Early+Peoples

**Objectives: **

 * ====Explain how early people migrated from Asia to the Americas ====
 * ====Describe how the first Americans lived during the Ice Age ====
 * ====Identify how the way of life of the first Americans changed as the climate became warmer ====

Here's one THEORY about how the early peoples came to America...
====People began to migrate from Africa to Northern Asia (Think Russia) about 40,000 to 10,000 years ago - The Ice Age. Those early people crossed over a land bridge called the BERING STRAIGHT. The Bering Straight, which is now water, was crossable land due to GLACIERS and shallow water. ====

====It is believed that these early people/hunters followed their food (mammoth and caribou). When the food crossed from Asia to North America, so did the people. ====

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==== There is, however and alternate theory. Some ARCHAEOLOGISTS believe that the early people migrated to North America by boat. This is not the most commonly believed theory. ====

====NOTE: Today, the Bering Straight separates Asia (Russia) and North America (Alaska). At its narrowest point the two continents are 53 miles apart. (Atlantic City, New Jersey is about 53 miles from Philadelphia - about an hour and a half drive time) The Bering straight, today. connects the Bering sea with the Arctic Ocean. ====

Way of Life
====About 10,000 years ago the ice age came to an end, so did the early people's way of life. The climate began to warm and cold weather animals became extinct, perhaps due to an inability to adapt -or- perhaps people had killed them off. ====

====In order to survive people had to adapt - changing from hunters to hunter-gathers. Theses early people continued to hunt smaller animals and fish, but the smaller animals were not enough, new food sources had to be found. People gathered wild plants, berries and nuts to supplement their diet, moving with the seasons to find food. People of this time did not farm.....but that would change. ==== ====7,000 years ago,in what is present day Mexico, people began farming. They learned how to grow grain for them selves instead of foraging for seeds. Society began to change from hunter-gatherers who were always on the move, to settled agrarian communities (communities of farmers). ====

**Objectives: **

 * ====Explain why early people living east of the Mississippi River built mounds ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Explain how the Anasazi were able to farm in the desert ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Identify ways the Inuit adapted to life in the cold climate of the Arctic ====

====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">1,000 years ago, what is now called The Great Spirit Mound (near Hillsboro, Ohio), was built by Early American Indians. These Early American Indians are called mound builders, they flourished in North America then disappeared. ====

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====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Mound Builder Culture began about 3,000 years ago and lasted for approximately 2,500 years. Most Mound Builders lived East of the Mississippi River, where land is rich in forests, fertile soil, lakes and rivers. Corn was their main crop. ====

====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">There was no single group of mound builders. The three main groups of Mound Builders were the - Adena, Hopewell and Mississippians. These groups built thousands of mounds in different shapes, some as tall as a 10 story building. Some mounds were built as tombs, other to honor animal spirits. Many mounds had platforms where religious and other ceremonies were held. ====

====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Mound builders were organized, had lots of workers to dig tons of Earth, hand tools and the ability to move lots of earth. They left many clues for Archeologists to study. ==== ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Artifacts, like knives carved from obsidian (from Colorado) tell archaeologists that trade was important. Other artifacts include sea shells from the Gulf of Mexico, copper from the Great Lakes and Mica from the Appalachian Mountains. ====

====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Anasazi lived in the Southwest, in an area called the Four Corners (where four present day stated come together).Their name means "the old ones" in Navajo. The Anasazi lived from 100 to 1300 C.E. They grew corn, squash, beans and pumpkins. The dry conditions did not limit their farming. Their craftsmanship was unmatched. The Anasazi were able to weave baskets so tightly that they could hold water. These baskets were also used for cooking. Hot coals were put in the baskets along with corn flour, beans and other foods to make stew. ====

====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In Colorado there is the Anasazi community of Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde is a large village built into the cliffs. The large overhanging rocks protected the people from inclement weather as well as attacks from their enemies. ====

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====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The largest building has been named Cliff Place. It has 150 rooms and 23 kivas, or underground rooms. Kivas were important to the Anasazi religion. Religions ceremonies were held there, and only men were aloud to enter a kiva. ====

====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Anasazi culture reached its peak (high point) in the 1100s. What happened to the Anasazi is a mystery. They abandoned their villages without leaving any clues as to why or where they were going. One theory is that there was a drought which made farming impossible, but no one is sure. It is believed that the Pueblo people, including the Hopi are descended from the Anasazi. ====

====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Inuit means "first people", today they live in Canada. The Inuit crossed to North America later than the other groups, about 2,500 years ago. They adapted to the harsh climate (cold), developed the kayak for hunting whales and seals and built igloos (traditional Inuit Houses). Today the Inuit still call the frozen lands from Alaska through Canada to Greenland home. ====


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Identify the reasons for the development of the Mayan Civilization
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Describe how the Aztec Empire grew
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Explain how roads helped to unite the Incan Empire

====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Mayan civilization reached its peak (greatest point) around 400 years ago. It had an organized government, religion and learning. The Maya, who were farmers, cut down the forest to create fields for planting, settled in present-day Mexico about 3,000 years ago. They were such good farmers that they soon had a SURPLUS of food that they could trade for things they needed. This ability to trade for what they needed meant that not everyone had to be a farmer, craftsmen could specialize - basket weaving, stone carving and jewelry making. ==== ====

==== ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This specialization helped the Maya to develop a complex civilization. Scholars could study the movements or the sun, stars and moon. This helped the Maya to develop an extremely accurate calendar. ==== ====

==== ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Other scholars excelled in Mathematics, and were among the first people to use zero. Their understanding of Mathematics enabled the Maya to design and build PYRAMIDS. At the top of many pyramids were temples where religious ceremonies were held. Some pyramids were designed as tombs for kings. ====

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[[image:article-new-thumbnail_ehow_images_a05_67_rp_make-mayan-pyramid-800x800.jpg]][[image:MayanWarPriest.jpg]]
====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Mathematics was not the only discipline in which the Maya excelled. They developed a system of writing and began to record their history, to include what they learned about math and science. ==== ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sadly the Mayan civilization began to decline around 750 C.E. and by 900 the Maya had deserted their cities, the forest that they had conquered grew over their buildings obscuring them from view. The descendants of the Maya, today, live in Mexico and Central America. ====

<span style="display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; text-align: left;">" <span style="display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; text-align: left;">[|The ancient Aztecs believed in many gods and goddesses.] <span style="display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",Times,serif; text-align: left;">Each god had a job to do. The sun god, for example, brought the sun up every day. The Aztecs believed it was important to keep the sun god happy. They truly believed if the sun god was not happy, he would refuse to bring up the sun, and the world would end.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The ancient Aztecs spent most of their time trying to keep their many gods happy and well fed.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Aztecs believed that human sacrifice was necessary. They used people to feed their hungry gods. Some of the people sacrificed were Aztecs. But most of the people they sacrificed to keep their gods happy were people captured from neighboring tribes. This did not make them popular with their neighbors!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Each time the Aztecs tried to settle down and build a city of their own, other tribes in the area would band together to chase them away. No one wanted the Aztecs for a neighbor. The Aztecs were very sad about this. They did so want a city of their own.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">According to legend ...
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">One day, the Aztecs were magically visited by their main god, the god of sun and war. He promised his people that they would have a city of their own some day, but they had to seek a specific and magically special place to build it. To find this special place, they were to look for an eagle, perched on a cactus, holding a snake. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">"Not only that, but listen well," their main god told them. "When you find the magical place of the eagle, snake, and cactus, you are not to make war with your neighbors. You are to settle down peacefully until you gain strength, and use this peaceful time to build a glorious Aztec city, a city of your own, in honor of me." <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">For the next 200 years, the Aztecs wandered in the Valley of Mexico. They never doubted their main god. They never gave up. They were always on the lookout for an eagle, perched on a cactus, holding a snake in his mouth. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">One morning, an Aztec priest was standing on the swampy shore of Lake Texcoco. He yawned and looked out across the lake. He could not believe his eyes. On one of the many small islands that dotted the lake, he saw an eagle, perched on a cactus, with a snake wiggling in its mouth.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Aztecs had found their home at last. As the people gathered and stared in wonder, the cactus grew into a comfy island. It was on that island that the Aztecs founded their civilization. They named the island Tenochtitlan, 'the Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus'."

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Tenochtitlan became a great city. Causeways (low bridges) linked the island to the land around the lake. In order to support the large population, 300,000 people, farmers created floating gardens. Other Aztec farmers developed new ways to irrigate (deliver water) their fields and cut terraces into the hill side, creating more farmland. The terraces looked like like large flat steps running up and down the hill side. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Aztecs send armies from Tenochtitlan to conquer other peoples in the Valley of Mexico. It did not take long for the Aztecs to create an empire that stretched from sea to sea (the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean). =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Aztec conquerers demanded tribute from the people they conquered. Each year people throughout the Aztec empire sent gold, textiles, silver, precious stones, weapons, clothing and food to Tenochtitlan, but this was not enough. The Aztec rulers also demanded people as tribute, slaves and prisoners of war. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Like the Mays the Aztecs worshiped many gods. Huitzilopochtli, the sun god and the god of war, was their chief god. It was believed that human blood was the sacrifice that would appease him - gain his favor. Slaves and prisoner were sacrificed to Huizilopochtli. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As the Aztec Empire grew in the north, the Inca Empire grew in the south. Like their northern neighbors, the Incas expanded their Empire through conquest (military campaigns). The Incas built miles of roads throughout the Empire, linking all to the capital city - Cuzco (located in present day Peru). The Incan roads allowed government messengers to travel up to 140 miles a day, unheard of distances for this time. =====