Chapter 11 Early Americans

Chapter 11 – The Americas

Summary

• Culture and early life of Americans similar to Mesopotamia, Indus River, Egypt, Huang He • Reliance upon water • Geography & climate enable Americans to build a civilization

Summary • The early inhabitants of the Americas probably traveled from Asia across a Bering Strait land bridge produced by the Ice Age.

• The Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations developed and administered complex societies.

• Diseases that Europeans brought to the Americas contributed to the downfall of early Americans.

Sioux Warrior Shirt

Section 1-5

The Grand Council • The Iroquois League was as model for British colonies. ⇓ • Ben Franklin used the Iroquois League as an example for American democracy. ⇓ • The men were hunters and warriors. ⇓ • The women owned the longhouses, and harvested the crops– corn, beans, and squash, called the “three sisters.”

The Great Peace = alliance of the 5 groups of Iroquois

Principles: 1. do not act on self-interest 2. act for the welfare of the whole 3. act with the good of future generations in mind

Video: Mystery of the Anasazi

MesoAmericans • the name for areas of Mexico and Central America that were civilized before the Spaniards arrived. ⇓ • Teotihuacán [TAY

oh wuh KAHN]

(“Place of the Gods”) was Mesoamerica’s first major city. ⇓

What Happened to the Mayans?

Video: City of Chichen Itza

Aztec Turquoise Mosaic Serpent

Teotihuacán [TAY oh wuh KAHN]

• Located near where Mexico City is today ⇓ • 200,000 inhabitants ⇓ • 200 ft tall Pyramids

Video: The Spirit of the Ancestors – Maya Today