The Americas Before European Arrival

The Americas Before European Arrival

Introduction

• Unit 1 Topic 2 focuses on the diverse cultures of Native Americans before European contact.
• Avoid generalizing Native American cultures; there was significant variety.

Central and South America

• Three major civilizations: Aztecs, Maya, and Inca.

Aztecs (Mexica) of Central America

• Capital: Tenochtitlan (approximately 300,000 people at its peak).
• Had a written language and complex irrigation systems.
• Practiced a fertility cult maintained by human sacrifice.

Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula

• Developed large cities with complex irrigation and water storage.
• Built giant stone temples and palaces for rulers believed to be descendants of the gods.

Inca of South America

• Established in the Andes Mountains (present-day Peru).
• Ruled over 16 million people across 350,000 square miles.
• Cultivated fertile mountain valleys using elaborate irrigation for crops like potatoes.

Maize Cultivation

• Maize was a common crop among these civilizations.
• Its spread north supported economic development, settlement, advanced irrigation, and social diversification in North America.

North America

• Diversity of native peoples across different regions.

Southwest: Pueblo People (New Mexico & Arizona)

• Sedentary farmers of maize and other crops.
• Built adobe and masonry homes, sometimes in cliffs.
• Highly organized society with administrative offices, religious centers, and craft shops.

Great Plains and Great Basin

• Nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples due to the aridity of the region.
• Example: Ute people lived in small egalitarian kinship-based bands.

Pacific Northwest

• Settled in fishing villages.
• Relied on sea resources and elk from forests.
• Example: Chinook people used cedar trees to build giant plank houses for up to 70 family members.

California Coast

• Chumash people lived in permanent settlements supported by hunting and gathering.

Mississippi River Valley

• Larger, more complex societies due to fertile soil for farming.
• Hopewell people: Lived in towns of 4,000-6,000, traded extensively.
• Cahokia people: Largest settlement (10,000-30,000 people).
• Centralized government led by powerful chieftains with extensive trade networks.

Northeast: Iroquois

• Lived in villages of several hundred people, growing maize, squash, and beans.
• Built longhouses housing 30-50 family members.