When, from where, and how did the first humans arrive in North America?
- The ancestors or bearers of the Native Americans
What impact did the arrival of humans have on America?
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What was maize and how did it impact Native American culture?
- Within several thousand years farmers in Central America had developed maize that resembled modern corn.
- The leafy stalk produces ears, which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable or starch. The Olmec and Mayans cultivated it in numerous varieties throughout central and southern Mexico, cooked, ground or processed through nixtamalization. Between 1700 and 1250 BCE, the crop spread through much of the Americas. The region developed a trade network based on surplus and varieties of maize crops. After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, explorers and traders carried maize back to Europe and introduced it to other countries.
Did all Native Americans speak the same language?
- No, at least 250 different languages before Columbus came to America
What cultural differences existed between Native American groups?
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What similarities, if any, did they have with European civilization?
- Had empires
Who were the first Europeans in America?
- Vikings (– almost 500 years before Columbus.
- Sagas: wrote their stuff down on stones
- Vikings going west settlement in Eastern Canada 1000A.D. led by Leif Eriksson established 1st European colony in America called Vinland – Didn’t last, eternal disagreements, couldn’t get along with Native Americans.)
Into what period of European history was Columbus born?
- In the Renaissance (rebirth) period. (Born in Italy in 1450)
What was Columbus’ purpose in making his 1492 voyage?
- Columbus discovers America to figure out a trade route to the Far East.
(- He was a mapmaker. Italians has been conducting trades with the far