilization in South America? Cuzco

What Spanish Conquistador defeated the civilization in South America? Francisco Pizarro

Bibliography

http://navajopeople.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Routes-oF-Ancient-Americas-migrations.jpg

http://www.outdoorpools.net/wp-content/themes/dark-wood/olmec-heads-history-5816.jpg

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4909835955536004&pid=1.7&w=252&h=187&c=7&rs=1

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V9D3HIL8kFg/T2F_GNyOwdI/AAAAAAAAABE/sEQMC7iYaRM/s1600/The+inca+city+of+Machu+Picchu

http://www.federationmsta.org/IMAGES/mound.jpg