People and Empires in the Americas

Between 40,000 and 12,000 years ago oHunter-gatherers crossed the Bering Strait from Asia to North America oSpread across North America oAdapted to their environment – creating diversity

 Complex Societies Build and Trade North of Rio Grande less developed than South America and Mesoamerica  Northwest Coast – Cultures of Abundance Pacific Northwest-Abundant resources supported large populations   Sea Hunted whales in canoes   Forests

 Pueblo People Construct Complex Buildings Southwest – harsher, dryer land = deserts By 900’s AD – living in pueblos – apartment style compounds made of stone and sun baked clay

 Mound Builders Forge Ties with Eastern People- East of Mississippi Last mound builders – Mississippians  oBuilt giant pyramids  oThrived on farming and trade  oGoverned by priest-rulers

 Woodlands Tribes Build Alliances Woodland tribes and Mississippian peoples had things in common  oExample – environment  oIroquois – Great Lakes region – common language spoken among several tribes

 Cultural Connections  Trading Networks Tie Tribes Together Trade linked the people of North America Built trade centers Traveling merchants Goods would travel 1000’s of miles

 Religion Shapes Views of Life Another tie was religion Nature spirits Mostly polytheistic – however some believed in one Great Spirit

 Shared Social Patterns: Family was the basis for social organization  oMost lived in extended family situations  oSome were organized into clans – groups of families from a common ancestor