Settling the Americas The First Settlers About 800,000 years ago, water froze and formed glaciers that covered most of the Northern Hemisphere. That frigid period in Earth s history is known as the Ice Age. So much water was frozen during the Ice Age that ocean levels dropped and land bridges emerged. Beringia was a land bridge that formed between Siberia and Alaska. Animals and human hunters soon began to cross these bridges in search of food. We have learned much about these early hunters from archaeologists. By studying artifacts, archaeologists were able to tell us that early people survived by hunting animals and gathering plants. LESSON SUMMARY Chapter 1 Lesson 1 Early Peoples of Mexico Around 10,000 b.c., Earth s climate began to get warmer. The warmer weather killed off many of the Ice Age mammals. People then had to eat more plants to survive. By 7000 b.c., people in Central America began to plant vegetables, such as corn, beans, and squash. Soon they were producing more food than they needed. Because of this surplus, they could trade with other civilizations. Communities soon formed in which individuals specialized in one job, such as making pottery or farming. They placed power in the hands of one leader, and they developed art and set up a religious culture. The Olmec were one of the earliest cultures. They planted corn, beans, and squash along riverbanks in southeastern Mexico. They became a strong and powerful civilization that lasted over 600 years. Many people learned of the Olmec culture through trade routes as far away as Central America. One group that traded with the Olmec was the Maya. The Maya formed a very strong civilization because of their successful trade. They wrote histories, poems, and songs about their culture. Unlike the Olmec people, descendants of the Maya still live in Mexico and Guatemala. 4 Standard 5.1 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 1
Settling the Americas Complete the following exercises. For help, see pages 56 59 in your textbook. VOCABULARY REVIEW Chapter 1 Lesson 1 Match each term on the left with its definition. 1. civilization 2. descendants 3. surplus 4. Ice Age A. A period in Earth s history when water froze into huge ice blankets B. The total culture of a particular people C. More than what is needed D. Those who follow after Complete the following sentences. 5. If you study the life and culture of an ancient people, you are an. You get your information by studying artifacts. 6. Some early American Indian communities began to in trading goods, while others made pottery or farmed. 7. What is the definition of glacier? Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 1 Standard 5.1 5
Maya Society Read this passage. Then use it to answer the Reading Comprehension questions. READING PASSAGE Chapter 1 Lesson 1 Archaeologists have been able to tell us that after the glaciers of the long, cold Ice Age melted, early hunter-gatherers were able to cross land bridges in search of food. As the weather warmed, civilizations began to develop in Mexico and Central America. One of the most mysterious and powerful civilizations was the Maya. Most of the early Maya were farmers. They planted their seeds in holes made with a pointed wooden stick. Their farming techniques improved, and they learned to rotate their crops. Many of the Maya had household gardens and grew corn, beans, squash, and many other vegetables. They also grew pineapples and papaya and drank a chocolate drink made from cacao. Men made baskets, stone tools, and mats. The women made pottery and wove skirts from cotton. The Maya also used the bark of the fig tree to make paper. They even used backpacks to carry their surplus goods for trade or to transport them in canoes. The Maya set up a society similar to modern society, in which people specialized in a particular job. Their villages were headed by chiefs much like our modern mayors or governors. The chiefs gained their position in the community because they were the descendants of earlier chiefs. People worshipped farming gods such as rain and corn gods. The Maya built enormous pyramids to worship the gods and to make sacrifices to them. Perhaps the most important people in Maya society were merchants, because trade was so valuable to their civilization. Merchants became very rich by trading products such as salt, wax, honey, dried fish, cotton fibers, and cloth. 6 Standard 5.1 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 1
Maya Society Read the passage Maya Society. Then use it to answer these questions. READING COMPREHENSION Chapter 1 Lesson 1 1. Which of the following is not a way that Maya civilization was similar to modern civilization? A. The Maya had household gardens. B. The Maya had specialized jobs. C. The Maya used backpacks. D. The Maya built enormous pyramids. 2. In what ways was the Maya civilization different from our modern civilization? 3. How did the chiefs in Maya society gain their positions? A. They were the descendants of other chiefs. B. They were the bravest members of the Maya army. C. They built the biggest pyramids. D. They were the richest merchants. 4. Why did the Maya build enormous pyramids? 5. Why do you think the Maya worshipped farming gods? Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 1 Standards 5.1, R2.3 7
The Ice Age and Beyond You are a well-known archaeologist. A magazine has asked you to write an article about the Ice Age. In your article, discuss how the end of the Ice Age relates to the start of the Maya and Olmec civilizations. Use the graphic organizer to plan your article. WRITING EXERCISE Chapter 1 Lesson 1 Now use the information in the graphic organizer to write a one- to two-page article. 8 Standards 5.1, W2.3 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 1
Hohokam and Pueblo Peoples The Hohokam About 1,700 years ago, the Hohokam moved to a dry area in what is now Arizona. Not much rain fell there so there were few plants or animals. The Hohokam used irrigation systems to grow crops in that dry environment. They used tools to build canals, which led to their fields. Irrigation allowed them to grow beans, squash, and cotton. The Hohokam were skilled weavers and jewelry-makers. They lived in homes with straw roofs that were built partly below ground to shield them from the desert s extreme temperatures. By a.d. 1500, however, most of the Hohokam civilization had disappeared. Scientists believe that war and overcrowding caused the Hohokam people to move away. Today, there are still some small Hohokam groups that carry on Hohokam traditions. LESSON SUMMARY Chapter 1 Lesson 2 The Pueblo Peoples Beginning around a.d. 700, another group, the Pueblo, began to build a new civilization. The Pueblo lived in the flat highlands where the places we now call Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet. The Pueblo were dry farmers. This means they collected rainwater and melted snow in holding pits and released it into small drains that led to their crops. To protect themselves from enemy armies and from the desert climate, the Pueblo built homes into the sides of high cliffs. Adobe bricks made of straw and clay was a popular Pueblo building material. They also built underground chambers called kivas, which were used for religious ceremonies. The Pueblo built important trade, religious, and cultural centers, but by a.d. 1300 their cities were abandoned. There are several explanations, including drought, wars, and disease, for the collapse of this civilization. Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 2 Standard 5.1 9
Hohokam and Pueblo Peoples Read each definition. Then write the word being defined. For help, see pages 62 66 in your textbook. VOCABULARY REVIEW Chapter 1 Lesson 2 1. A brick made of mixed straw and clay 2. An engineering accomplishment that makes it possible to grow crops in dry areas 3. A room that is round and often underground 4. A way of growing things in dry areas without using a system of canals and pipes 5. A Spanish word that means village 6. A narrow waterway 10 Standard 5.1 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 2
Irrigating the Desert Read this passage. Then use it to answer the Reading Comprehension questions. READING PASSAGE Chapter 1 Lesson 2 The desert that the Hohokam lived in would not have supported human life if they had not discovered a way to bring water from faraway rivers into their villages. At the time, the Hohokam irrigation system was the most advanced and extensive method of controlling the flow of water north of Mexico. The water that the irrigation canals provided was used mostly for growing crops, but it was also used as drinking water, for pottery making, and for washing. Between the years a.d. 300 and 1450, as the population grew larger and larger, the Hohokam built more than 600 miles of canals along the Salt, Gila, and Verde rivers. The most advanced canals started from the Salt River, which is near modern-day Phoenix, Arizona. The canals were between 6 and 64 feet wide. The Hohokam used several irrigation methods during the 1,100 years they lived in the Arizona area. They even tried dry farming. This was an irrigation technique perfected by the Pueblo, a Native American group that began building adobe houses and religious chambers called Kivas in the Arizona area four hundred years after the Hohokam moved there. During the time the Hohokoam spent in Arizona, the water levels of the rivers often changed unpredictably, sometimes with disastrous results. Scientists believe that at one time, extremely high water levels on the Salt River heavily damaged the largest section of the Hohokam irrigation system. At other times, water levels were extremely low, forcing people to leave some villages. Once, after a 30-year period of extremely low water levels, the Salt River suddenly began to rise to its highest level in 450 years. In time, the Hohokam people resorted to other ways of supplying their villages with water. Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 2 Standard 5.1 11
Irrigating the Desert Read the passage Irrigating the Desert. Then use it to complete this exercise. READING COMPREHENSION Chapter 1 Lesson 2 1. The Hohokam people needed an irrigation system because 2. Why did the Hohokam need to keep building more canals? 3. What group of people perfected dry farming? 4. Why did the Hohokam need to keep trying different methods of irrigation? 12 Standards 5.1, R2.3 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 2
Farming Methods You have been asked to contribute to a new museum exhibit guide book. The exhibit is on the Hohokam and Pueblo peoples. The publisher of the guide book has asked you to write a comparison essay about the farming methods of each civilization. Remember to explain how each group overcame a problem in the environment that made farming difficult. Use the diagram below to plan your essay. WRITING EXERCISE Chapter 1 Lesson 2 Now use the information in your chart to write a one-page essay. Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 2 Standards 5.1, W1.2 13
The Mound Builders Early Mound Builders Around 500 b.c., a Native American hunter-gatherer group we call the Adena began to live along the Ohio River. The Adena were hunters and farmers. They made tools from stones, wood, and copper and fashioned clay pots. The Adena traveled the rivers in log canoes and traded in places as far away as the eastern coast of the United States. The Adena lived in round houses that were made from logs and had roofs made of bark. They also built huge mounds hills or ridges of earth which they used as burial grounds. Some of these mounds were shaped like animals. The Adena culture ended about a.d. 200. LESSON SUMMARY Chapter 1 Lesson 3 Mound Building Spreads The Hopewell were another group of Native American mound builders. Around 200 b.c., they began building several types of mounds. Some were burial places, others were flat-topped mounds for religious worship. Still others were mounds from which the Hopewell could study the sky and the passing of the seasons. The Hopewell were also farmers and traders. They used sharp knives made from a glass-like volcanic rock called obsidian. They made mirrors, pottery, jewelry, and weapons. The Hopewell culture came to an end around a.d. 400. The Mississippians were also mound-building people. Like the Adena and the Hopewell, they built mounds for burial, but only wealthy Mississippians were buried in these mounds. Mississippians built a city of more than 20,000 people near the area now known as St. Louis, Missouri. The city was called Cahokia. It was surrounded by small villages that were protected from enemies by fences called palisades. By a.d. 1400, Cahokia was abandoned, most likely because of wars and disease. 14 Standard 5.1 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 3
The Mound Builders The definitions given below for the vocabulary words are incorrect. Rewrite each definition so that it is correct. VOCABULARY REVIEW Chapter 1 Lesson 3 1. obsidian Obsidian is a type of soil used by the Hopewell to grow large amounts of food. 2. palisade A palisade is a short fence used to welcome visitors. 3. mound A mound is an underground place where people live. Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 3 Standard 5.1 15
Cahokia Read this passage. Then use it to answer the Reading Comprehension questions. READING PASSAGE Chapter 1 Lesson 3 The great Mississippian city of Cahokia was the center of life for thousands of Native Americans in the 1300s. It was located near where the Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois rivers meet the great Mississippi River. Cahokia was the capital city of the Mississippian peoples. It was governed by inheritance through the female line. Cahokia was designed in a grand style that included many flat-top pyramids and burial mounds. It also contained a huge, open space to which all area roads and paths led. This large space, or concourse, was used as a meeting place for worship and other citywide events. High wooden palisades formed a defensive barrier against enemies. Weapons such as obsidian knives and spear points were also used to repel military attacks. A circle of homes and shops surrounded the concourse. This outer circle was itself surrounded by farming areas. The appearance of European people in the area in the mid-1500s exposed the Mississippians to several diseases they had never encountered. Because diseases like measles and smallpox had never been a part of their lives, their bodies had no chance to build up immunity. As a result, 90 percent of the Native American population in the area died within 100 years from foreign diseases. Today, many precious objects from the Mississippian capital remain in the area. Among these objects are small carved or molded pipes, copper plates, and shells carved with the images of gods and other characters. Mississippian artists and artisans who sold their work to powerful and wealthy Cahokian residents unintentionally left the world these precious gifts. 16 Standards 5.1, R2.4 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 3
Cahokia Read the passage Cahokia. Then use it to answer these questions. READING COMPREHENSION Chapter 1 Lesson 3 1. The three rivers that met near Cahokia were the A. Rhine, Rhone, Seine B. Missouri, Ohio, Illinois C. Euphrates, Tiber, Volga D. Charles, Penobscot, Snake 2. How did rule of Cahokia pass from one person to another? A. Victory in war B. Through the male line C. By democratic election D. Through the female line 3. An open space to which all roads and paths lead is called a A. Canal B. Mound C. Highway D. Concourse 4. Cahokia was an important destination for A. Artists. B. Soldiers. C. Europeans. D. Religious travelers. 5. How did the mid-1500s arrival of Europeans affect Cahokia? Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 3 Standards 5.1, R2.3, R2.4 17
Teach Your Class about Mound Building You and your family are going to visit the Pinson Mounds State Archeological Area in Pinson, Tennessee. You want to explain to your family which groups of Native American people took part in mound building, where it started, where it spread to, and what the mounds were used for. Use the chart below to plan what you will tell them. WRITING EXERCISE Chapter 1 Lesson 3 Now use the information in your chart to write a one- to two-page report about the mounds and their builders. 18 Standards 5.1, W1.2 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Lesson 3