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Chapter 1
The First Civilizations of North America
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Explain the development of human settlement in the Americas, including key features of
early Mesoamerican, South American, and North American societies.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Until recently most students were taught that American history began with Columbus’s
“discovery” of the New World a little over 500 years ago. But beginning at this point ignores the
vast and rich story of Native Americans, which reaches back at least some 15,000 years to the
last Ice Age. The peopling of the Americas began when nomadic hunters from Asia crossed the
THEMES
A Continent of Cultures
As the first human inhabitants crossed the Bering Strait and moved onto the soil of
North America, they found a bountiful supply of big-game animals known as megafauna.
These animals supplied the earliest settlers with all their material needs. As the last Ice Age
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the common people. The Olmecs were the first city-builders in the Americas, but their
accomplishments were outdone by the achievements of the Mayans, who boasted dozens of
urban centers featuring bridges, aqueducts, and observatories, as well as a sophisticated system
of mathematics, a highly accurate calendar, and a written language.
Among the cultures that developed in the Great Plains, the Great Basin, the Subarctic and Arctic
regions, and in the Pacific Northwest, there was great cultural diversity. Great farming villages
developed along the tree-lined streams and rivers of the Great Plains, but other people in this
same region migrated with the seasons and relied for their survival almost entirely on hunting
bison. In the Great Basin, while men did track and trap certain animals for food, the staples of
their diet were seeds, nuts, and plants gathered by women.
Innovations and Limitations
While these first Americans created a tremendously diverse group of cultures, they shared a
common desire and ability to reshape their world. By experimenting with the resources around
them, they created farming breakthroughs that have sustained peoples around the world. Plants
domesticated by indigenous Americans, including corn, squash, potatoes, and beans, today
account for three-fifths of the world’s crops, and have revolutionized the world’s diet for better
and for worse. Native Americans also implemented more drastic changes in the landscape, from
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population did not build immunities to disease comparable to those of their Eurasian
counterparts, a distinction that would have disastrous consequences for Native Americans in the
decades after European contact.
Crisis and Transformation
Great changes occurred in the cultures of the Americas during the three to four hundred years
before the arrival of Europeans on these shores. Many well-developed and sophisticated cultures
in America declined significantly or disappeared during this period of time. The explanations for
their decline and/or disappearance are one of the past’s greatest mysteries. Those inhabitants that
LECTURE STRATEGIES
Global Ice-Age Cultures
An important theme to develop at the beginning of the course is the global context in which
American history evolved over thousands of years. In this vein, a lecture on the various theories
of cultural development or a lecture on the major developments in the world at the time of the
Role of Environment in the Diversity of American Cultures
At the beginning of the course, it is equally important to stress the environmental context in
which the wide diversity of American cultures evolved, emphasizing certain theories of
Myth of Minimal Environmental Impact
It might be pedagogically helpful to play with the romantic notion that students may have of
Native Americans living in perfect harmony with the natural world around them. As the textbook
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General Lecture
As this chapter introduces the Native American civilizations living in North America prior to
European contact, students should be cautioned not to underestimate the depth and sophistication
of the Native American civilizations. Great care is taken to present the Native Americans as
intelligent people that were capable of exploiting their environments, developing rich cultures
and thriving cities long before the onset of European influence. Future chapters explore what
happens as Europeans and Native Americans interact with one another.
Once students have a grounding in the differences, move on to a presentation of why these
differences might have occurred. Tell them about the north-south orientation of the continent
and how that impacted native cultures. You should mention that it held back the sharing of
agriculture, culture, and language. It also meant the groups had different climates to contend
with, and this produced different approaches to environmental control. The text offers examples
of the Amazon rainforest being, at least in part, manmade (or controlled), the use of fire as a tool
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Cultural Development and Environment
The huge span of prehistoric time examined in this chapter gives students a tremendous
opportunity to think about the ways that human societies and cultures develop. You may want
to take the opportunity to introduce students to various theories of cultural development put
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Evaluating Cultures
It is important to challenge preconceived notions that students might have about cultures other
than their own. It may be useful to ask students to think about what exactly we are saying when
this terminology, students should begin to question the hierarchy of cultures that it may imply.
Archaeology and History
This chapter relies heavily on evidence from archaeological sources as well as historical ones.
Illustrating the theoretical and methodological differences and similarities between the
disciplines of history and archeology might be helpful in revealing to students the different
Differences in Cultural Perceptions
One way to engage students is to ask them to study the different Native American cultures
discussed in the chapter. What sets the societies apart? How are the societies similar? How did
their location impact the development of the civilization? Students will enjoy the relatively easy
task of selecting characteristics for these categories. This exercise will help them see the native
civilizations as a rich, diverse, and sophisticated group.
What impact did the Native American cultures have on the Europeans? What did the native
civilizations contribute to European society? How did this affect the way Europeans felt toward
the natives? Conversely, examine how the Europeans contributed to the native civilizations. Was
the European contribution positive, negative, or a combination of both? Why?
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did the north-south orientation of the continent prevent the societies from sharing agricultural
advancements? What did the orientation of the continent do to the animal populations? How did
this impact the Native American societies before/after the arrival of Europeans?
POWER OF PROCESS FOR PRIMARY SOURCES
Power of Process for Primary Sources is a critical thinking tool for reading and writing about
primary sources. As part of Connect History, McGraw-Hill Education’s learning platform, Power
of Process contains a database of over 400 searchable primary sources in addition to the
capability for instructors to upload their own sources. Instructors can then select a series of
strategies for students to use to analyze and comment upon a source. The Power of Process
framework helps students develop essential academic skills such as understanding, analyzing,
and synthesizing readings and visuals such as maps, leading students toward higher order
thinking and writing.