1: Discovery of a New World

Nomadic

• on the move, not settled, and on the lookout for game and plants

raised crops: maize, potatoes, squash, beans

3 Groups that built large civilizations

• Mayas
• Aztecs
• Incas

Mayas

• developed systems of writing,
• mathematics
• studied stars and planets

Incas

• produced metalwork
• textiles
• pottery

The 5 Main Regions Tribes Lived in:

• Woodlands
• Plains
• Southwest
• Great Basin and Plateau
• West Coast

Woodlands

• common dwelling: wigwam
• Iroquois tribes made an alliance called the Iroquois League of Nations
• Ceremonials ==mounds: displayed art, contained weapons, pottery, and jewelry; and were used as tombs, used for religious ceremonies==
• Mounds were located at Cahokia

- Cahokia was the largest city in North America before the Europeans’ arrival

In the Plains

• hunted buffalo near the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains
• became nomadic when horses were used
• Had tepees
• Sioux, Cheyenne, and Blackfoot were the most powerful tribes in this region

In the Southwest

• located in present Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico
• farmed the desert, had wild plants, hunted small animals
• designed their shelter; had pottery and weaving skills
• the shelter was made out of adobe, a dried clay-and-straw mixture

In the Great Basin and the Plateau

• lived between the Rocky Mountains and the mountains farther west
• hunted buffalo had tepees, brushed shelters or lived in hogans
• land could not be farmed; the climate was severe
• gathered wild nuts and berries
• petroglyphs: rock drawings

On the West Coast

• Pacific Northwest
• cedar homes
• had salmon, oysters, fish from the sea
• totem poles: carved from trees, displayed legends and events; were gravesites for leaders

Indian Religion

• All-powerful spirit who was above other spirits
• Indians believed there were evil spirits
• Animism: belief that spirits live in both natural objects and natural forces

Early Explorations

• Vikings probably arrived first
• seamen from northern Europe
• Leif Ericson: founded Vinland

Spanish Conquests

• conquistadors: conquerors
• Juan Ponce de León: first Spaniard to explore Florida
  • arrived in 1513
  • in search of the Fountain of Youth
• Hernando de Soto wanted to find riches in Indian settlements
  • He discovered the Mississippi River
• St. Augustine
  • Spanish founded it
  • the year was 1565
  • located in Florida
  • the oldest permanent city settled by Europeans in the United States
• Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
  • discovered adobe villages of the Pueblo Indians
  • first European to see the Grand Canyon
  • explored as far north as Kansas

English Rivalry

• John Cabot
  • laid claim to the Atlantic Coast of North America for England
• Sea Dogs
  • English sea captains
  • pirates that disrupted the flow of riches
  • raided coastal towns
  • destroyed Spanish harbors and ships
  • seized Spanish ships, stealing the wealth
• Sir Francis Drake
  • The most famous Sea Dog
  • first Englishman to circle the earth

French Activity

• Jacques Cartier
  • discovered St. Lawrence River
• Robert de la Salle
  • claimed the Mississippi River
• Samuel de Champlain
  • further explored the St.Lawrence River and the Great Lakes Region
• Huguenots
  • French Protestants
  • fled France due to religious persecution
  • settled in English territory

The Lost Colony

• Sir Walter Raleigh

  • organized several colonizing expeditions to Roanoke Island

• John White

  • new leader after Raleigh’s failed attempt
  • Virginia Dare was the first English baby born in the New World
  • No one knows what happened to the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke Island

• Jamestown

  • first permanent colony

• Powhatan Indians

  • group of Woodland Indians
  • allegiance to one chief named Powhatan

• John Smith

  • initiated a relationship with the Indians, gaining food and advice

• “Starving Time”

  • famine during the winter (1609 - 1610)
  • several men died
  • Out of the 600 men that arrived, only 60 were left

• Arrival of Africans

  • Indentured servants: became servants to gain passage to colonies, repay debts, or learn to trade
  • worked for the master for 4 to 7 years

• Representative Government in America

  • House of Burgesses: the first representative assembly in America