Roots of the American
People
Chapter 1
The Earliest Americans
The Earliest
Americans
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There are two ideas of
how people came to
America
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Between 10,000 and
100,000 years ago the
world was covered by
glaciers.
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This helped to create a
land bridge between
Russia and Alaska.
The other theory is the
Coastal-route theory
which said that people
used boats to travel on
the Pacific coast
The Earliest Americans
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For many years, humans
fulfilled most of their
needs by hunting.
Eventually many of the
larger animals
disappeared and people
began to grow plants.
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They used irrigation to
move water to their crops.
If the Native Americans
grew extra, they began to
trade with others.
Some farming communities
turned into cities.
The Earliest Americans
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There were three important
civilizations
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The Mayans
Lived between 250 and 900
A.D. in what is now Mexico
and Central America
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They built pyramids,
temples, ball courts and
palaces
They developed the arts,
government, written
language, they studied the
stars and created a
calendar
In around 900 AD the
Mayans began to abandon
their cities, the reason why
is a mystery.
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It may have to do with
disease or
overpopulation
The Earliest Americans
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The Aztecs
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Began when the Mayans
were declining.
Their capital was
Tenochtitlan, which is
now Mexico City
It was built on a series of
islands connected by
stone roadways
They had many sacred
temples honoring their
Gods.
During the 1400’s, The
Aztecs would eventually
take over most of
modern Day Mexico
The Earliest Americans
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The Incas
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In the 1400’s this was
the largest empire in
the World.
It went from the coast
of South America to the
Andes, and across from
the Atacama Desert to
the edge of the Rain
forest
The Capital was Cuzco,
which was linked to
other towns by a set of
roads.
The Incas made
buildings out of huge
stones, they built walls,
canals, and they also
had jewelry.
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SMARTBOARD REVIEW!!!
Cultures of North America
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Around 3000 years ago,
a group of people called
the Mound Builders lived
between the
Appalachian Mountains
to the Mississippi Valley
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These people made
mounds from earth,
many of these mounds
were burial places but
some of them served as
public buildings.
Cultures of North America
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Another Native American
tribe was the Anasazi’s,
who lived in present day
Utah, Colorado, Arizona
and New Mexico.
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They had large cliff
houses to defend
against outsiders
By 1300, these people
abandoned their homes
Between 300 and 1450
AD, the Hohokan dug
irrigation canals in
Arizona,, they traded
with Natives in California
Cultures of North America
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Native Americans tended
to live in Culture areas
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People have basic
needs, food, which can
be collected, hunted
and fished, it can also
be farmed, and traded
Many Native Americans
had religious rituals, as
well as strong oral
traditions, which the
story tellers passed on
the traditions to
younger generations.
Cultures of North America
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Native Americans of
North America
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Far North- People
who lived in the
Arctic ate fish, shell
fish and birds; they
hunted marine
mammals and used
kayaks.
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People who lived
south of the Arctic,
they relied on
Animals and plants
for food
Cultures of North America
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North West- The land
that stretches from
Alaska to Northern
California
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These people ate
deer, bear, and
salmon, there was
enough food
available that
people did not need
to farm
These people had
potlatch
ceremonies, to
show the families
status
Cultures of North America
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Far West-The
weather was very
different in this area,
it could be warm with
a lot of food around,
or cold with little
food. Houses also
changed.
Southwest- Most of
the people in this
area farmed, but
some groups hunted.
People lived in adobe
houses to protect
themselves
Cultures of North America
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Great Plains – The
people here were
mainly farmers of
corn, beans and
squash, there were
also hunters of
buffalo, which was
what the people
used for housing,
robes, shields and
tools.
Cultures of North America
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Eastern
Woodlands- These
people hunted,
fished for
collected food.
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The Algonquin
Native
Americans were
scattered
through
Southern
Canada, the
Great Lakes and
the Atlantic
Coast to Virginia
Cultures of North America
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The Iroquois Native Americans
lived in New York and were
made of Five Nations. Each
Nation has clans, and women
chose the tribal chief.
 During the 1500’s, the
Five Nations went through
a period of warfare, they
finally formed a Union
called the League of the
Iroquois to make laws and
keep the peace
Cultures of North America
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Southeast- People
called the Cherokee
and Creek built their
homes on wooden
frames with straw
mats. They used mud
clay to keep their
homes dry and cool.
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The Natchez lived in
the Gulf Coast and
created a complex
society, in which the
higher social class
had to marry the
lower social class.
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SMARTBOARD REVIEW
Trade Networks of Asia and Africa
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In the 1500’s there
was a trading
network connecting
Europe, Africa and
Asia.
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This trade growth
was linked to the rise
of the religion of
Islam
Islam was a religion
that was based on
the Quran, or the
sacred book
Trade Networks of Asia and Africa
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Arab scholars made
advancements in
math, medicine and
astronomy and this
knowledge traveled
to Europe
In about 1000 AD,
trade centers began
in eastern Africa, in
Zimbabwe.
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This land lay at the
beginning of a trade
route
Trade Networks of Asia and Africa
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These trade networks also
linked the Middle East to
West Africa
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There were caravans or
groups of camels that
moved the goods
Ghana was the first major
center of trade in Western
Africa
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Slowly Ghana began to
weaken, and the
kingdom was take over
by Mali, the leader of
Mali was Mansa Musa
Mali did very well and
Timbuktu became a
center of learning.
Trade Networks of Asia and Africa
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By the 1200’s China’s
empire had grown
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They were now trading
with India, Korea,
Japan, the Middle East
and Africa
The Chinese made
advances in Navigation
with a magnetic
compass
Zheng He was a
Chinese explorer who
worked with trading
routes that stretched
from Japan to East
Africa
Trade Networks of Asia and Africa
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The Silk Road was a
series of roads that
stretched about
5,000 miles
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Merchants brought
silk and other goods
from China across
Asia for sale in the
Middle East
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SMARTBOARD REVIEW
The European Heritage
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Judaism-a religion
started around 1700
BC, which was a
monotheistic
religion.
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This religion has a
set of laws called the
Ten Commandments
This religion believed
that the ruler also
had to obey the laws
The European Heritage
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Christianity- began
around 2000 years ago.
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This religion also has
the Ten
Commandments,
believes in Jesus as the
Son of God
In the beginning,
Christians were
arrested and killed but
later emperors
accepted this religion
The European Heritage
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Greeks and Romans had
ideas that would
influence the formation
of the creation of the
American government
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Athenian Democracy
was based in Greece
and was a direct
democracy. When
ordinary citizens make
decisions
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Women, slaves, and
foreign born people
could not participate in
government
This democracy was
based on the
education of their
citizens
The European Heritage
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The Romans also
developed traditions
in laws and
government
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They set up a
republic which had
people elect others
to govern them.
There were codes of
laws that define the
rights of citizens.
The European Heritage
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By the Middle Ages,
there was feudalism,
which the King grants
lords land in return for
service and money
The Crusades were a
series of Holy wars
between the Roman
Catholic Church and
Muslim Civilization; they
wanted control of the
Holy Land.
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They did not win
control of the land but
increased trade
The European Heritage
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The Renaissance
was a time when
more people became
interested in science
and inventions.
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The printing press
was invented which
could produce a large
number of books in a
short time.
The European Heritage
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The Reformation was
when people began to
fight against the Roman
Catholic Church, led by
Martin Luther in 1517.
Exploration happened
during the Renaissance
led by Prince Henry the
Navigator, who wanted
to spread Christianity
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By 1498, Vasco Da
Gama sailed around the
Southern tip of Africa to
find India
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SMARTBOARD REVIEW