CHAPTER 7Introduction

SETTING THE SCENE

Aztec “Legend of the Suns”---The universe was created and destroyed four times. People living under the First Sun had been destroyed by jaguars. People living under the Second Sun were swept away by wind. People living under the Third Sun perished in the fire and ash of volcanoes. The people living under the Fourth Sun were swallowed by water. The Fifth Sun represented the time of the Aztec empire.

Main point of this legend---important role of the sun in Aztec religion and feeling helpless in the face of harsh forces of nature

GEOGRAPHY OF THE AMERICAS

Perhaps as early as 30,000 years ago, according to some scholars, small groups of Paleolithic hunters and gatherers reached North America from Asia

Migration took place during the last Ice Age---a land bridge was exposed between Siberia and Alaska in the Bering Strait because of a drop in sea water due to freezing

The people migrated to follow food across the land bridge or may have used boats to begin to fish along the coasts

BERING STRAIT LAND BRIDGE

GEOGRAPHY OF THE AMERICAS

About 10,000 BC, the Earth’s climate grew warmer (global warming) and the land bridge was covered by the rising sea

People needed to adapt to the new environment by hunting smaller animals, fishing, and gathering fruits and shellfish

The nomadic hunter-gatherers migrated eastward and westward across the Americas

REGIONS

The Americas are made up of three distinct areas---

North America Middle America (Mexico and Central America) South America

NORTH AMERICA

MIDDLE AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA

MOUNTAIN CHAINS

The great mountain chain in North America is the Rocky Mountains

The great mountain chain in Middle America is the Sierra Madres

The great mountain chain in South America is the Andes

ROCKY MOUNTAINS MAP

ROCKY MOUNTAINS (NORTH AMERICA)

ROCKY MOUNTAINS (NORTH AMERICA)

SIERRA MADRES MAP

SIERRA MADRES (MIDDLE AMERICA)

SIERRA MADRES (MIDDLE AMERICA)

ANDES MAP

ANDES (SOUTH AMERICA)

ANDES (SOUTH AMERICA)

RIVERS

The continents are drained by two of the world’s three longest rivers

North America---Mississippi River South America---Amazon River

MISSISSIPPI RIVER MAP

MISSISSIPPI RIVER

AMAZON MAP

AMAZON RIVER

THE POLES

North Pole South Pole Both of these places consist of icy, frozen

environments

NORTH POLE

“NORTHERN LIGHTS”

“NORTHERN LIGHTS”

“NORTHERN LIGHTS”

“NORTHERN LIGHTS”

SOUTH POLE

“SOUTHERN LIGHTS”

“SOUTHERN LIGHTS”

DESERTS

When many people think of South America they think of jungles and rain forests…however, there is actually a desert in South America and it is the world’s highest desert…the Atacama Desert

Besides being the world’s highest desert, the Atacama is also the world’s driest place

There is on average less than .004 inches of rain per year

Some places in the Atacama Desert have not had rainfall for over 400 years!!!

ATACAMA DESERT MAP

ATACAMA DESERT

ATACAMA DESERT

ATACAMA DESERT

ATACAMA DESERT

Let’s watch a cool video!!!

THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

In the Americas, as elsewhere, the greatest adaptation occurred when some people learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals

Neolithic peoples in Mexico started to grow crops such as sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and squash

Early farmers learned to domesticate animals In South America, llamas were prized for

their wool

LLAMAS!!!

THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

In the Americas, as in Africa and Eurasia, the agricultural revolution helped to cause other changes---

Farming people settled into villages Populations expanded Villages grew into cities and then civilizations