AMH 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Canyons Of The Ancients National Monument, Indigenous Peoples Of The Eastern Woodlands, Paleo-Indians
AMH 2010
Office Hours: by appt.
Email: [email protected]m
Textbook — American Promise: Value Edition (6th, 2015), Roark.
Archaeology and History
Archaeologists and historians share a desire to learn about people who
lived in the past, but they employ different methods to inform their
interpretations and to arrive at their conclusions.
1. Archaeologists use physical objects (ex: fossil)
2. Historians rely on written records. (ex: tablet)
The First Americans
African and Asian origins
The process of continental drift encircled the land of the Western Hemisphere with large
oceans, isolating it from the other continents long before early humans first appeared in
Africa about 2 million years ago. Modern humans appeared in Africa about 400,000 bp (years before the present
time); all humans throughout the world today are descendants of these ancient Africans. Two major developments
allowed small bands of hunters in pursuit of game to migrate to the Western Hemisphere: (1) human adaptability to
the frigid environment near the Arctic Circle, and (2) changes in the earth's climate that led to the reconnection
of North America to Asia. By about 25,000 bp, humans had spread from Africa throughout Europe and
Asia; sometime after 15,000 bp, humans had traveled across Beringia, the land bridge that connected Siberia
to Alaska, and arrived in the Western Hemisphere.
Paleo-Indian Hunters
•Paleo-Indians used distinctive spearheads, now known as Clovis points, to hunt mammoths, which provided the
first Americans with abundant food and materials for clothing and shelter, and which promoted rapid population
growth and expansion of peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Great Plains Bison Hunters
•Moved constantly to maintain contact with prey and developed trapping techniques that made it easier to kill a large
quantity of animals.
•Around AD 500, bows and arrows reached Great Plains hunters, allowing them to wound prey from farther away
and making it easier to shoot repeatedly; but the hunters did not otherwise alter age-old techniques of bison
hunting on foot.
Great Basin Cultures
•Great environmental diversity.
•Relied on plants for their most important food source
Pacific Coast Cultures
•The richness of the natural environment made present-day California the most densely settled area in ancient North
America.
•Hunter-gatherer way of life and a reliance on acorns as a major food source.
Eastern Woodland Cultures
•East of the Mississippi River = forest environment.
•Deer was their most important prey (and edible plants, seeds, and nuts)
•Around 4000 BP added two important features: agriculture and pottery.
•Permanent villages and a rich natural environment
Southwestern Cultures
•Unpredictable rainfall and dry climates
•Multiunit dwellings called pueblos.
•After 3500 BP corn became the most important cultivated crop; reliance on corn encouraged
Americans in the Southwest to become irrigation experts.
•About AD 200, small farming settlements began to appear throughout the Southwest - Mogollon culture.
•Around AD 500 - Hohokam settlements - sophisticated irrigation system.
•Anasazi culture began to flourish around AD 100.
•Persistent drought forced the Anasazi culture to abandon their large pueblos around AD 12
Woodland Burial Mounds and Chiefdoms
•Around 2500 BP, Woodland cultures began to build burial mounds
•Suggesting the existence of a social and political hierarchy - chiefdom.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
•Careful analysis suggests that burial was probably reserved for the most important members of society; most people
were cremated.
•Around AD 800, the Mississippian culture emerged, surviving until around AD 1500.
•The largest Mississippian site was Cahokia, located in present-day Illinois, comprising over one hundred mounds of
different sizes and shapes.
•By the time Europeans arrived the chiefs no longer commandedsweeping powers.
Freedom and Slavery in Africa
-Slavery was already one form of labor in Africa before the Europeans came.
-Europeans traded textiles and guns for African slaves; this greatly disrupted African society.
-By the time Vasco da Gama sailed to India in 1498 (first person to successfully sail from Europe to India), Portugal
had established a vast trading empire.
The Voyages of Columbus
-Christopher Columbus, an Italian, got financial support from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
-In the same year, 1492, the king and queen completed the reconquista, ordering all Muslims and Jews to convert to
Catholicism or leave the country.
Columbus in the New World
-Columbus landed on Hispaniola in 1492 and colonization began the next year.
-Nicolas de Ovando established a permanent base in Hispaniola in 1502.
-Amerigo Vespucci sailed along the coast of South America between 1498 and 1502, and the New World came to be
called America.
VA vs. MA
-Compare and contrast the Virginia (Jamestown) and Massachusetts (Plymouth) colonies
-Virginia: Location is in what is now Virginia along the James River, warm climate with fertile soil,
founded for economic reasons, people wanted to make money, made use of large plantations, some early
setbacks were unwillingness by some to work, disease, lack of leadership and no families, the type of
government was decided by the House of Burgesses, often in conflict with Native Americans, some
successes were the tobacco plantations
-Massachusetts: Location is in what is now Massachusetts along the bay, coastal colder climate with four
seasons, founded for religious reasons, people were looking for religious freedom, made use of small
farms, some early setbacks were hunger, disease, and cold, the type of government was decided by the
Mayflower Compact, relations with the Native Americans were peaceful for the first few years, some
successes were fishing, farming, and trading
-Similarities: Chartered originally by the Virginia Company, had a very difficult start, many deaths in the
beginning, both made use of a representative democracy, operated under a branch of Christianity
The Columbian Exchange
Columbus’ arrival initiated the Columbian Exchange, which was the transatlantic exchange of goods, people, and
ideas between the Indians in America and Spaniards in Europe. Europeans brought Christianity, iron technology,
sailing ships, firearms, wheeled vehicles, horses, diseases, and more. The Indians supplied corn, potatoes, tobacco,
and syphilis. The Columbian Exchange was important because it explains why Indian nations collapsed and
European colonies thrived after Columbus’ arrival in the New World in 1492.
The Mexica: A Meso-American Culture
•80 million inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere at the time of Columbus 's arrival. Most
lived in Mexico and Central and South America.
•Mexica (called Aztecs by Europeans) - by the 1490s ruled an empire larger in population and area than Spain and
Portugal combined.
•The Mexica engaged in constant warfare to protect and extend the empire's borders, and sacrificed captives in
elaborate rituals carried out by priests.
•The redistribution of wealth from the commoners to the nobility made possible the huge cities, fabulous temples,
teeming markets, and filled coffers.
•The Mexica allowed the ruling elite to remain in power in conquered territories as long as they
paid tribute to the empire.
•Spanish intruders capitalized on high levels of discontent to conquer the Mexica.
Incan vs. Aztec Empire
Incan:
* Along the length of the Andes - 2,500 miles long
* Around 10 million subjects
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Textbook american promise: value edition (6th, 2015), roark. The process of continental drift encircled the land of the western hemisphere with large oceans, isolating it from the other continents long before early humans first appeared in. Modern humans appeared in africa about 400,000 bp (years before the present time); all humans throughout the world today are descendants of these ancient africans. By about 25,000 bp, humans had spread from africa throughout europe and. Asia; sometime after 15,000 bp, humans had traveled across beringia, the land bridge that connected siberia to alaska, and arrived in the western hemisphere. Great basin cultures: great environmental diversity, relied on plants for their most important food source. Pacific coast cultures: the richness of the natural environment made present-day california the most densely settled area in ancient north. America: hunter-gatherer way of life and a reliance on acorns as a major food source.
