Chapter 9
Section 1
The Early
Americas
Ummmmmmmm…

What value would a Wooly Mammoth have
to the natives?
What was going on?
While civilizations were developing over in
Europe, Asia, and Africa, there were also
developments in the “The Americas”
 Americas = North America, Central America, and
South America

The first Americans came from ASIA.
How did they get to the Americas?
The earliest civilizations arrived in the
Americas via a LAND BRIDGE, known as
BERINGIA.
 Beringia was a space between Asia and
Alaska. (This is the modern-day Bering
Straight.)
 Historians are unsure about the exact time
that the migration to the Americas took
place.

What type of people were migrating?


The people were Hunter-Gatherers.
Their most valuable prey was the mammoth:
– Mammoths weighed more than 14,000 lbs.
– Provided meat, hide, bones for food, clothing, shelter, and tools
– Some historians say that early people followed the mammoths to
the Americas

After the people were here for a while, they began to turn
toward AGRICULTURE.
– What did they grow and eat? Squash, gourds, beans, avocados,
chilies, and MAIZE.
 Maize = Corn
The Effects of Agriculture




Before Agriculture
Development
People were mainly
Hunters
Migrated to find food
Groups stayed small and
unorganized
Most of their time was
devoted to finding food




After Agriculture
Development
Steady source of food
Families settled down and
began to grow larger
New skills developed:
arts/craft, architecture,
and social organization
Complex Societies arose
IMPORANT: This change brought about the development of
more advanced civilizations.
Chapter 9
Section 2
The Early
Mesoamerican
Civilizations
OLMEC: First Known Civilization
Location:
Southern Mexico
 When: 1200 BC
 Called the
“Mother Culture”
of Mesoamerica

Olmec’s Remnants
Benefits of the Olmecs
Good clay for pottery
 Forests for wood products and rubber
products
 Mountains for stone structure
 Rivers for moving goods
 Fertile soil for growing a wide variety of
food

Zapotec Civilization
Came after the Olmecs
 Had some influences of the Olmecs, but
they still “did their own thing.”
 Zapotec developed:

– Writing
– Calendars
– Built the first city in the Americas: Monte
Alban (population 25,000)
Zapotec Artifacts
Ball Court
Conclusion
Historians are unsure of exactly why these
two civilizations disappeared
 They both had a significant impact on the
civilizations that followed them.

Chapter 9
Section 3
Early
Civilizations of
the Andes
Where are the Andes Mts.??
Description
•4,500 miles long
•2nd Highest mountain chain
•Steep, Rocky Terrain
•Poor Soil
•Hot/Dry during the day
• Really cold at night
•1st Development was in Peru
Societies Arise in the Andes

Chavin (shaVEEN) People
– 1st People to settle in the Andean Mountains
– Hunter-Gatherers
– “Mother Culture” of South America

Nazca People
– On the coast of Peru
– Developed extensive irrigation b/c it was too dry.
This allowed the Nazca to develop their agriculture
Societies Arise in the Andes

Nazca People Continued
– They developed The Nazca Lines
– Purpose: No one really knows, but
here are the theories:
 Worship of the Sky or Water god
 Water sources from old river beds
 Maps of underground water sources
Societies Arise in the Andes

Moche (MO-chay) People
– Northern Coast of Peru
– Used the rivers to develop their irrigation systems
– Very Wealthy: Archeologists have found jewelry with gold,
silver, and gems
– Artistic People – especially with pottery
 Showed doctors, weavers, musicians, fierce soldiers
 No written language
 No religious patterns
The Communities of the Andes were all
separate from each other, and historians are
unsure why their civilizations disappeared.