Chapter 5: The Ancient Americas Lesson 2: Early American Civilizations SOCIAL STUDIES

 How do scientists learn about early people?  How are games important to people? INTRODUCTION

 One group of the early American civilizations, the Olmecs, lived in the area that is now Mexico.  In South America, an old city named Caral was discovered only recently. INTRODUCTION

 The Olmec civilization began about 1500 B.C.  They settled along the Gulf of Mexico and built large religious centers, like La Venta.  The Olmecs are most famous for their huge statues of heads. THE OLMECS

 The heads were probably those of kings.  They made the heads out of a volcanic rock called basalt.  They had to bring the rock from as far as 80 miles away. How they did that is a mystery. THE OLMECS

 They might have carved the heads and hauled them over land.  Maybe they floated the basalt heads on rafts down rivers.  But how would have they gotten them up the hills? No one really knows. THE OLMECS

 The Olmecs built farms and made pottery.  They studied the stars and made a calendar.  They knew mathematics and developed a writing system, too. LIFE FOR THE OLMECS

 The Olmecs used hieroglyphics but they were very different from the Egyptians’.  Animals played a big role in the lives of the Olmec people.  They were part of their religion. LIFE FOR THE OLMECS

 Olmec shamans, or priests, believed the animal and human worlds mixed.  One of the Olmec gods was a jaguar. LIFE FOR THE OLMECS

 The Olmecs lived in an area with lots of rubber trees.  They used the rubber to make balls for outdoor games.  Archaeologists believe the Olmecs wore heavy padding for protection when playing ball games. LIFE FOR THE OLMECS

 The Olmecs disappeared around 300 B.C.  No one knows why.  Many of the arts and skills of the Olmecs were passed on to the civilizations that followed. LIFE FOR THE OLMECS

 Archaeologists used to think that the Olmecs were the oldest civilization in the Americas.  But in 2001, they announced that an older city had been found in Peru, called Caral. DISCOVERY IN SOUTH AMERICA

 Caral was in the Supe River valley not far from the Pacific Ocean.  It dates back to 2627 B.C. (1000 years older than any Olmec city).  As many as 10,000 people might have lived there. DISCOVERY IN SOUTH AMERICA

 Caral had six great pyramids.  They were building pyramids around the same time as people in the Old Kingdom of Egypt.  The people of Caral built the pyramids with stones and mud, without using wheels or metal tools. DISCOVERY IN SOUTH AMERICA

 The people of Caral grew a few vegetables.  They ate a lot of fish and also used dried fish as money.  One thing they traded was cotton. The villagers used the cotton to make fishing nets. DISCOVERY IN SOUTH AMERICA

The Olmec civilization was located in modern-day ______. It dates back to 1500 B.C. The Olmecs are known for their huge statues of heads. These heads were made from _____. The Olmecs made fine pottery and developed their own calendar and writing system. Their shamans believed the human and animal worlds were mixed. The oldest known city in the Americas is Caral, located in ______. It dates back to 2627 B.C. The people there built pyramids. Their pyramids were built with stones and ______. The people of Caral ate vegetables and fish. LESSON 2 REVIEW basalt Peru rafts Mexico mud basalt Peru rafts Mexico mud

 Vocabulary activity on page 60.  Comprehension activity on page 61.  Critical thinking activity on page 61.  These activities will be checked with the notebook next Wednesday (July the 4th.) HOMEWORK