The Americans of the Middle Ages

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The Americans of the Middle Ages

• Natives of the New World

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The Early People of North America Hopewell

• Around 1000 BC farming villages appeared in the
  eastern woodlands.
• The Hopewell people of the Ohio River valley are
  the best known.
• They are also known as the mound builders.
• Elaborate mounds, some in the shape of animals
  were used as tombs and for ceremonies.

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The Early People of North America Hopewell
(continued)

• Around AD 700, Americans shifted to full-time
  farming. Corn, squash, and beans (the three
  sisters) were grown together to provide crops
  with shade and nutrients.
• Cities began to appear.
• At Cahokia near modern St. Louis, archaeologist
  found a burial mound with a base larger than the
  Great Pyramid of Egypt.

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The Early People of North America Iroquois

• The Iroquois lived northeast of the Mississippi
  culture.
• They lived in longhouses built on wooden poles
  covered with bark.
• Each was 150 to 200 feet long and housed about a
  dozen families.

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The Early People of North America Iroquois
(continued)

• War was common among the Iroquois until the 1400s
  when Deganawida preached peace.
• He and Chief Hiawatha created the Great Peace
  that formed the League of the Iroquois (Five
  Nations or Iroquois League) between the woodland
  tribes Senaca, Cayuga, Onodaga, Oneida, and
  Mohawk.
• The 3 principles of the Great Peace were
• 1) do not act on self-interest,
• 2) act for the welfare of all, and
• 3) act with future generations in mind.

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The Early People of North America Iroquois
(continued)

• A group of 50 representatives met in the Grand
  Council to settle differences.
• Iroquois society was organized into clans of
  related families.
• The clan mothers chose the members of the Grand
  Council.
• Benjamin Franklin used the Iroquois League as a
  model for his Plan of Union for the British
  Colonies.

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The Early People of North America Plains Indians

• West of the Mississippi River, the Plains Indians
  farmed the three sisters and hunted buffalo,
  often by driving buffalo off a cliff.
• They lived in teepees because they were nomadic.

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The Early People of North America Desert Indians

• The Anasazi of the desert southwest used canals
  and dams to irrigate with between AD 500 and
  1200.
• They used adobe (sun-dried bricks) to build
  multi-storied pueblos that could house many
  people.
• Two Anasazi centers were Chaco Canyon and Mesa
  Verde.
• Chaco Canyons Pueblo Bonito was a pueblo with
  600 rooms and could hold over 1000 people.

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Ancient Empires of Mesoamerica (pre-1492 Mexico
and Central America)

• Olmec
• where Gulf Coast of Mexico, Guatemala, and
  Honduras
• when 1200-400 BC
• achievements
• 1) Farmers produced enough food to sustain cities
  of thousands.
• 2) Stone monuments, pavement and drainage
  systems.
• 3) Teotihuacan (Place of the Gods) was
  Mesoamericas first major city.

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Ancient Empires of Mesoamerica

• Maya
• where Southern Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula),
  Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize.
• when AD 300-900
• largest cities Tikal and Chichen Itza
  (city-states)

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Maya (continued)

• achievements
• 1) Pyramids religious and government centers.
• Itzamna was the supreme god.
• Gods were appeased with human blood sacrifices.
• Ball courts were used in a game where teams tried
  to hit a ball through hops with their hips.
• The court represented the earth. The ball and
  hoop represented the sun and moon.
• The losing team was sacrificed to the gods.
• 2) Hieroglyphics written language.
• 3) Math base 20.
• 4) Astronomy study of the stars.
• 5) Calendar 365 days Both a solar and a lunar
  calendar.

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Maya (continued)

• The Two calendars
• The calendar called the Long Count based on
  beliefs of creation and destruction.
• They believe the present world began in 3114 BC
  and will end on December 23, 2012.
• The priestly calendar of 260 days was used to
  predict the future.
• government Theocracy rule by a religious
  leader and a class of scribes.
• decline The cities were abandoned around 900
  AD.
• The Toltec conquered Mayan lands and controlled
  them from 900 to 1200.

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Ancient Empires of Mesoamerica Aztec

• Aztec
• where Central Mexico.
• when 1325-1519
• largest city Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco
  (Mexico City)

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Aztec (continued)

• achievements
• 1) Causeways linking the islands to the shore
• 2) Chinampas artificial islands used for
  farming.
• 3) Engineering They were able to build huge
  monuments and cities on shifting sand.
• government Martial rule by the military.
• Conquered lands had to pay tribute.

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Aztec (continued)

• religion - The army ruled with influence from
  their religion.
• Enemies were offered as human sacrifice to the
  gods.
• Main gods were Huitzilopochtli (god of war and
  the sun) and Quetzalcoatl (the feathered serpent)
  whose sign was an arrow through a sapling.
• They believed in the struggle between creation
  and destruction. Human sacrifice was necessary
  to postpone the destruction of the world.
• decline Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec with
  550 men, guns, cannons, and the aid of the people
  the Aztec had conquered.
• King Montezuma greeted Cortes with gifts
  believing the Spanish were from Quetzalcoatl.

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Native Americans of South America (continued)

• Inca
• where Andes Mountains of South America
• when 1200-1532
• largest city Cuzco
• other city Macchu Picchu on the peaks above the
  Urubamba River wasnt discovered until 1911 by
  archaeologist Hiram Bingham.

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Inca (continued)

• achievements
• 1) Terrace Farming
• 2) Roads with llamas used to carry loads. They
  did not use the wheel. 24,800 miles of roads
  with two major north-south routes.
• 3) Quipu Knotted colored rope for keeping
  records.
• 4) Gold Crafts
• 5) Quechua the Incan language

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Inca (continued)

• government Monarchy rule by a king.
• 1) The king was believed to have descended from
  the sun god, Inti.
• 2) All land was owned by the king.
• 3) All people owed their service to the king
  including both labor for several weeks a year and
  military service.
• 4) In the 1440s Pachacuti ruled over 12 million
  people. He divided the empire into quarters and
  each quarter into provinces, each with around
  10,000 people.

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Inca (continued)

• Decline Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca by
  taking King Atahuallpa hostage. He demanded a
  room be filled with gold for ransom. After
  getting the gold, he killed the king.
• The Incas without a leader and having a smallpox
  epidemic were overwhelmed.

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Conclusion

• The people of the Americas had several diverse
  and accomplished cultures before the discovery of
  America by the Europeans.