Early peoples in Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean built great civilizations and made remarkable advances. Trade helped to spread their knowledge and cultures. Unknown to these people, great civilizations also arose in the Americas. These early cultures, too, made great progress in many areas. In this chapter, you will learn about the earliest Americans, the rise of their civilizations, and their achievements.

Focus Questions:

1. How did climate change affect the geography of the Americas?

2. Why did early Americans turn from hunting and gathering to agriculture?

Vocabulary

strait: Narrow strip of water that connects two larger bodies of water

Beringia: Land bridge during the Ice Age that provided the means for Asians to travel to the Americas

Objectives

In this section

you will learn how climate change affected the geography of the Americas.

You will examine the evidence suggesting how people first arrived in the Americas.

You will also learn about the development of agriculture and the changes it brought to the Americas.

Section 1 Summary

The Americas stretch more than 9,000 miles from Greenland in the north to the southern tip of South America. Jagged mountains curve like a backbone along the western coast. They are known as the Rocky Mountains in North America and the Andes in South America. Two great river systems flow through these continents: the Mississippi in North America and the Amazon in South America. Off the coast of present-day Alaska, the Americas are separated from Asia by a narrow strip of water called a strait. Known as the Bering Strait, this stretch of water is shallow. During the Ice Age, when much of the world’s water was trapped in glaciers, the bottom of the Bering Strait became a land bridge. This bridge is known today as Beringia. Historians believe that early peoples migrated from Asia to the Americas across this land bridge. They may have been following animal herds. Or changes in Asia’s climate may have forced people northward and across the land bridge. They probably migrated in a series of waves between 35,000 and 8,000 years ago. Some moved into North America. Others migrated south into Mesoamerica, or present-day Mexico and Central America. As early as 10,500 B.C. humans reached South America, Peoples around the world explain their origins with creation myths. These traditional stories explain how the world was formed and how people came into being. Many include a creator or supreme being. Myths are passed down orally or recorded in writing. Historians examine creation myths to understand a people’s customs and values.

Native American creation myths often tell a story of people emerging from an underground world. For example, the Jicarilla Apache, who live in modern-day New Mexico, believe that animals and people once lived in the underworld. They discovered a hole that led to earth. They wandered for a time, exploring the land. Then a supreme being led them to the region where they live today. The earliest people in the Americas were nomads who lived by hunting animals and gathering plants. Among the animals they hunted were mammoths and mastodons, creatures the size of modern elephants. About 11,000 years ago, massive climate changes took place. In the new climate, many large animals became extinct.

ore on plants. A new way of life emerged—farming. The earliest known farming in the Americas began in Mexico. Early farmers raised beans, corn, and squash. In South America and the Caribbean, farmers also raised avocados and sweet potatoes. The potato was first grown in the highlands of Peru. Farming developed more slowly in the Americas than in other parts of the world. Early Native Americans did not invent plows. They used sticks to dig holes and plant seeds. Soon many people in the Americas became farmers. Because the food supply was adequate and reliable, villages and towns grew. As farming techniques improved, food surpluses supported larger populations and settlements. People began to advance in activities other than farming.

1. How did climate change affect the geography of the Americas?

Climate change created a bridge between the Americas and Asia when much of the world’s water was tied up in glaciers. Also, changes in Asia’s climate may have forced people northward and across the land bridge.

2. Why did early Americans turn from hunting and gathering to agriculture?

Early Americans may have turned from hunting to agriculture because large prehistoric animals became extinct, and they had to rely more on plant sources of food.