The First Americans - Quick Reference

Migration to the Americas

  • First peoples migrated from Asia to the Americas across the Beringia land bridge (low sea levels).

  • Driven by search for food; farming led to permanent settlements.

Early Civilizations of Middle & South America

  • Olmec (c. 1200ext−−800extB.C.E.1200 ext{--}800 ext{ B.C.E.}): colossal statues, stone houses.

  • Maya (peak 250ext−−900extC.E.250 ext{--}900 ext{ C.E.}): rainforest cities, hieroglyphics, theocracy.

  • Aztec (c. 14ext0014 ext{00} ext{ C.E.}):Tenochtitlan,militaryempire,humansacrifices.</p></li><li><p>Inca(flourished): Tenochtitlan, military empire, human sacrifices.</p></li><li><p>Inca (flourished1500 ext{s C.E.}$$): Andes empire, roads, terraced farming.

Early North American Cultures

  • Adena & Hopewell: Ohio River Valley mound builders.

  • Cahokia (Mississippian): large earthwork complex (Illinois).

  • Ancient Puebloans: cliff dwellings (Four Corners region).

  • Hohokam: central/southern Arizona, extensive irrigation.

Native American Regions & Lifestyles

  • Far North & West: Arctic adaptations (Inuit, Aleut).

  • Southwest: Puebloan adobe homes, irrigation (Apache, Navajo later).

  • The Pueblo people held deep spiritual reverence for water, essential for their arid environment and irrigation, and corn, a sacred life-sustaining crop central to their ceremonies and daily life. These elements were considered their "sacred elixirs".

  • Great Plains: nomadic, buffalo-based economy, tepees.

  • Eastern Woodlands: Iroquois, Algonquian; Three Sisters farming, longhouses, federations.

  • Southeastern Woodlands: Farming in river valleys (Creek, Cherokee).

Native Americans in 1492

  • Diverse adaptations: Arctic (cold climates), Southwest (irrigation), Plains (nomadic buffalo-hunting).

  • Eastern & Southeastern Woodlands: stable farming societies, feder