AMSCO US History Topic 1.2 – Native American Societies Before European Contact
Learning Objective – Explain how various native populations interacted with the natural environment in
North America in the period before European contact
Original discovery and settlement of North and South America began at least 10,000 and maybe up to
40,000 years ago
- Bering Land Bridge
o connected Siberia and Alaska
o Migrants from Asia are believed to have crossed
o Submerged under Bering Sea
- Over time, people migrated southward from near the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South
America
- Through adaptation to their environments, they evolved into hundreds of tribes speaking
hundreds of languages
- 1491 - population in the Americas was between 50 million -100 million people
Cultures of Central and Southern America
- Mayas
o 300-800 AD
o Built remarkable cities in the rain forests of the Yucatan Peninsula
o Present day Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico
- Aztec
o Several centuries after decline of the Maya (approximately 13 th to 16th centuries)
o Capital – Tenochtitlan; population of 200,000
- Inca
o Based in Peru approximately the same time as the Aztec
o Based in Peru
o Centralized**
- All three developed highly organized societies, carried extensive trade, and created calendars
that were based on accurate scientific observations. They also cultivated crops that provided a
stable food supply
Corn for Maya and Aztec
Potatoes for the Inca
Cultures of North America – The population in present day US and Canada in the 1490s was from
approximately under 1 million to 10 million people
- General Patterns
o Societies in North America had fewer people and less complex social structures than
those of Central and South America
o Because….
Learning Objective – Explain how various native populations interacted with the natural environment in
North America in the period before European contact
Original discovery and settlement of North and South America began at least 10,000 and maybe up to
40,000 years ago
- Bering Land Bridge
o connected Siberia and Alaska
o Migrants from Asia are believed to have crossed
o Submerged under Bering Sea
- Over time, people migrated southward from near the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South
America
- Through adaptation to their environments, they evolved into hundreds of tribes speaking
hundreds of languages
- 1491 - population in the Americas was between 50 million -100 million people
Cultures of Central and Southern America
- Mayas
o 300-800 AD
o Built remarkable cities in the rain forests of the Yucatan Peninsula
o Present day Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico
- Aztec
o Several centuries after decline of the Maya (approximately 13 th to 16th centuries)
o Capital – Tenochtitlan; population of 200,000
- Inca
o Based in Peru approximately the same time as the Aztec
o Based in Peru
o Centralized**
- All three developed highly organized societies, carried extensive trade, and created calendars
that were based on accurate scientific observations. They also cultivated crops that provided a
stable food supply
Corn for Maya and Aztec
Potatoes for the Inca
Cultures of North America – The population in present day US and Canada in the 1490s was from
approximately under 1 million to 10 million people
- General Patterns
o Societies in North America had fewer people and less complex social structures than
those of Central and South America
o Because….
