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UNIT 1 TOPIC 2
Native American Society Before 1492 H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : Geography and the Environment
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why various native populations in the period before European contact interacted
with the natural environment in North America.
PRE-COLUMBIAN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
Before the arrived on the American shores, native American peoples organized
themselves into cultures depending on where they .
Some native Americans lived in villages, others roamed the land as nomadic
; some settled down on , while others congregated in
giant .
In Central and South America, three major civilizations had emerged, all of them boasting large
centers, complex systems, and well-formed .
The Aztecs had a magnificent capital city called which at its height was home to
three hundred thousand people. They had a written . They employed complex systems
of . Priests upheld a cult of both for the land and for the
people. And such fertility was only upheld by sacrifice.
The Maya established themselves on the Peninsula. The Maya also developed large
. They made use of complex and
systems. They built giant stone and for rulers whom they believed
were descended from the gods.
Further south into South America there were the people. They established their civilization in
the Mountains along the Pacific Coast in what is today Peru.
At its height it ruled over million people and covered approximately square miles.
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UNIT 1 TOPIC 2
Native American Society Before 1492 H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : Geography and the Environment
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why various native populations in the period before European contact interacted
with the natural environment in North America.
PRE-COLUMBIAN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA cont’d.
The key to the success of the Inca people was the of the fertile mountain
valleys where they grew and other crops which were watered by elaborate systems of
.
One thing all three of these civilizations had in common was the cultivation of , which is a
corn-like crop.
The cultivation of maize is important because it was a nutritious crop and as it spread north into the
present day American , its establishment supported
development, of peoples, advanced , and social
among societies.
SUMMARIZE the notes above in your own words. (2-4 sentences)
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UNIT 1 TOPIC 2
Native American Society Before 1492 H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : Geography and the Environment
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why various native populations in the period before European contact interacted
with the natural environment in North America.
PRE-COLUMBIAN NORTH AMERICA
On the north American continent there was also a of native peoples.
In the Southwest, the people who lived in present day New Mexico and Arizona. They were
a population, which means they stayed in one place and didn’t move around. They were
of maize and other crops, and they built and
homes both in the open and right into the sides of cliffs. They were a highly organized society with
offices, centers, and shops.
In the Great and Great regions, we find not sedentary peoples, but
peoples. These regions were populated with type people
who needed a lot of land because of the aridity of the region.
A good example of this kind of people was the people who lived this lifestyle in small,
kinship-based bands.
In the Pacific Northwest, people lived by the and settled in villages.
They also relied on which they found in abundance in their forests. A good example is the
people. They made use of the great trees around them to construct
houses which could house up to members of the same kinship band.
The people lived on the coast, but further south in present day . They
were still hunters and gatherers, but they lived in settlements, which they constructed in places
where there was enough and to support all their hunting and gathering.
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UNIT 1 TOPIC 2
Native American Society Before 1492 H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : Geography and the Environment
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why various native populations in the period before European contact interacted
with the natural environment in North America.
PRE-COLUMBIAN NORTH AMERICA cont’d.
In the Mississippi River Valley there were much and more
societies, chiefly because the fertile surrounding the rivers meant societies could stay put and
and develop.
The first example is the people. They lived in of about four thousand
to six thousand people and extensively with other regions as far away as
and the Mountains.
Also in that region lived the people, who boasted the settlement
in that region.
The government was led by powerful who the government
and engaged in extensive networks from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.
In the northeast lived the . They lived in made up of several hundred
people where they grew crops like and and . Also,
like their Pacific Northwest counterparts, they built and lived in where they lived with
anywhere between 30-50 of their family members.
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UNIT 1 TOPIC 2
Native American Society Before 1492 H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : Geography and the Environment
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why various native populations in the period before European contact interacted
with the natural environment in North America.
SUMMARIZE the notes from the previous pages in your own words. (2-4 sentences)
RESPOND to the learning objective with an evidence-based, argumentative thesis.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why various native populations in the period before European contact
interacted with the natural environment in North America.
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