1. Chapter 16 The Americas Section 1- The First Americans Section 2- Life in the Americas Section 3- Fall of the Aztec and Inca Empires

2. Key terms  Glacier- huge sheet of ice  Monopoly- control by one group of the sale of a product

3. WARM-UP Question  How did people first come to America?

4. Pathway to the Americas  Scientist believe people came from Asia. Followed animals across a land bridge (Beringia) which is named after Vitus Bering, a European explorer.  Land bridge appeared between Asia and Alaska after the Ice Age when much of the earth’s water froze into huge sheets of ice called glaciers. As the ice froze, the seas fell and thus dry land appeared.

5. Pathway to the Americas  How many years ago did the first people arrive???  Based on scientific study, scientists think between 15,000-40,000 years ago.  The Ice Age ended about 10,000 years ago. The glaciers melted and the water went back into the seas.  The land bridge to America was once again covered by water!!

6. Hunting and Gathering in the Americas  Fished  Gathered nuts, fruits, or roots  Hunted huge animals such as the woolly mammoth, antelope, caribou, and bison.  Some of these animals would become extinct with the end of the ice age.

7. First American Civilizations  Invention of farming led to 1 st civilizations in the Americas.  Farming began 9-10,000 years ago in Meso- america (Middle America).  Includes lands from the Valley of Mexico to Costa Rica in Central America.  Rich soil from volcanoes & warm climate.  1 st American crops included pumpkins, peppers, squash, gourds, & beans.  Most important crop was corn or maize

8. Mesoamerican civilizations  The Olmec  The Teotihuacans  The Maya  The Toltec  The Aztec

9. The Olmec  Established trading empire around 1200 B.C. that lasted about 800 years.  Lived near what is today Vera Cruz, Mexico.  Traded salt & beans for jade (jewelry.  Also traded for obs idian (volcanic glass), to make sharp knives.  Used:  volcanic stone to make mirrors.  basalt for carving big stone head sculptures.  rivers for trade, but eventually, inland peoples took control of the trade.

10. The Teotihuacan Peoples  Planned 1 st city in the americas- known as Teotihuacan which means “Place of the Gods.”  City was most powerful around A.D. 400.  Between 120,000-200,000 people lived in the city.

11. The Maya  Lived in wet rainforest of the Yucatan Peninsula.  Paddled along coasts making it easy for them to trade.  Mayan cities were at their best in the A.D. 400s & 500s.  Mayan civilization lasted until A.D. 950 where their cities were empty and covered in vines.

12. The Toltec  Built city of Tula- northwest of present day Mexico city.  Controlled trade & held a monopoly.  Were the only ones who could trade in obsidian. Others could not make weapons as strong as Toltec weapons.  The Aztec warriors took over Tula and copied their ways and would eventually rule over about 5 million people by the A.D. 1500s.

13. The Moche  Located in South America  Lived in dry desert of present day Peru  Ruled from A.D. 100 - A.D. 700  Known for irrigation- dug canals to bring water from the Andes so they could grow crops in the desert.  Corn, squash, beans, and peanuts.  Hunted llamas/guinea pigs & fished in the Pacific ocean  Known for pottery

14. The Inca  Located in the Andes mountain ranges of present day Peru  Lived in high river valleys  Built up the largest empire in the ancient Americas  Cuzco was their capital and was founded in A.D. 1100

15. North American Civilizations- based on farming and trade  Hohokam  Anasazi  Adena  Hopewell  Mississippians

16. The Hohokam people  Around A.D. 300 Hohokam people planted gardens on lands between the Salt & Gila Rivers.  Dug over 500 miles of canals to carry water to their fields.  Corn, cotton, beans, & squash.  Made pottery & turquoise jewelry  Made world’s 1 st etchings (pictures with acid)  Used cactus juice to eat through the top of shells.  Mid 1300s moved away- not sure why

17. The Anasazi  Around A.D. 600, Anasazi moved into the area’s canyons & cliffs.  They also farmed.  Used water that ran off the cliffs during heavy rains instead of using water from rivers.  The Anasazi culture was at its highest point at Chaco Canyon (present day New Mexico.  Controlled trade in turquoise. Used it like $$ to buy goods from many areas, including Mesoamerica.  Lived in big houses dug into cliffs which had hundreds of rooms & held thousands of people.  Houses are called pueblos- Spanish word meaning village. Lived well until the A.D. 1000 and then moved away- maybe no rain.

18. The Moundbuilders- the Adena and Hopewell  Settled lands from Great Lakes to Gulf of Mexico.  Mostly hunter-gatherers  Tamed wild plants: sunflower, gourds, & barley.  Traders probably brought corn around A.D. 100.  Traders were looking for materials for weapons, jewelry, & carving. Have been found in the mounds with the dead.

19. The Mississippians  Home: Mississippi river valley.  present day Ohio, Indiana, & Illinois, south to Gulf of Mexico.  Plants grew well along the river & they became farmers.  Corn, squash, & beans.  Led to the growth of cites with as many as 10,000 people.  Largest city was Cahokia with 30,000 people located in southwest Illinois.  Built pyramid shaped mounds with flat tops  Monks mound has a base of 16 acres and is more than 100 feet high where rulers would look down at the smaller mounds.  Flat tops of mounds held temples, homes for the rich, & graves.  In the early 1300s, the Mississippian civilization ended and their cities were left empty- don’t know why