WH Chapter 7 Intro
- 2. SETTING THE SCENE Aztec “Legend of the Suns”---The universe was created and destroyed four times. People living under the First Sun had been destroyed by jaguars. People living under the Second Sun were swept away by wind. People living under the Third Sun perished in the fire and ash of volcanoes. The people living under the Fourth Sun were swallowed by water. The Fifth Sun represented the time of the Aztec empire. Main point of this legend---important role of the sun in Aztec religion and feeling helpless in the face of harsh forces of nature
- 3. GEOGRAPHY OF THE AMERICAS Perhaps as early as 30,000 years ago, according to some scholars, small groups of Paleolithic hunters and gatherers reached North America from Asia Migration took place during the last Ice Age---a land bridge was exposed between Siberia and Alaska in the Bering Strait because of a drop in sea water due to freezing The people migrated to follow food across the land bridge or may have used boats to begin to fish along the coasts
- 4. BERING STRAIT LAND BRIDGE
- 5. GEOGRAPHY OF THE AMERICAS About 10,000 BC, the Earth’s climate grew warmer (global warming) and the land bridge was covered by the rising sea People needed to adapt to the new environment by hunting smaller animals, fishing, and gathering fruits and shellfish The nomadic hunter-gatherers migrated eastward and westward across the Americas
- 6. REGIONS The Americas are made up of three distinct areas-- North America Middle America (Mexico and Central America) South America
- 10. MOUNTAIN CHAINS The great mountain chain in North America is the Rocky Mountains The great mountain chain in Middle America is the Sierra Madres The great mountain chain in South America is the Andes
- 12. ROCKY MOUNTAINS (NORTH AMERICA)
- 13. ROCKY MOUNTAINS (NORTH AMERICA)
- 15. SIERRA MADRES (MIDDLE AMERICA)
- 16. SIERRA MADRES (MIDDLE AMERICA)
- 17. ANDES MAP
- 20. RIVERS The continents are drained by two of the world’s three longest rivers North America---Mississippi River South America---Amazon River
- 23. AMAZON MAP
- 24. AMAZON RIVER
- 25. THE POLES North Pole South Pole Both of these places consist of icy, frozen environments
- 26. NORTH POLE
- 31. SOUTH POLE
- 34. DESERTS When many people think of South America they think of jungles and rain forests…however, there is actually a desert in South America and it is the world’s highest desert…the Atacama Desert Besides being the world’s highest desert, the Atacama is also the world’s driest place There is on average less than .004 inches of rain per year Some places in the Atacama Desert have not had rainfall for over 400 years!!!
- 36. ATACAMA DESERT
- 37. ATACAMA DESERT
- 38. ATACAMA DESERT
- 39. ATACAMA DESERT Let’s watch a cool video!!!
- 40. THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION In the Americas, as elsewhere, the greatest adaptation occurred when some people learned to cultivate plants and domesticate animals Neolithic peoples in Mexico started to grow crops such as sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, and squash Early farmers learned to domesticate animals In South America, llamas were prized for their wool
- 41. LLAMAS!!!
- 42. THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION In the Americas, as in Africa and Eurasia, the agricultural revolution helped to cause other changes-- Farming people settled into villages Populations expanded Villages grew into cities and then civilizations