Chapter 1
Section 1
The First People
Land Bridge Theory
• Between 10,000 and 100,000
yrs ago, much of the world was
covered with glaciers (thick
sheets of ice)
• b/c H2O levels dropped, land
was exposed, incl. area btwn
Alaska & Siberia
• Land bridge (Beringia) is now
covered by Bering Strait
• 1st people probably came
btwn 20,000 and 30,000 yrs
ago, hunting prehistoric
animals like the wooly
mammoth
Coastal Route Theory
• idea that 1st people
crossed arctic waters
by boat and traveled
S along Pacific coast
Native American groups
have their own
theories
Development of Farming
• 1st people got food and
other things by hunting
game and gathering nuts,
berries, etc.
• Eventually, prehistoric
animals disappeared
• Changed way of life for
early people
• Began farming—lima
beans, squash, maize
• Farming meant people
didn’t have to wander in
search of food
• Raised cattle, pigs, and
llamas—domestication
(training animals to meet
human needs)
• Those living in dry areas
used irrigation (method
of watering crops by
channeling H2O from
rivers or streams)
• People could now settle
in one area, population
increased, and a surplus
(extra) of crops led to
trade and the
development of cities
• Civilization: advanced culture in which
people have developed cities, science,
and industries
• Culture: way of life of a group of people
(including language, religion, government,
traditions, education, etc)
Three Early Civilizations
• Maya (250-900 AD)
• Aztec (1100-1500s
AD)
• Inca
Mayan Civilization
• built cities in Mexico and
Central America
• Cities had large public
plazas with pyramids,
temples, ball courts,
palaces
• Developed arts,
government, written
language (glyphs)
observed stars, created a
calendar
• Abandoned cities ©900
AD, reason unknown
Aztec Civilization
• Capital: Tenochtitlan (located
where present-day Mexico City
is)
• City had population of 200,000
people
• Built on a series of islands in a
large lake
• Connected to mainland by
stone roadways
• Raised crops on floating
platforms
• Religion dominated Aztec life
• Conquered tribes sent
treasure, food, and prisoners
to Aztec capital and paid taxes
Inca Civilization
• 1400s—largest empire in the
world at the time
• stretched across South
America
• capital—Cuzco
• linked to other towns by
network of roads
• messengers delivered news to
all parts of empire
• buildings made of stone
• used terrace farming to grow
crops in Andes Mountains
• built canals and bridges
• had a system of medicine
• fine weavings, metalwork
(jewelry)
Section 2
• Cultures: ways of life
First Cultures
• 3000 yrs ago, grps emerged in area btwn
Appalachian Mts. & Mississippi Valley
Mound builders: constructed piles of earth
• Burial places
• Foundations for buildings
• Mississippians: built 1st cities in North
America
– Cahokia (in present-day IL) was largest city
Anasazi
• S. Utah, CO, N. AZ,
NM
• Large cliff dwellings
(for defense)
• Made baskets,
pottery, jewelry
• Traded
• Abandoned cliff
dwellings c. 1300
Hohokam
•
•
•
•
300 BC-1400 AD
AZ
Dug irrigation canals
Traded for seashells
(jewelry, religious
objects)
Culture area: region in which grps of ppl have a
similar way of life
Meeting Basic Needs
• women collected roots, wild seeds, nuts, acorns,
berries
• men hunted game & fished
• grew and stored food suited to climates they
lived in
• sticks used for digging
• bones & shells used as hoes
• used fertilizer (Ie. dead fish) to make soil richer
• traded-used beads or shells as currency
• traded shells, flint (used to make fires), copper,
salt
Shared Beliefs
• felt close relationship to
natural world
• believed spirits dwelled in
nature and were a part of
daily lives
• Nat. Am. in SE—Green
Corn Ceremony (late
summer)
• Pueblos—Kachinas
(benevolent spirits)—
carved dolls to teach
children
• Used oral tradition to
pass on history
Far North
• Arctic-land vast and
harsh
• Parts covered w/ ice all yr
• Ate fish, shellfish, birds
• Hunted whales, seals,
walruses, caribou
• Kayaks-sm. boats made
from animal skins
• Subarctic-dense forests
• Hunted caribou, moose,
bear, sm. animals
• Gathered plants
Northwest
– S. Alaska to N. California
– Deer, bears, roots, berries
(forests)
– Salmon
– Abundance of food—
allowed for permanent
settlement even though
most weren’t farmers
– Potlatch-ceremony @
which hosts showered
guests w/ gifts (woven
cloth, baskets, canoes,
furs)
– Status judged by how
much wealth you gave
away
Far West
•
•
•
•
•
•
Winters cold in N. forests and grasslands
California-warm summers, mild winters
Food abundant-small game, fish, berries
Pit houses-dug in ground
Cone-shaped houses covered w/ bark
N-houses made of wood planks
Southwest
•
•
•
•
AZ, NM, S. UT, S. CO
Dry most of yr
Some farming, hunted
Collected and stored rain
from summer
thunderstorms for dry
times
• Pueblos such as Hopi &
Zuni—had stable towns
that lasted hundreds of
yrs
• Built apt. houses made of
adobe (sun-dried brick)
for defense
Great Plains
• Mississippi River to Rocky Mts.
• E. Plains good for farming
• Women collected corn, beans, squash (3
Sisters)
• Earth lodges—log frames covered w/ soil
• West too dry for farming
• Lived in teepees or dug round pits for
shelter
• Buffalo—ate meat, used hides for teepees,
robes, & shields, bones used for tools
Eastern Woodlands
•
•
•
•
Forests of maples, birches, pines, beeches
Hunted, fished, foraged for nuts & berries
Farmed
Algonquian—S. Can., Great Lakes, along
Atlantic coast to VA
• Iroquois—five nations
–
–
–
–
–
Clans-grps of families related to one another
Matrilineal—membership passed through mother
Women had great influence in Iroquois society
Chose sachem (tribal chief)
1500s—formed League of Iroquois—est. council to
make laws to keep peace
Southeast
• climate was mild but summers were hot &
humid
• farmed
• Cherokees & Creek built houses of wood
frames covered w/ steel mats plastered w/
mud clay to keep interiors cool & dry
Section 3
Muslim Link in Trade
• Merchants dev. trade
routes linking Eur.,
Asia, & Afr.
• Linked ppl living far
away from each other
• Passed through
Arabian Peninsula
Rise of Islam
• Spread through conquest & trade
• Conquered Spain, N. Afr, Persia, India
• Achievements in math, medicine,
astronomy, ships w/
sails
African Link in Trade
• Egyptians traded for cedar logs, silver, horses,
ivory, spices, copper, cattle
East African Trade Centers
• 1000 AD trade centers dev.
• Zimbabwe most powerful
– Btwn E. coast of Afr & interior
• Kilwa—chief trading center
– Exchanged cloth, pottery, & manufactured goods for
gold, ivory, furs
– Slave trade dev.
West African Trade Centers
• Linked Middle East &
Africa
• Ghana—btwn salt of
desert & gold further S.
– Ppl exchanged salt for gold
– Made kingdom rich
• Absorbed by Mali Empire
– Led by Mansa Musa
– Timbuktu—center of
learning
– Traded for kola nuts, food,
gold
• Absorbed by Songhai
Empire
– Center of Islamic learning
– Traded salt, gold, slaves
East Asian Link in Trade
• China linked by
highways, canals, &
postal system
• Traded w/ India, Korea,
Japan, Middle East, &
Asia
• Chinese invented
movable type, magnetic
compass
• Traded silks & pottery for
spices, gems, medicinal
herbs, ivory
• Silk Road: series of
routes that stretched
5,000 mi. from China to
Persia
Section 4
Judeo-Christian Tradition
• Judaism, Christianity
Greek & Roman Tradition
• Direct democracy
• Republic
• Code of laws
Middle Ages
• Feudalism
• Importance of Catholic Church (faith, education)
Crusades
• Wars fought to win back
Holy Land
• 9 total
• Put Europe in closer
contact w/ Muslim
civilization (which was
much more advanced
than European civ @ the
time)
• Eur. attracted to new
foods, spices, navigation
tech., & other rich goods
(oranges, pepper, ginger)
Renaissance & Reformation
Renaissance
• Rebirth in learning
• Printing press—spread knowledge, more books
available
• Emergence of nation states (Spain, Portugal,
England, France)
• Italian city-states controlled Mediterranean route
to the East
Protestant Reformation
• Led by Martin Luther (German monk)
• Challenged many Catholic ideas
• Led to split from Catholic Church
Beginning of the Age of Exploration
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•
•
•
Prince Henry the Navigator (Portugal)
Wanted to expand Portuguese pwr & Christianity
Sagres—center for exploration
Taught crews about navigation & map-making
– How to use astrolabe, magnetic compass
• Vasco de Gama—explored around coast of
Africa to India
• Helped boost Port. wealth & pwr
• Traded w/ East Indies for spices
Henry the Navigator
astrolabe