wh07 se ch06 s01 s.fm Page 186 Thursday, November 16, …

1 Page 186 Thursday, January 18, 2007 2:12 PM Page 186 Thursday, November 16, 2006 5:29 PM. SECTION 1 Step-by-Step Instruction WITNESS HISTORY. South American bird warrior AUDIO. Objectives As you teach this section, keep students focused on the following objectives to help them answer the Section Focus Question and master core content. Describe when and where people first settled the Americas. 1 Aztec eagle warrior Elite Warriors Uphold an Empire Among the Aztecs, a force of erce soldiers emerged to aid the ruler in maintaining an empire. The most highly regarded ghters were eagle and jaguar warriors, who wore costumes resembling the honored animals for whom they were named (a tradition in other cultures of the Americas as well). Indeed, Aztec warfare served both a political purpose defending the empire and a ritual one. It was the gods whom the Aztec rulers believed granted them the right to rule. Sacri cing humans the captives of battle was the leading way to appeal to the gods.

2 Analyze the main characteristics of the Olmec and Maya civilizations. Focus Question What factors encouraged the rise of powerful civilizations in Mesoamerica? Outline how the Aztec empire and Aztec society took shape. Civilizations of Mesoamerica Objectives The Americas include two continents, North America and South Prepare to Read Describe when and where people rst settled the America. Within these two geographic regions lies a cultural Americas. region called Mesoamerica, which is made up of Mexico and Cen- Build Background Knowledge L3 Analyze the main characteristics of the Olmec tral America. Some of the earliest civilizations in the Americas Ask students to recall the rise of civiliza- and Maya civilizations. developed in Mesoamerica. tions they have studied so far. Based on Outline how the Aztec empire and Aztec society their previous reading, ask them to pre- took shape. People Settle in the Americas dict how ancient civilizations would Terms, People, and Places Sometime between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, most scholars develop in the Americas.

3 Believe, people first arrived in the Americas. Scholars are still try- Mesoamerica Tenochtitl n maize chinampas ing to understand the details of how this great migration occurred. Set a Purpose L3 Olmecs tribute Originally, it was believed that people came from Asia and entered WITNESS HISTORY Read the selection stela Teotihuac n through Alaska. This migration is thought to have taken place Valley of Mexico near the end of the last Ice Age, which lasted from about 100,000. aloud or play the audio. years ago to about 10,000 years ago. During the ice age, so much AUDIO Witness History Audio CD, water froze into thick ice sheets that the sea level dropped, expos- Elite Warriors Uphold an Empire ing a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska in the area that is Reading Skill: Compare and Contrast Use a Ask What was the role of warfare in chart like the one below to take notes on now the Bering Strait. About 10,000 , Earth's climate warmed Aztec society?

4 (Warfare served to similarities and differences in how early people and the ice melted. As a result, water levels rose and covered the defend the empire and to capture adapted to climate and geography in different Bering land bridge. humans for ritual sacrifice to the gods.) parts of the Americas. The earliest evidence supported the theory that hunters fol- What do the artifacts suggest lowed herds of bison and mammoths across the land bridge and about Aztec beliefs? (That they hon- Adapting to the Americas then south through North America, Central America, and South ored predatory animals and valued Climate Geography America. Recent data suggest something different that people migrated to parts of the Americas much earlier and along coastal warfare.) Tell students that they will . routes, perhaps paddling small boats. Although neither theory has learn more about the Aztecs.. been proved, researchers now base the dates of migration into the Focus Point out the Section Focus Americas mostly on evidence found at prehistoric sites.

5 Question and write it on the board. Tell students to refer to this question as they read. (Answer appears with Section 1 Assessment answers.) Vocabulary Builder Preview Have students preview the Use the information below and the following resources to teach the high-use word from this section. Section Objectives and the list of Teaching Resources, Unit 1, p. 107; Skills Handbook, p. 3. Terms, People, and Places. High-Use Word Definition and Sample Sentence Reading Skill Have students use ingenious, p. 192 adj. clever, original, effective the Reading Strategy: Recognize Roger's solution to the puzzle was simple but ingenious. Sequence worksheet. Teaching Resources, Unit 1, p. 108. 186 Civilizations of the Americas Page February Page 187 Friday, 187 Thursday, April 24, 2006 2:59 PM6, 2006 6:14 PM. For: Audio guided tour Geography of the Americas Web Code: nap-0611. Have students read this Map Skills The descendants of the rst S i be ri a Arc t i c O c e a n section using the Paragraph Shrinking Americans spread throughout the Ameri- strategy (TE, p.)

6 T20). As they read, rc l e Bering Strait cas, establishing both small settlements have them fill in the compare-contrast Ci ti c and large civilizations. A rc 1. Locate (a) Bering Strait (b) Gulf of chart showing Olmec, Maya, and Aztec Mexico (c) Amazon River (d) Rocky adaptations to climate and geography. NORTH. AMERICA Mountains Reading and Note Taking ROC. Equal-Area Projection 2. Location Which culture bordered the Study Guide, p. 58.. TS. 0 1000 2000 mi KY. GREAT. M. Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea? N. IA. PLAINS. MT. CH. 30 0 1000 2000 km 3. Draw Inferences In what types of LA. N Mississippi S. PA. SIERRA MAD. SIER. R. AP. environments did the Inca live? The RA. Teach MA. Gulf of Aztecs? DR. RE. Mexico EO. At lan t i c OR EN. CC. Pa c i fi c I EN. ID. TA L. O cean TA. O cean L. Caribbean Sea OLMEC. CIVILIZATION. People Settle in the N. Americas L3. 0 W E zo n R. Equator Ama S A SOU TH Instruct A M ER ICA.

7 N. Introduce Direct students' attention D. ES. Brazilian High lan d s to the Geography of the Americas map. MT. Land bridge about 18,000 The Inca were famous for S. Olmec civilization, 1500 400 Maya civilization, 250 900. Atacama Desert their goldwork, such as Have them locate the Bering Strait Aztec empire, 1325 1521 this gurine of a llama. land bridge which many scholars Inca empire, 1438 1535. 30 . S. believe the first Americans crossed . Mesoamerica and the borders of Mesoamerica. 60 W. 150 W 120 W 90 W 30 W 0 . Teach Ask students, using the map in their text, to locate and characterize the different environments early set- Adapting to New Environments The first Americans faced a vari- tlers would have confronted in the ety of environments in which they could settle. For example, great moun- Americas. At each location, ask stu- tain chains the Rockies, the eastern and western Sierra Madre, and the dents to clarify what environmental Andes dominate the western Americas.

8 In addition, through the conti- challenges settlers faced and how they nents flow two of the world's four longest rivers, the Amazon of South might have adapted to the surrounding America and the Mississippi of North America. Far to the north and south of the continents, people learned to survive in icy, treeless lands. environment. Closer to the Equator, people settled in the hot, wet climate and dense Quick Activity Have students access vegetation of the Amazon rain forest. Elsewhere, hunters adapted to Web Code nap-0611 to take the deserts like the Atacama of Chile, woodlands like those in eastern North Geography Interactive Audio America, and the fertile plains of both continents. Guided Tour and then answer the People Begin to Farm and Build Villages In the Americas, as else- map skills questions in the text. where, the greatest adaptation occurred when people learned to domesti- cate plants and animals.

9 These changes took place slowly between about Independent Practice 8500 and 2000 In Mesoamerica, Neolithic people cultivated a Have students begin to complete the Out- range of crops, including beans, sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, line Map Mesoamerican Civilizations, squash, and maize the Native American name for corn. People in identifying the region of Mesoamerica South America cultivated crops such as maize and cassava and domesti- and its natural features. cated llamas and other animals valued for their wool. By 3000 in parts of South America and 1500 in parts of Mesoamerica, farmers Teaching Resources, Unit 1, p. 114. had settled in villages. Populations then expanded, and some villages eventually grew into the great early cities of the Americas. Monitor Progress How did early Americans adapt to different As students fill in their charts, circulate to environments? make sure they list similarities in adapta- tions among early settlers.

10 For a com- pleted version of the chart, see Note Taking Transparencies, 72A. History Background Settlement Clues Excavations at Monte Verde, the Bering Straits, while the earlier accepted oldest Answers Chile, have contributed dramatic evidence to the artifacts in New Mexico are much farther north. Peo- debate over just how long ago the first migrations to ple would have needed many years to reach Monte by learning to hunt and to domesticate plants the Americas occurred. In 1997, a team of scientists Verde, so must have begun migrating much earlier suited to each environment concluded that artifacts uncovered at Monte Verde than previously thought. More recently, scientists at Map Skills were at least 12,500 years old. This was over 1,000 Monte Verde have explored a second site that may 1. Review locations with students. years older than previous discoveries had indicated. In indicate even older human activity.