1. People and Empires in the Americas 900-1500

2. 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

3.  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

4.  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

5.  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

6.  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

7.  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

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

9.  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