SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

Early People• Identify possible explanations of how people came to live in the Americas• Explain how early peoples in the Americas lived, hunted, and farmed.• Understand how changes in the environment affected early peoples’ lives

How did civilizations develop in the Americas?

8,000 B.C. – Mammoths become extinct3,000 B.C. – people in the Americas begin farmingA.D. 300 – The Mayan Civilization begins to growA.D. 1200 – More than 30,000 people live in Cahokia

The Land Bridge Story – thousands of years ago, scientists theorize, the Native American ancestors migrated from Asia.

The “bridge” theory is the idea that large sheets of ice connected North America with Western Asia. This bridge was nicknamed Beringia.

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

Theory – is an idea based on study and research

This migration of people may have taken hundreds of years.

Migration – is a movement of people.

A Long Journey

Scientists continue to debate how Native American ancestors arrived.

Many Scientists believe it was possible for their ancestors to arrive by boat. Sea and Land.

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

Early Ways of LifeThe early people most likely lived as nomads, people who moved from place to place.Their food source was the main purpose for moving.

They likely hunted animals like the mastodons and woolly mammoths, now extinct.

Scientists have found spear points and artifacts near the bones of extinct mammoths. We learn a lot from artifacts.

Artifact – objects made by people

Early people hunted these animals, ate the meat, used the furs skins and bones to make clothing and tools.They were hunters and gatherers. Not yet farmers.

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

8,000 B.C. – the giant animals become extinct.

People now need to find new sources of food. They begin to fish and hunt smaller animals.

Over time, they make new hunting tools. They are forced to advance.

3,000 B.C. – some people in the Americas begin planting seeds and growing crops such as corn and beans.

The rise of agriculture (farming) was a major reason why people began to settle into one place (create villages). As groups raised more food, the population grew.

As populations grew, tribes began to form. Tribes share a common language, land, and leaders. They make their own cultures and traditions

Early CIVILIZATIONS of the Americas

A civilization is a group of people with ways of life, religion, and learning. Civilizations progress over time and become more complex.

1500 B.C. – A.D. 300 – The Olmec1000 B.C – A.D. 1500 – The Mound Builders100 B.C. – A.D. 1300 – Ancient Pueblos A.D. 300 – A.D. 900 – Maya

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

The OlmecSan Lorenzo

Olmec cities were located near rivers with rich soil. They had a strong trade system.

They created systems of writing and counting. They developed the 365 day calendar

No one is sure why the Olmec fell from power, but we know they influenced other cultures.Historians call the Olmec the “mother culture” of the Americas, because their customs and ways of doing things were continued by later civilizations

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

The Maya

The Maya ruled most of central America for over a thousand years. They were influenced by the Olmec traditions.

Tradition – is a way of life or an idea that has been handed down from the past.

The Mayan were divided into social classes.Class – a group of people in a society who have something in common.

- Religious Leaders- Important families- Traders- Farmers

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

The Maya developed their own writing system, or picture symbols.

They also developed a counting system that included the number zero.

How were the Mayan and Olmec civilizations alike?

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

The Mound Builders

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

The Ancient Puebloans

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1

SummaryThere are several theories about how early people arrived in the Americas. Early people most likely led a nomadic way of life. They kept moving, following animals they hunted. Over time, people began to farm and to build settlements. The Olmec and the Maya lived in what is now Mexico. The Mound Builders and the Ancient Puebloans lived in what is now the United States.

SS Chapter 2 – Native Americans, Lesson 1