The Americas: A Separate World

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The Americas A Separate World

• 40,000 BCE CE 700

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Hunters and Farmers in the Americas

• Ice Age
• Cold period in which huge ice sheets spread
  outward from the polar regions
• Beringia
• Land bridge connecting Asia to the Americas
  (through modern-day Alaska)
• Early nomads followed food across Beringia during
  the Ice Age
• Archaeology
• Study of prehistoric human cultures
• Paleontology
• Study of ancient animals plants

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Agriculture

• Around the 3000 BCE, early Americans began to
  farm
• Maize (corn)
• Huge turning point in human history

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Early Mesoamerican Civilizations

• Mesoamerica
• Region that stretches from central Mexico to
  Honduras
• Hot humid
• Swamps jungles
• Rain forests
• Trees provide thick covers that prevent sunshine
• 100 inches of rain per year
• Lots of flooding
• Abundant supply of salt, tar, clay, wood, rubber,
  stone
• Lots of rivers for transportation
• Fertile land from the floods
• corn, beans, squashstaple

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Mesoamericas Mother Culture

• Olmec
• 1200 400 BCE
• First civilization in Mesoamerica
• Influenced neighboring groups future
  civilizations

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Olmec Society

• Polytheistic with many nature gods
• Worshipped the jaguar
• Many sculptures with half-human half-jaguar
  carvings
• Representations unknown
• Some believe it is a powerful rain god
• Some believe it represents the earth, fertility,
  maize
• Fisherman, farmers, artisans, traders
• Traded throughout the region of Mesoamerica
• Imported iron ore stones

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Olmec

• Artifacts discovered at San Lorenzo La Venta
• Earthen mounds
• Courtyards
• Pyramids
• Large stone monuments with columns altars
• Large sculpted heads

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Reasons of Decline of the Olmec

• ??????????Unknown??????????????
• Invaders?
• Left no written records
• Left many artifacts monuments

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Zapotec Civilizations500 BCE CE 700

• Advanced society developed southwest of the Olmec
• Settled in a rugged region of mountains and
  valleys
• Show traces of influence from Olmec
• Mild climate
• Fertile soil
• Enough rainfall to support agriculture

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Monte Alban San Jose Mogote

• Two major cities with stone platforms
• Forms of hieroglyphic writing
• Calendar system
• Pyramids
• Temples
• Palaces
• Observatory for star gazing
• Stone sculptures like the Olmec

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Monte Alban
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Decline of the Zapotec

• ????????????Unknown??????????????
• Trade economic decline?

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Early Mesoamericans Legacy

• Olmec
• Art styles
• Jaguar
• Pottery sculptures
• Urban design
• Pyramids plazas
• Monumental sculptures
• Planned ceremonial centers
• Ritual ball games
• Elite ruling class

• Zapotec
• Hieroglyphic language
• Calendar system based on the movement of the sun
• City builders

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Early Civilizations of the Andes

• Andes Mountains
• 4,000 miles along western edge of South America
• From Colombia to Chile
• Second highest mountain range in the world
• Steep rocky
• Poor soil
• Ice snow cover the highest elevations year
  round
• Climate
• Hot dry during the day
• Freezing during the night

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Early Civilizations of the Andes

• In-between the mountains and the Pacific Coast
  lies harsh deserts with little rainfall
• some rivers flow from the mountains to the ocean
  across these deserts
• River valleys were sites of first settlements
• Hunter-gatherers relied on seafood small game
• 3000 BCE start of agriculture
• Staplecorn(maize), beans, fish
• Peru first advanced civilizations of South
  America

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Ancient Andean
Civilizations
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Chavin900 200 BCE

• Arose in the mountains
• First civilization of South America
• Pyramids, plazas, earthen mounds
• Art styles
• Religious civilization with many images carved
  into stone, pottery, textiles
• No evidence of political/economic organization

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Chavin Pottery
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Chavin laid the foundations to unify Andean
Cultureltmother culture for future civilizationsgt
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Nazca200 BCE CE 600

• Southern coast of Peru
• Extremely dry land
• Developed irrigation systems
• Underground canals
• Farmers
• Beautiful textiles pottery

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Nazca Lines

• Scraped away stone to reveal lighter soil
  underneath
• Large drawings of plants animals
• Can only be seen from above
• Believed these drawings were for the gods

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Moche100 - 700

• Northern coast of Peru
• Used rivers from mountains to make irrigation
  systems
• Farmers
• Corn, beans, potatoes, squash, peanuts
• Wealthy civilization

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Moche

• Gold silver
• Ceramics pottery
• Doctors, weavers, musicians, soldiers portrayed
  on pottery
• No written language