Chapter 1 Roots of American People
I.
Earliest Americans
A. varying ideas about how they came
1. Beringia -Land Bridge Theorya. glaciers locked up water and sea levels dropped
b. exposed bottom of shallow parts of ocean
c. people migrated across these exposed “Land Bridges”
2. coastal route theory
a. crossed Artic waters by boat
b. continued by boat south along Pacific coast
3. Other “legends” in “origin stories” –ie. Turtle Island
B. Learning to farm
1. Early man was nomadic hunter
a. followed herds of large animals
b. animals died out
c. people gathered nuts/fruits/berries/roots-small game
d. man plants seeds and begins to farm
2. irrigation
a. channeling water to water crops
b. man stops moving around
c. more time to farm equals more productivity
d. leads to surplus (more than you need)
C. Trade1. surplus led to trade between people
2. allowed for growth of cities
D. Three civilizations
1. Maya- 250 AD to 900 AD
a. Mexico and Central America
b. Large cities w/ temples/pyramids/ballcourts/palaces
c. Developed arts/written language/calendar
d. Began to disappear around 900AD
2. Aztec- 900AD to around 1400’s
a. built great capital city
b. Took control of most of Modern day Mexico
c. Religion dominated their lives
d. Harsh rulers (Draconian)
e. Farmed on floating platforms
f. Aztec people rebelled against harsh rule
3. Inca- 1400AD
a. Created vast network of roads
b. Empire stretched down coast of South America
c. Capital City of Cuzco linked to empire by roads
d. Built terraces on hillsides to create fields for crops
e. Used gold and silver for decoration, not wealth