The First Civilizations of North America Chapter One
Pre-Colombian Indigenous Worlds I. Origins A. Creation stories B. Bering Strait Theory II. “Culture Areas” III. Populations IV. Economies V. Social Organization VI. Ancient Civilizations
Competing Views on Origins Native Explanations Place Religious and cultural Oral traditions Environment Morality Metaphorical, not literal Bering Strait Theory Ocean levels dropped Migrated from Asia 75,000-30,000 B.C. Traveled southward Language and biology Scientific, but “unprovable ”
Bering Strait Today
Cultural Areas Simplified diagram of Native People based on geog, lang. & env.
Estimated Populations Western Hemisphere A. 20 – 80 million B. Concentrations 1. Great Lakes 2. Mississippi 3. Southwest 4. California Coast 5. Central Mexico 6. Central America 7. Andean Region 8. Caribbean
Native Populations
Economies and Trade Types of Economies I. Sedentary A. Agricultural 5,000 yrs ago (Pueblos) B. Fishing (Makahs) II. Migratory A. Seasonal B. Mixed Economies (Paiutes) III. Subsistence/Hunting & Gathering A. High movement, low densities (Apaches) IV. Trade A. Luiseno– Cahuillas - Paiutes – Hopis – Navajos – Pueblos – Comanches
Socio-political Organization I. Kinship and Heredity II. Bands and Clans (decentralized, local) III. Confederacy (coalition) Iroquois 1200s-1780s IV. Empire (centralized hierarchy) Nahua/Aztec
Gender Systems Matri-lineal -Heritage follows female Matri-focal -Live with/near family of wife Matri-archy -Women have most power
Ancient Civilizations I. Mississippian Culture A. Mound builders B C. Mid-east U.S. D. Cahokia 1. 15,000
Artistic interpretation of mound building culture
Cahokia Trading Region
Southwestern Peoples
Hsatsina / Anasazi Puebloan Ancestors Concentrated Pop Agriculture & irrigation Astronomy Historians Distinct languages
Extensive Civilization Chaco Canyon Pueblo Bonito Cliff Palace Trade networks Relationship with Meso-America Dispersal between Pueblos Today
Southwest Reservations Today
Meso-America A. Olmec 1500 B.C. B. Mayans 300 B.C. – 900 A.D. C. Nahua (Aztec) 1350s-1500s
Mayans Calendars Mathematics, “0” Literacy Historians Chichen Itza
“Decline” of Ancient Cultures Food shortages Resources depleted Political conflicts with others Drought or flood Internal divisions Dispersed, not “disappeared”
Conclusions 1. Have a pre-contact history 2. Nearly 1000 cultures 3. Cities and empires, villages and clans 4. Not all nomadic people 5. Contact/conquest from their perspectives