1. Early Americans

2. Ancient Cultures in America When did the first Americans arrive? –No one knows for sure-- may have been as long as 22,000 years ago. –At that time, Ice Age had frozen vast quantities of water, possibly creating a land bridge between Asia and Alaska-- what is now the Bering Strait. Ancient hunters may have trekked across the frozen land into North America

3. http://www.geoatlas.com/downloads/world/bump/bering.jpg http://www.schillerinstitute.org/graphics/conferences/070915_Kiedrich/Razbegin_070915/bering_strait_in_world_landbrige.jpg http://www.headway.us/getfile.php/bridgebig.jpg

4. Hunting and Gathering Earliest Americans lived as big-game hunters. This way of life changed when temperatures warmed, glaciers melted, and sea levels rose once again. Land bridge disappeared under the Bering Sea, bringing an end to land travel between the Asian and North American continents. Climate grew warmer, larger animals no longer thrived. People gradually switched to hunting smaller game and fish and gathering nuts and berries.

5. Agriculture Develops Many ancient groups settled in North America, others continued into what is now Mexico and South America. Between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago, an agricultural revolution took place in what is now central Mexico. –People began to plant crops, eventually agricultural techniques began to spread throughout the Americas. The introduction of agriculture made it possible for people to settle in one place and store surplus food. –Large communities developed.

6. http://lh5.ggpht.com/_-d6-J6oUx8U/Ruh-TSoDAcI/AAAAAAAAAcw/G3q_t3EGHMU/IMG_2841.JPG

7. Maya, Aztec, and Inca Societies Flourish The first empire of the Americas emerged as early as 1200 BC in what is now southern Mexico, where the Olmec people created a thriving civilization. After Olmec collapse around 400 BC, the Maya built a dynamic culture in Guatemala and the Yucatan Peninsula between AD 250 and 900. Later the Aztec settled the valley of Mexico in the 1200s and developed a sophisticated civilization

8. http://library.thinkquest.org/C006206F/images/images/mapa.jpg

9. Complex Societies Arise in North America In time, several North American groups, such as the Hohokam and the Anasazi, introduced crops into the arid deserts of the Southwest. –By 300 BC and AD 1400, each group had established its own culture. Many other Native American societies (Adena, Mississipian, Hopewell) developed-- – These people were the ancestors of the many Native American groups that inhabited North America on the eve of its encounter with the European world.

10. http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/~walters/web%20230/map%20AdenaHopewellMiss.jpg

11. Native American Societies of the 1400s The varied regions of the North American continent provided for many different ways of life. The native groups that populated the continent’s coasts, deserts, and forests 500 years ago were as diverse as their surroundings.

12. http://www.nativeamericans.com/AmericanIndianTribeMap.jpg

13. http://www.manataka.org/images/Native_American_Tribes_Wall_Map_068L.jpg

14. Early Americans: Course Goal 1.Understand People: lIdentifying cultures… Early American Cultures spread across North, Central and South America 2.Understand Why People Change: lHow do cultures interact? European exploration and the effect on Native American populations

15. The Big Picture Goal: Understanding people means understanding a people's culture. –Culture: Refers to learned behavior of people, which includes their belief systems and languages, their social relationships, their institutions and organization, and their material goods - food, clothing, buildings, tools, and machines. Begin the “Big Picture” assignment to become familiar with an Early American culture in North, Central and South America.