THREE WORLDS MEET

CHAPTER 1

SECTION 1: PEOPLING THE AMERICASSECTION 2: NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETIES AROUND 1492

Mitten – CSHSAMAZ History –

Semester 1

Peopling the Americas

Three Worlds Meet

◦ Main Idea - In ancient times, migrating peoples

settled the Americas, where their descendents

developed complex societies

◦ Why it Matters Now – Patterns of immigration

have always shaped and continue to shape

American history

Peopling the Americas

Ancient Peoples Come to the Americas

◦ ~22,000 years ago◦ Humans come from Asia to N. America via Beringia

◦ Hunted big-game—woolly mammoth

◦ ~12,000 years ago◦ Ice Age ends; Beringia disappears◦ Big-game disappears; humans forage or hunt

small-game

◦ ~10,000-5,000 years ago◦ Humans in Mexico begin growing crops

◦ Some cultures remain nomadic – moving in search of food and water

Discussion

◦Why was the development of

agriculture important?

◦What does it allow humans to do?

Paleo-Indian Age◦ Clovis Points

◦ Projectile points – medium/large spear

◦ Similar projectiles are found all across the Americas

Review

◦ Where did the first people to inhabit the Americas come from and how did they get there?◦ They were from Asia (modern Russia) and they walked

across a land bridge known as Beringia.

◦ What did they do to survive and how do we know this?

◦ Hunted big game – mammoth bones and other artifacts such as Clovis Points

◦ Where was evidence found of early native agricultural efforts?

◦ Central Mexico – estimated to have begun some 5 to 10 thousand years ago.

Complex Societies Flourish

◦ Early Cultures in the Americas

◦ About 3,000 years ago, inhabitants begin forming large

communities

◦ Empires of Middle and South America

◦ Olmec: 1200 BCE till mysterious collapse in 400 BCE

◦ Maya: 250-900 CE in Guatemala

◦ Aztec: 1200 CE in the Valley of Mexico

◦ Inca: establish massive empire around 1200 CE in western

South America

◦ These cultures built large cities, palaces, pyramids, and most

had writing systems

Complex Societies Flourish

Ancient Desert Farmers

◦People have lived in Arizona for at least

11,000 years

◦Groups establish civilizations, 300 BCE to 1400

CE

◦ Hohokam settled in Salt River Valley; dug canals

◦ Anasazi lived on mesas or in cliff sides near Four

Corners

◦ Mogollon developed in the mountains of Eastern

Arizona

Complex Societies Flourish

Mound Builders

◦ In eastern N. America, Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian cultures establish trading societies◦Adena, Hopewell build huge burial and animal-shaped mounds

◦Mississippian people build giant pyramidal mounds

North American Societies Around 1492 – Sect. 2

◦ Main Idea: The varied landscapes of North America

encouraged the diversity of Native American cultures

◦N. America – West Coast/PNW

◦ Large communities reliant on water for

resources

◦Kwakiutl gather shellfish, hunt whales,

otters, seals

◦Place totems (symbols of ancestral

spirits) on masks, boats, poles (totem

poles)

◦Potlatches – elaborate ceremonies

where families give away possessions

Diverse Native Americans

◦ Southwest

◦ By 1300, Pueblo settle near waterways, build

multistory houses

◦ Hopi, Acoma live near cliffs, develop irrigation

◦ Grow corn, beans, squash

◦Eastern Woodlands◦ Tribes like Iroquois build villages in forests; farm,

hunt, gather

◦ Wood had many uses—tools, shelter, weapons,

ceremonial

Diverse Native Americans

◦Northeast

◦Harsh winters lead to reliance on wild

animals—meat, pelts

◦ Farming not common

Shared Cultural Patterns

Native American societies differed

greatly, but held some similarities

such as:

◦Trade patterns

◦Attitudes towards use of land

◦Some religious beliefs/social values

Shared Cultural Patterns

◦Trading Patterns

◦ Trade brought different Native American

peoples into contact

◦ Different groups had reputations for certain

skills or goods

◦ Nootka in PNW known for whale meat

◦ Some goods traveled thousands of miles

away from source

Shared Cultural Patterns

◦Land Use

◦Native Americans consider land the

source of life, not to be sold

◦ “We cannot sell the lives of men and

animals, therefore we cannot sell this

land.”

◦ Land only disturbed for necessities—

farming, shelter

◦ For Europeans, land = power and wealth.

“When we dig roots, we make little holes.

When we build houses, we make little

holes…We shake down acorns and

pinenuts—we do not chop down the trees.

We only use dead wood for fires…But the

white people plow up the ground, pull

down the trees, and the tree says, ‘Do not. I

am sore. Do not hurt me.”

- Freedom and Culture

Shared Cultural Patterns

◦Religious Beliefs

◦Most Native American peoples believed

spirits filled the natural world; ancestors

guided the living

◦ Social Organizations

◦Kinship (strong ties among family

members) was important across most

Native Americans

◦ Society was organized around families

Credits

◦ http://www.ccsf.edu/Library/exhibits/olmec1.jpg

◦ http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2006/Enterobius/beringia.jpg

◦ http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/content/comdrama/hohokam_culturemap.jpg

◦ http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/westweb/ancient/hohokam/graphics/HohokamRocks.jpg

◦ http://blendradioandtv.com/Tucson_AZ/POTTERY-COLLECTION.jpg

◦ http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/collections/rla/images/Beringia.jpg

◦ http://www.native-art-in-canada.com/image-files/moundbuilder-sites-map.png

◦ https://eee.uci.edu/clients/tcthorne/map/adenahopewellmoundbuilders.jpg

◦ http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/~walters/web%20230/map%20AdenaHopewellMiss.jpg