1. The First Americans

2. The First Immigrants Early peoples Paleo-Indians
crossed land bridge over the Bering Sea during the last Ice Age
Beringia
Paleo-Indians
Spread over North & South America
Estimated population of 54,000,000 at time of Columbus

3. Civilization Stable food supply = permanent settlements ->
Excess food supply = job specialization
Builders, potters, weavers, leader

4. The Olmec Developed around 1500 BC Known For: Along Gulf of Mexico
Earthen temple mounds
Earliest American written language
Cultural diffusion through trade

5. The Foundation of Native American Society
Civilizations began growing maize around 5000 B.C. in Mexico
Allowed for advanced civilizations
Called “Archaic Indians”

6. The Mayans Developed in modern day Guatemala Known for:
Astronomy
Developed the calendar
Math
Invented symbol for 0
Declined around 900
Unknown why
Originally thought to be peaceful. Later, deciphering writing on temple walls, realize wars with other Mayan city-states and human sacrifice and torture

7. The Aztecs Largest empire were the Aztecs of Mexico
Built large temple complexes
Practiced “flower wars” to gain human sacrifices
The Aztecs
Population of 200,000 at its peak

8. Indians of North America
Pueblos “cliff houses”
Southwest U.S.
Developed irrigation for crops
Anasazi & Hopi

9. Mississipians
Indians of eastern North American called the Mound Builders
Built platform earth mounds
Flat top earth pyramids
inter-connected villages

11. Eastern North American Native American Culture
Eastern Woodland Culture
Combination of hunter/gatherer & settle farming
Division of labor based upon gender
Men hunted (mostly deer)
Women farmed

12. Eastern Woodland Culture
Developed the Three Sisters method of farming
maize, squash, & beans together
Used controlled forest fires to thin underbrush for better hunting

13. Indian Tribes in America at time of European Contact

14. The Iroquois Confederacy
Only large North American political grouping was the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy
Five tribe alliance in New York
Mohawk
Oneida
Onondaga
Cayuga
Seneca
Tuscarora added later (Sixth Nation)
Founded by Hiawatha around 1450
Influenced by a solar eclipse

15. Iroquois Society Families lived together in Longhouses
Three Sister farming
Traded furs with English & Dutch