09.0 Early Americas Civilizations

Chapter 9: The Americas, 10,000 BCE – AD 700 Enduring Understanding: Human settlement of the Americas begins toward the end of the last Ice Age. The North American civilizations have limited agriculture and subsist mainly by hunting and gathering. The Olmec, Zappotec, Chavin, Nazca, and Moche cultures strongly influence those that come after them in Latin America.

Essential Questions: Explain how and why the first peoples came to the Americas. Explain how the discovery of agriculture in Latin America led to the development complex civilizations.

Key Information & Skills: Beringia Ice Age maize Mesoamerica Olmec Toltec

Zapotec Monte Alban Chavin Nazca Moche

Populating the Americas The Earliest Americans •

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The earliest evidence of human occupation of the Americas was found at Old Crow Flats in the Alaskan Refuge. o Radiocarbon dating suggests the site is as old as 27,000 years. Another site in Peru is 21,000 years old, but there are few other sites between 27,000 and 12,000 years old. A dramatic influx of people migrated across the Bering Strait 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last great Ice Age. o During that Ice Age, vast ice sheets covered much of the northern latitudes around the globe. Collecting water in these sheets dropped the levels of the world’s oceans, exposing Beringia, the land bridge between Asia and North America that is normally covered by arctic waters. These humans most likely crossed Beringia without even knowing it as they were hunting the large game that had wandered from Asia to North America.

North American Indians • • •

The North American tribes hunted and gathered whatever food was locally available. Most tribes were nomadic, whether because of season or animal movements. Those tribes located near permanent food supplies, like the ocean, were sedentary. There was very little agriculture in North America and no animal domestication because suitable species did not exist. o As a result of the lack of agriculture, urbanization on the continent was very low.

Mesoamerica •

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Agriculture seems to have begun in the Americas 7,000 years ago in the Mexican highlands. o The most important agricultural crop for Mesoamerica, and later North American tribes, was maize, a large grass that produces a cereal grain in the form of kernels on a cob. Following the rise of agriculture early urban civilizations arose in Mesoamerica, the area south of central Mexico to the northern reaches of Honduras. o The Olmec, often called the Mother Culture of Mesoamerica, thrived from 1200 until 400 BCE.  Two major cities of the Olmec were San Lorenzo and La Venta.  Artifacts from far away regions lead researchers to conclude that the Olmec had a vibrant trading and commercial system. This probably spread Olmec culture and tradition far and wide.  A powerful Olmec cult used the jaguar as its symbol; this becomes a common theme across many future Mesoamerican cultures. o After the Olmec, a second civilization arose in the Valley of Mexico at Teotihuacan. By 700 AD the city was abandoned. o In 700 AD the Toltec began conquering villages and tribes in the Valley of Mexico. This warlike tribe, the Toltec, expanded rapidly throughout Mexico, Guatamala, and the Yucatan peninsula.  Their dominance faded around 1200. o The Zapotec developed in the area around the Mexican state of Oaxaca for a thousand years.  The Zapotec flourished at Monte Alban, which eventually reached a peak population of 25,000.

South America •

The earliest urban culture on the South American continent was the Chavin culture, socalled because its major site was found in the area of Chavin de Huantar. o This culture arose in the highlands of Peru around 1000 BCE – about the same time as the Olmec – and lasted until 500 BCE.

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In the centuries following the decline of the Chavin, there were two regional civilizations, the Moche to the north, and the Nazca to the south. o The Moche, which developed on the northern coast of Peru, lasted from 100 to 700 AD.  They took advantage of the rivers that flowed out of the Andes and built large irrigation canals to grow corn, beans, potatoes, squash, and peanuts. o The Nazca flourished along the southern Peruvian coast from 200 BCE until AD 600.  The Nazca built extensive irrigation canals, including underwater canals to avoid evaporation.  The most famous artifacts from this culture, however, are the Nazca Lines. These lines depict animals, people, and flowers – but their purpose is not known.