Who was in the Americas? Northern Regions Arctic and Northwest California Great Basin Southwest Great plains Eastern Woodlands

Arctic and Northwest Cold climate Hunted whales and other sea life Limited trade along coast Lived in small lineage groups Mythical stories created to strengthen lineage group Potlatches- dinners that symbolized lineage wealth totem poles represent culture

California/Great Basin Warm climate Diets of mussels & shellfish Celebrated religious festivals Religion based on natural spirits of animals and earth GB - moved in small bands Built windbreak shelters

Southwest High desert regions Built irrigation canals because farms had a lack of water Pueblo built adobe buildings (sun-dried brick) multi-storied apartments Some tribes were raiders rather than sedentary Religion revolved around honoring spirits of the earth Includes Hohokam, Pueblo, Apache & Navajo

Great Plains Between Rocky Mts & Miss. River Grasslands - dry Hunters followed big game - bison (buffalo) Used every part of bison for food, clothing, shelter & tools Crow and Blackfoot

Eastern Woodlands Had protected environment due to forests hunted (deer, turkey) and farmed (corn, squash, tobacco) Villages built, some mound builders Villages centered around religious structure and activities Formed Iroquois League to settle dispute

Who was in the Americas? Meso-America (“Middle America”) Olmec Maya Aztec Inca

OLMEC 1500 -300 BC Near Gulf of Mexico Carved enormous stone heads of volcanic rock Chief god - cat-like with jaguar face Division of labor Hieroglyphics calendar farm techniques - slash and burn

Maya

MAYANS Yucatan Peninsula City States Complex religion - two layers (now and otherworld) Human sacrifice Writing, ball playing (pok-a-tok), astronomy, mathematicians (zero) Calendar (365) demise - war, drought, infighting MAYANS

Palenque

Mayan Temples

The Aztecs

AZTECS Pyramids of Tenochtitlán Capital city of Tenochtitlan - island in middle of lake Society - hierarchy with emperor at top & criminals/debtors at bottom human sacrifice children of the sun Empire under Montezuma conquered by Spaniards (Cortes) AZTECS Pyramids of Tenochtitlán

Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun Pyramid of the Moon

Quetzalcoatl god of wind & knowledge

Canoe moving about the chinampas

Weaving

Aztec Calendar

Montezuma Cortes

The Inca

INCAS Machu Picchu Located in Andes Mountains (S. Amer) Strong central gov’t; huge empire extending length of South America Built paved roads & suspension bridges - used running messengers Instead of writing system used knotted string to communicate messages & keep records - quipu

Inca terraces

Suspension bridge

Quipu

Atahualpa Pizarro

Destruction of Culture The Meso-American kingdoms were as advanced and sophisticated as the ancient Greeks and Romans The European conquerors tried to destroy the evidence of this sophisticated culture