KEY Guided Textbook Research: “The Earliest Americans”
1. According to the archaeological evidence, human beings first start living in the Americas (North and South American continents)
40,000 – 10000 years ago.
2. According to the archaeological evidence the first humans that lived in the Americas came from
Northeast Asia.
3. According to archaeologists and paleoanthropologists, the earliest tribes of peoples came to the North and South American continents by: (list 2 theories provided by the text).
a. Migrating by foot across the Bering Land Bridge (Beringia); an area of land that was exposed during the last Ice Age connecting northeastern Asia and northwest North America (Russia to Alaska) click Beringia image
b. By boat, island hopping, from Asia (likely similar to kayaks and canoes)
4. According to paleoanthropologists, a likely reason humans migrated into the Americas is:
Following the food (following the migrating animals that they hunted)
Name/location of archaeological dig site / Artifact(s) or fossils found there / Artifact or fossil dated to… / What does this artifact/fossil tell us about when people got here or their lifestyle?Clovis, New Mexico / Spearheads / 9,500 BCE / People were living in southern North America by around 10,000 years ago and were creating weapons for hunting
Monte Verde, Chile / Animal hide, tools, chunk of meat, child’s footprint / 10,500 BCE / Early date implies people would have had to cross Beringia at least 20,000 years ago (unless they came by boat to southern South America); Artifacts tell us people were hunting animals for meat, creating tools, and using animal hide for clothing or blanket or shelter
Mexico City / Human skull / 11,000 BCE / Skull can be traced by DNA to Japanese peoples leading some to believe Japanese island hopped by boat to Central America
5. What happened about 10,000 years ago that caused the peoples of the Americas to be isolated from the peoples of the rest of the world?
Ice Age ended, ice that had been on land melts and causes sea levels to rise thus submerging the only land route to the Americas, Beringia.
So what? How might this geographic isolation have affected the evolution of civilizations in the Americas compared to the evolution of civilizations in Asia, Europe, and Africa?
Peoples of the Americas would have developed cultures in relation to their own physical geographies and interactions with one another and no interactions with the peoples of ancient Greece, Roman Empire, Egypt, China, Indus people, etc. While over in Asia, Africa, and Europe, all of the cultures were actively engaged in trade, cultural diffusion that impacted religion and social hierarchy, and lots of wars over land, trade routes, natural resources, power. The constant warfare in Asia, Europe, Africa may have led to them creating more sophisticated weaponry sooner than the peoples of the Americas.
6. According to the text, between 7000 BCE and 5000 BCE, a revolution occurred that would allow the peoples of the Americas to evolve beyond a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to permanent settlements.
- What was this revolution?
Development of ability to cultivate seed for food (agriculture/farming)
- Why did this “revolution” need to happen in order for people to settle in more permanent settlements?
Until people knew how to grow and store their own food, and grow enough to create surpluses to get them through periods of drought and winter, they would have to be on the move to find food.
c. What techniques did the peoples of central Mexico develop to help them farm more efficiently?
irrigation (digging canals to direct water away from lakes and rivers and towards crops), floating gardens
7. Read the final paragraph of this chapter, “Farming brings great change”. Make a flow chart below that depicts the blossoming of more sophisticated societies that took place once a people developed agriculture.
farming ----
more reliable, expanding food supply ----
population growth, large, settled communities ------
job specialization in the arts, crafts, building trades -----
social hierarchy (separation between social economic classes) ---
more complex societies (lays ground for civilizations!)
8. On a piece of loose leaf, write a synthesis paragraph of all of the ideas/facts you have recorded on this worksheet.
Sample A-level synthesis paragraph
According to the archaeological evidence (both artifacts and human fossil remain), scientists believe people started living in the Americas between 10,000 and 40, 000 years ago. There are two theories about how people started populating the Americas: 1. They came across the temporary land bridge, Berengia, which existed between North America and Asia during the last Ice Age. 2. They came to the Americas by primitive boats from Asia. The evidence of human existence in the Americas includes spearheads, tools, animal parts, and human fossils in North America, Central America, and as far south as southern South America. For thousands of years, the peoples of the Americas existed as hunter-gatherers, following the food as it migrated. Around 9,000 years ago, however, the people began to develop agriculture. This allowed humans to settle thanks to the more reliable food source. As settlements developed and agriculture became more efficient, people were able to spend time doing other jobs. Economies, social hierarchy, and the elements that set the stage for civilizations began to emerge.