CH. 9: THE AMERICAS SEC. 1: THE EARLIEST AMERICANS

Historians believe that the first people to inhabit the Americas came from Asia The people crossed a strait called the Bering Strait up by Alaska before the glaciers melted During the Ice Age, Asians began to cross this “land bridge” known as Beringia, into the Americas

SEC. 2: CULTURES OF NORTH AMERICA THE NORTHWEST Relied on fishing Expert weavers & woodworkers Totem poles Potlatches-chief would display clan’s materials, give them away to enhance the family’s social status THE SOUTHWEST Hohokam people Farmers built irrigation networks Grew beans, corn, & cotton

GREAT PLAINS The buffalo became sacred in the religion of the Plains peoples because they had many purposes for the buffalo Lived in tepees Some groups did farm: beans, corn, & squash

EASTERN WOODLANDS HOPEWELL TRIBES Ohio valley region Built earthen mounds Skilled artists Trade w/ other tribes is evident MISSISSIPPIANS Lived along Miss. River Corn was main crop Complex & extensive culture Also great mound builders

SEC. 3: MESOAMERICA AND ANDEAN SOUTH AMERICA Mesoamerica is the name given to the areas of Mexico and Central America that were civilized before the Spaniards arrived

THE OLMEC Large class of farmers & a small elite class Carved giant stone heads Worshipped part-jaguar god

THE CHAVIN Created ceramic religious vessels and decorated seashells with images of cats Both Olmec & Chavin cultures mysteriously disappeared between 400bc and 200bc

THE MAYA Skilled architects & engineers Religion was complex & they worshipped many gods Writing system w/ “glyphs” Studied astronomy Developed calendar

THE TOLTEC Capital at Tula Introduced metalworking Worshipped Quetzalcoatl who became one of the chief gods of ancient Mexico & N. Central America Practiced human sacrifice

THE AZTEC Built their city Tenochtitlan - may have held more than 200,000 people Learned from people they conquered: metalworking, pottery making, & weaving Produced fine art, calendars, & mathematics Farmed on Chinampas- raised fields made w/ mud taken from the bottom of lakes Military dominated society Practiced human sacrifices

THE INCA Civilization was in the Andes Mtns. In S. America Capital was Cuzco Excellent system of roads & communication helped unify empire Built fortresses & irrigation ditches Quechua was the official language of the Inca Empire (still spoken today) Kept records by means of quipu, a series of knots on parallel strings Produced ceramics, textiles, & metals Practiced medicine –used anesthetics & operations on the brain

DECLINE OF THE AZTECS & THE INCA In the 1400s unrest grew among surrounding peoples who had been forced to pay oppressive tribute to the Aztec  weakened empire The Aztec dominated conquered peoples militarily The Inca brought conquered peoples into one imperial culture Both the Inca & the Aztec empires suffered from lack of natural immunity to diseases that the Spanish brought w/ them from Europe  contributed to the downfall of both the Inca & the Aztec