Ch. 2 Section 1The First Civilization of the

Americas

pp. 36-41

Canada Glacier

Cahokia in present-day Illinois

Archaeology - the study of evidence left by early peoples

Artifact – object made by humans and used by archaeologists to recreate a picture of the past.

Cahokia Point.Triple Notch.

L: 1.25" Cahokia Mounds Madison Co., IL.

Cahokia Point.Serrated Edge.

L: 1.75" Cahokia Mounds Madison Co., IL.

Cahokia Point.Double Notch.

L: 2" Cahokia Mounds Madison Co., IL.

Bone Point.L: 1.5"

Cahokia Mounds Madison Co., IL.

Flint Shark Tooth Point.L: 1"

Cahokia Mounds Madison Co., IL.

The First Americans

• Glaciers – large, slow moving sheets of ice

• Approximately 30,000 years ago the earth experienced an Ice Age. Glaciers covered app. 1/3 of the Earth

• Ice Age – a period of time in which temperatures on earth were very cold, and North America was covered in glaciers.

Barne Glacier, Antarctica

Land bridge (Berengia) – an area of land which humans crossed during the Ice Age on their way to North America from Asia.

- As the oceans froze, the ocean floor became uncovered and dry. Land between Siberia and Alaska uncovered allowing the first humans to cross a land bridge into North America.

Disagreement Among Scientists

• Some agree with land bridge theory

• Others believe first people crossed over by boat

• Still others believe first people came from Europe, Africa, or South Pacific islands

Adapting to New Conditions• Last ice age ends app. 12,000 years ago• Large animals die, land bridge disappears• Hunters change diet (small animals, berries,

nuts, fish, etc.)• Central America - Farming begins, crops include

corn, beans, squash• People stay in one location, build permanent

villages

Result of Adaptations• Farming - a key (important) development• People had a surplus of food• Surplus - extra• Developed civilizations (extra time)• Civilization: well-organized government; different

social classes; a complex religion; some method of record keeping; cities

Olmec Civilization• Earliest known civilization in Americas• Located in Central America• Lived in lowlands along Gulf of Mexico app. 2,500 years

ago• Scientists have found large stone heads carved by

Olmecs• Some creatures were part human/ part animal

Olmec tomb

Olmec Accomplishments

• Supplied food to other cities• Built stone temples• Studied stars• Developed a calendar used to predict change of

seasons, passage of time

People of the Southwest• Farming societies emerged• People included Hohokams

and Anasazis• Hohokams - lived in

present-day Arizona• Dug networks of irrigation

ditches to enable farming of desert

• Produced corn, squash, and beans

People of the Southwest• Anasazis - live in four

corners (where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona meet)

• Irrigated the desert• Created network of

roads linking towns• Traders used roads to

carry cotton, sandals, and blankets (woven from turkey feathers!)

Anasazi Housing• Built large brick homes with walls of stone and

adobe• Spanish gave houses the name pueblos• To escape attack from warlike neighbors, the

Anasazi built new homes along cliffs.

Pueblo - Spanish word for village

Adobe – sun dried brick

Mound Builders• Lived in eastern portion of North America from

Appalachian Mountains to Mississippi Valley; from Wisconsin to Florida

• First mounds were used for burials• Later mounds used for religious ceremonies• Best known mound builders - Hopewells and

Mississippians

Mound Builders• Early mounds were burial grounds for important leaders.

Miamisburg,OH Adena people

• Towering over the community, the 63-foot flat-topped earthen knoll was used as a platform for the home of the priest-chief. In another mound, nobility were buried in elaborate costumes accompanied by items they would need in their after-lives.

http://www.native-art-in-canada.com/moundbuilders.html

Great Serpent Mound, Ohio

• The Mississippian people built the city of Cahokia in present-day Illinois.

• The largest mound of Cahokia was Monk’s Mound, which covered around 16 acres.

* This system allowed farmers to know which crops should be planted.

• The fence build around the city served as a calendar.

• The posts of the fence were viewed from the top of Monk’s Mound.

- shorter shadows meant the coming of spring

- longer shadows meant the coming of autumn

"Community Life" By Michael Hampshire Courtesy of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site Collinsville, Illinois