American Pageant Chapter 1 Summary
Shaping North America
350 million years ago- The Appalachian Mountains formed
225 million years ago- Earth’s supercontinent broke up into separate continents.
135-25 million years ago- Western North American mountain ranges formed.
10 Million years ago- North America’s basic geological shape is formed
2 Million years ago- The Ice Age begins; glaciers carve into the land creating formations such as the Great Lakes.
10,000 years ago- The Ice Age ends
Peopling the Americas
Evidence suggests that the first people came to America across a land bridge from Eurasia to North America. It is also a controversial theory that some people came to America from across the Pacific Ocean via boats, although this theory is much less supported. Asian tribes probably first came across the land bridge following migratory hears of animals, and once the ice age ended, and the glaciers melted, the tribes were marooned in North America. Over time, these tribes dispersed and traveled as far as South America, forming their own cultures and some building great empires such as the Aztecs, the Mayans, and the Incans.
The Earliest Americans
When Mexican natives developed wild grass into corn, it allowed tribes to establish permanent settlements, ultimately leading to the birth of centralized Aztec and Incan nation-states as well as other native tribes to grow in number and technological advance. This new process of cultivating corn spread throughout America, allowing tribes all over the continent to settle in one place and advance their population, although most tribes in North America never progressed into empires like the Aztecs. Groups that used corn to build large tribes include the Mound Builders of the Ohio River valley, the Mississippian culture, and the southwest Anasazi. When corn cultivation reached the Atlantic coast, a method, known as three-sister farming, developed.
Indirect Discoveries of the New World
The first Europeans to land in the Americas were the Norse
350 million years ago- The Appalachian Mountains formed
225 million years ago- Earth’s supercontinent broke up into separate continents.
135-25 million years ago- Western North American mountain ranges formed.
10 Million years ago- North America’s basic geological shape is formed
2 Million years ago- The Ice Age begins; glaciers carve into the land creating formations such as the Great Lakes.
10,000 years ago- The Ice Age ends
Peopling the Americas
Evidence suggests that the first people came to America across a land bridge from Eurasia to North America. It is also a controversial theory that some people came to America from across the Pacific Ocean via boats, although this theory is much less supported. Asian tribes probably first came across the land bridge following migratory hears of animals, and once the ice age ended, and the glaciers melted, the tribes were marooned in North America. Over time, these tribes dispersed and traveled as far as South America, forming their own cultures and some building great empires such as the Aztecs, the Mayans, and the Incans.
The Earliest Americans
When Mexican natives developed wild grass into corn, it allowed tribes to establish permanent settlements, ultimately leading to the birth of centralized Aztec and Incan nation-states as well as other native tribes to grow in number and technological advance. This new process of cultivating corn spread throughout America, allowing tribes all over the continent to settle in one place and advance their population, although most tribes in North America never progressed into empires like the Aztecs. Groups that used corn to build large tribes include the Mound Builders of the Ohio River valley, the Mississippian culture, and the southwest Anasazi. When corn cultivation reached the Atlantic coast, a method, known as three-sister farming, developed.
Indirect Discoveries of the New World
The first Europeans to land in the Americas were the Norse