Chapter 7, Lesson 2

Life in the Americas

It Matters Because:Long before the arrival of Europeans, people in the

Americas created complex societies.

I. The Mayans

A. Developed complex society in S. Mexico & C. America1. Cleared rainforest for farming; planted maize2. City-states traded & fought for territory

B. Kings believed to be descendants of the sun god1. Sacrificed prisoners of war to rain god

C. Developed calendar to schedule planting and harvestingD. Practiced advanced mathematics and hieroglyphic writingE. Collapsed ca. 900 due to fighting among city-states

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II. The AztecsA. Hunters & warriors, rose to power ca. 1300

B. City of Tenochtitlan, built in swamps of Lake TexcocoC. Religion was at center of Aztec culture

1. Chief god was Quetzalcoatl, feathered serpent & sun god 2. Priests strived to preserve history, religion, literature

D. Emperors claimed to be descendant of the gods1. Greatest emperor was Montezuma

a. expanded empire from inland Mexico to Gulf of Mexicob. built temples, aqueducts, roads

E. Developed calendar for farming: planting and harvesting

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Quetzalcoatl,

the Aztec serpent god

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III. The Incas

A. Competed for scarce fertile land in the Andes, 1300sB. Built largest empire in the Americas, ca. 1430, under leadership of strong emperors

1. Built roads to connect the empire2. Irrigated and terraced mountains for farming

•Great engineers, mathematicians•Machu Picchu was a wonder of engineering

Machu

Picchu

IV. North American Natives

A. North American natives spoke about 300 languages, adapted to different environmentsB. In far north, Inuit were first settlers

1. Used dog sleds & seal-skin kayaks2. Built permanent stone block homes3. Built igloos when they traveled4. Skilled hunters of seals, caribou, walruses, polar bears

C. Pacific coast was most populated region north of N. America

1. Natives built cedar houses & canoes2. Hunted & fished for otters, seals, whales, salmon3. Carved totem poles from cedar trees BrainPop

Northwestern

TotemPoles

D. Native groups in southwest adapted to life in the desert differently

1. some built homes from sun-dried bricks called adobe2. others carved homes into the sides of cliffs

E. Dug irrigation canals & traded as far away as MesoamericaF. In 1500s, Navajo and Apache arrive and dominate Southwest

1. Hunter-gatherers who built square wooden homes called hogans

G. Natives on the Great Plains were nomads1. Farmed for few seasons, moved when land was exhausted or

herds moved2. Lived in skin tents called tepees3. Women farmed while men hunted

IV. North American Natives

H. Eastern Woodland east of Mississippi River, were home to Woodland tribes

1. Farming was common in southeast2. Hunting & fur trapping common in northeast

I. Complex societies & different governments1. Iroquois Confederation was an alliance to end

fighting between tribes2. Iroquois wrote first constitution in the Americas

IV. North American Natives