The First Americans

I'm currently re-reading some old notes from my AP Human Geography class that I took as a Freshmen in High School. As I look back, I remember that I adored learning and reading in that class, whereas a lot of my classmates were indifferent and despised the subject. I came upon some theories regarding the origin of America and I thought I would share them on my blog.

Basically, scientists have many ideas about how the first people came to the Americas. But overall, there are two main theories, The Land Bridge Theory and The Coastal-Route Theory.

The Land Bridge Theory:

Between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago, the Earth was covered in ice making the ocean level drop and the water freezing into glaciers. Scientist believe that hunters from Asia traveled along these glaciers looking for food, until eventually they reached America.

The Coastal- Route Theory:

Scientists believe that people may have arrived by boat by traveling along the Pacific coast.

Many of the first people learned skills once they came into the Americas. One of the most important is irrigation... This became very useful because they could grow more crops easier and more efficiently. Because of irrigation, farmers were able to even have a surplus of crops. Having that, the population began growing rapidly and farmers were able to trade their crops with others.

Later on, civilizations began forming among the Americas. The Mayas and the Aztecs were two of the major ones. Their civilizations were very organized and growing over time. They were always developing new methods and industries, which are used and preserved by mankind today.

Timeline/facts about ancient Americans:

A.D. 250- A.D. 900: Many civilizations developed new ways to grow and improve their cities. The Mayas built large public plazas, pyramids, temples ball courts and palaces. They also developed arts, a system of government and a written language. They also observed the stars and created calendars.

Around A.D. 900: The Aztecs built a great capital city, Tenochtitlan. It had stone roadways and floating platforms for crops. More than 200,000 people resided there, making it the largest city in the world at the time.

1400s: The Incas were in South America and (at the time) the largest empire in the world. The Capital, Cuzco was linked with other cities and towns. They were great architects, always constructing buildings and temples. There were also engineers who developed new ways of farming.

It's so fascinating that these important civilizations developed skills that would shape the world for centuries to come!