Chapter 9: The Americas: A Separate World, 40,000 B

Chapter 9: The Americas: A Separate World, 40,000 B.C.- A.D. 700

Chapter 9.1: The Earliest Americans

• Thousands of years ago, the Americas were connected by a land bridge to Asia.

• Experts believe that some of the first people came to the Americas from Asia over this land bridge.

• This land bridge is known as Beringia.

• Others may have arrived by boat.

• The first Americans arrived sometime toward the end of the last Ice Age.

• Herds of wild animals migrated across the plains of the Beringia land bridge.         

• Gradually Siberian Hunters followed these animals into North America.

• These migrants became the first Americans.

• No one knows for sure when the first Americans arrived.

• Some scholars believe that they arrived as early as 40,000 BC.

• others believe that they arrived as late as 10,000 BC.
• Recent discoveries of possible pre-Clovis sites have challenged this theory.

• This discovery was made at Monte Verde, Chile, near the southern tip of the Americas.
• Researchers have found evidence of human life dating back to 10,500 BC

• They had found animal hide and various tools.
• They also found preserved meat and a child’s single footprint.

• A skull discovered near Mexico City has recently been dated to about 11,000 BC which makes it the oldest skull ever found in the . Americas.

• Scientists believe that it is related to the Ainu people of Japan and that they reached the Americas by island hopping on boats.

• People’s most challenging and rewarding prey was the mammoth.

• Thisa animal provided meat, hide, and bones for food, clothing, shelters, and tools.
• Eventually large mammals like the mammoth were over hunted and went extinct.

• Hunters then turned to deer and rabbits for their survival, as well as fish and edible fruits

• They moved regularly in search of food, and lived in caves and temporary shelters until they relocated again.

• Gradually the earliest americans became more familiar with plant foods.

• They began to experiment with the simple methods of farming.

• In 7000 BC the people began to rely more on wild edible plants, raising some of them from seeds.
• By 5000 BC many had begun to grow these plants.

• These included squashes, gourds, beans, avocados, and chilies.

• By 3400 BC these early farmers grew maize.

• It soon became one of the most important crops.
• It flourished in the tropical climate of Mexico.

• Over the next several centuries, farming methods became more advanced.

• In central Mexico native farmers created small islands in swamps and shallow lakes by stacking layers of vegetation, dirt, and mud.

• They planted crops on top of the island soil.
• The surrounding water provided irrigation.

• These floating gardens were very productive, and yielded up to 3 harvests a year.

• Agriculture brought great change to people’s lives.

• The cultivation of crops provided a more stable way of living with more dependable food.
• This encouraged the settlement and establishment of large communities.
• There was an increase in population as well as more specialized skills in arts and crafts, building trades, and other fields.

• This is where a difference in social classes between the rich and the poor began to emerge.
• Society became more complex.

Chapter 9.2: Early Mesoamerican Civilizations

• Mesoamerica stretches south from central Mexico to northern Honduras.  

• Here, the first complex societies in the Americas arose.
• Mesoamerica’s first known civilization builders were a people known as the Olmec,

• They began carving out a society around 1200 BC in the jungles of southern Mexico.
• They influenced neighboring groups, as well as the later civilization of the region.

• In 1860 in the coastal plain of southeastern Mexico uncovered was a stone sculpture.

• It stood 5 feet tall and weighed around 8 tons.
• It was of an enormous head, wearing a headpiece.

• It was carved in a realistic style, with thick lips, a flat nose, and large oval eyes.
• This was a remnant of the Olmec civilization, along with the others that were discovered later.

• The Gulf Coast seemed an unlikely site for a high culture to take root.

• It was hot and humid and covered with swamps and jungles.
• The region did have its advantages,

• There were abundant deposits of salt and tar, and fine clay to be used for pottery.
• There was also wood and rubber from the rainforest.
• The hills to the north provided hard stone from which the Olmec coil dmake tools and monuments.
• The floodplains of the rivers provided fertile land for farming.

• The Olmec used their resources to build thriving communities.

• The oldest site, San Lorenzo, dates back to around 1150 BC.

• Here, archaeologists uncovered important clues that offered a glimpse into the Olmec world.

• They discovered earthen mounds, courtyards, and pyramids.

• Set among these earthworks were large stone monuments.

• They included columns, altars, and more colossal, sculpted heads, which may have represented particular Olmec rulers.
• They weighed as much as 44 tons.

• Another significant Olmec site was La Venta which rose around 900 BC.

• Researchers discovered a 100 foot high mound of earth and clay.
• This structure may have served as the tomb of a great Olmec ruler.
• This is known as the Great Pyramid, the mound may have also been the center of the Olmec region.  

• Experts believe the Olmec prayed to a variety of nature gods.
• They probably worshiped the jaguar spirit.

• Numerous Olmec sculptures and carvings depict a half-human, half-jaguar creature.
• Some scholars believe that the jaguar represented a powerful rain god.
• Others contend that there were several jaguar gods, representing the earth, fertility, and maize.

• Archaeologists once believed that sites such as La Venta were ceremonial centers where important rituals were performed but few people lived.

• The Olmec appear to have been a prosperous people who directed a large trading network throughout Mesoamerica.
• Olmec goods traveled as far as Mexico City to the North and Honduras to the south.

• Raw materials including iron ore and various stones- reached San Lorenzo from faraway regions,

• This trade network helped boost the Olmec economy and spread Olmec influence.

• For reasons that are not fully understood, Olmec civilization eventually collapsed.

• Scholars believe San Lorenzo was destroyed around 900 BC.
• La Venta may have fallen sometime around 400 BC.

• Some experts speculate that outside invaders caused the destruction.

• Oaxaca is a rugged region of mountains and valleys in southern Mexico.

• In the center of the state, three valleys meet to form a large open area known as the Oaxaca Valley.
• The valley has fertile soil, a mild climate, and enough rainfall to support agriculture.

• Various people made the valley their home, including the ancient Zapotec.

• The Zapotec lived in scattered villages throughout the valley.
• They constructed stone platforms.
• They built temples and began work on monumental sculptures.
• By 500 BC they had developed earl;y forms of writing and a calendar system.

• Around 500 BC Zapotec civilizations took a major leap forward.  

• They built the first real urban center in the Americas, Monte Alban.

• It grew and prospered over the next several centuries.
• In 200 BC Monte Alban was home t o around 15,000 people.
• It eventually would reach a peak population of almost 25000.
• At the heart of the city was a giant plaza paved with stones.

Chapter 9.3: Early Civilizations of the Andes

• South America’s first civilizations emerged in the northern Andes region, in Peru.

• Peru was a harsh place to develop a civilization.
• They are steep and rocky, with generally poor soil.
• Ice and snow cover the highest elevations year-round.

• Overland travel is difficult.

• Climate was hot and dry during the day and freezing at night.
• In some places there were rivers that crossed the desert where rain seldom falls.

• It was in these river valleys where the first settlements occurred.

• Between 3600 and 2500 BC, people began to establish villages along the Pacific coast.

• The first inhabitants were hunter gatherers who relied on seafood and small games for their survival.
• Around 3000 BC these people began to farm.

• By 1800 BC a number of thriving communities existed along the coast.

• The first influential civilization that arose not on the coast but in the mountains.

• This culture known as the Chacin flourished from around 900 to 200 BC.

• They named the culture after a major ruin, Chavin de Huantar, in the northern highlands of Peru.

• This site features pyramids, plazas, adn massive earthen mounds.

• The culture spread quickly across much of northern and central Peru.

• Archaeologists have found no evidence of political or economic organization within the culture.

• They conclude that the Chavin were primarily a religious civilization.
• The spread of Chavin art styles and religious images as seen in stone carving, pottery, and textiles, which shows the powerful influence of this culture.

• Ancient Perruvians may have visited Chavin temples to pay their respects.

• They carried their idea back to their communities.

• Around the time Chavin culture declined, other civilizations were emerging in Peru.

• First the Nazca and then the Moche built societies that flourished in the Andes

• The Nazca culture flourished along the southern coast of Peru from around 200 BC to AD 600.
• This area is extremely dry.
• They developed extensive irrigation systems, including underground canals, that allowed them to farm the land.
• They are known for their beautiful textiles and pottery.

• Both feature images of animals and mythological beings.

• On the northern coast of Peru, the Moche culture was rising which lasted from about AD 100 to AD 700.

• They took advantage of the rivers that flowed from the Andes mountains
• They built impressive irrigation systems to water their wide range of crops, which included corn, beans, potatoes, squash, and peanuts.
• Moche tombs uncovered in the recent past revealed a civilization with enormous wealth.

• Archaeologists found beautiful jewelry crafted from gold, silver, and semiprecious stones.

• They were brilliant ceramic artists.

• They created pottery that depicted scenes from everyday life.
• Moche pots show doctors healing patients, women weaving cloth, and  musicians playing instruments.
• They also show fiere soldiers armed with spears leading enemy captives.

• Moche never developed a written language.