Chapter 7, Lesson 1 The First Americans It Matters Because… Early people in the Americas built the beginnings of several civilizations.

I. The First “Americans” Bering Strait Land Bridge nomads A. Bering Strait Land Bridge 1. First Americans were Asian nomads Beringia 2. Hunter-gatherers that crossed an extinct land bridge, called Beringia 3. About 15,000 years ago (13,000 BC) 4. Descendants became Native Americans

II. Why Migrate? A. Why come to the Americas? 1. Following herds 2. Curiosity 3. Searching for new resources 4. Because it was there!

III. Diverse Geography Arctic CircleTierra del Fuego A. Nearly 11,000 miles from Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego North America, South America, Central America, & Caribbean B. Four geographic regions of the Americas are: North America, South America, Central America, & Caribbean 1. N. & S. America are both continents isthmus 2. Central America is an isthmus that connects the two Caribbean Sea to Atlantic Ocean 3. Caribbean is the group of islands east of Mexico from Caribbean Sea to Atlantic Ocean C. Diverse temperatures and weather patterns because of great differences in latitude and geography

IV. Ancient Mountains A. In the west, rugged mountains extend almost nonstop from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego Rocky Mts 1. Rocky Mts reach from Alaska into Mexico & Central America 2. Crossing mountains was difficult, even when passes could be found Andes Mts B. Andes Mts - world’s longest mountain range 1. Stretch almost entire Pacific coast of S. America through 7 countries, from Venezuela to Argentina Appalachian Mts C. Appalachian Mts of Eastern US are much older, smaller mountains 1. Maine to Georgia

V. Rolling Plains Great Plains A. Great Plains of central N. America - rich farm & pastureland 1. Rich, fertile soil for growing crops & raising cattle B. Tropical grasslands stretch across the north of S. America Pampas C. Grain & cattle are raised in the Pampas grasslands of Argentina Amazon River Basin D. The Amazon River Basin is largest & most diverse rain forest in the world 1. About 2.7 million square miles

VI. Rushing Rivers A. Rivers of the Americas flow from highlands to oceans 1. Transport goods, people, and ideas Mississippi & Missouri Rivers B. Mississippi & Missouri Rivers make up largest system in N. America 1. 2,350 miles from Montana & Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans Amazon tributaries C. The Amazon flows nearly 4,000 miles from Andes to Atlantic Ocean 1. Amazon & its tributaries carry highest volume of water of any river system on earth Tributary 2. Tributary - river or stream flowing into larger river or lake

The Amazon Basin, compared to the United States

The Amazon and its tributaries

The Amazo n delta from space

VII. Settling the Americas A. Americas are isolated by water now, haven’t always been Beringia 1. Land bridge (Beringia) from Russia to Alaska at end of last Ice Age 2. Others believe first Americans arrived by boat down Pacific Coast B. Nomads eventually settled all parts of North, Central, South America & Caribbean 1. Ancient tools found reveal migrants were nomad hunters

VIII. Survival A. First Americans were nomadic hunters 1. Evidence includes shells, grinding stones, stone & bone weapons & tools B. As Ice Age ended, climate grew warmer Mesoamerica 1. Farming began in Mesoamerica about BC meso a. “meso” – middle Mesoamerica - b. Mesoamerica - southern Mexico & northern Central America 2. Perfect climate for farming: warm, rain, rich soil maize 3. One crop, maize, became most important in Americas maize a. maize - corn

IX. Early American Cultures A. Central American Cultures Olmec 1. Olmec - first complex American society, ca B.C. a. built pyramids and other monuments Zapotec 2. Zapotec built farms and cities in Central Mexico hieroglyphic a. developed hieroglyphic writing (beginning of written history in the Americas) Maya Yucatan peninsula 3. Maya were successful in rain forests of Yucatan peninsula a. spread into Mexico and C. America Toltec 4. Toltec conquered much of Mexico and northern C. America a. introduced metalworking to Mesoamerica BrainPop

B. South American Cultures Moche 1. Moche founded civilization in desert of Peru a. dug canals from rivers in Andean foothills to irrigate and grow crops b. fed many other cultures in the region Inca 2. Inca founded the greatest empire in South America a. Andes mountains, Peru and Chile IX. Early American Cultures

C. North American Cultures Anasazi 1. Anasazi settled canyons & cliffs of American southwest a. carved cliff dwellings that were easy to defend b. droughts eventually ended Anasazi civilization Mississippians 2. Mississippians built mounds & farmed in Mississippi River valley a. built huge mounds of earth for tombs and ceremonies Cahokia b. largest city was Cahokia, now a national historical site in Illinois IX. Early American Cultures