1.2

• Before the Europeans arrived, native American peoples organized themselves into diverse cultures depending on where they live
• Native Americans did not all live the same way - some lived in fishing villages, others were nomadic hunters and gatherers, some settled down and farmed, and others lived in large city-based empires
• Central and South American Civilizations

  • Boasted large urban centers
  • Had complex political systems
  • Had well-formed religions
• Central and South American Civilizations

  • Aztecs (Mexica)
  • Maya
  • Inca
• Maize


  A nutritious corn-like crop that spread north and supported economic development, settlement, irrigation, and social diversification
• Native Peoples of North America

  • Pueblo
  • Ute
  • Chinook
  • Chumash
  • Hopewell
  • Cahokia
  • Iroquois
• Pueblo People


  • Sedentary farmers of maize and other crops
  • Built adobe and masonry homes, some in cliffs
  • Highly organized society with administrative offices, religious centers, and craft shops
• Great Plains and Great Basin Peoples


  • Nomadic hunter-gatherers who needed large areas of land
  • Lived in small egalitarian kinship-based bands
• Pacific Northwest Peoples


  • Settled in fishing villages
  • Relied on elk and used cedar trees to build large plank houses
• Chumash People


  • Hunters and gatherers who lived in permanent settlements
• Hopewell People


  • Lived in towns of 4,000-6,000 people
  • Traded extensively with other regions
• Cahokia People


  • Largest settlement in the region, 10,000-30,000 people
  • Centralized government led by powerful chieftains
  • Engaged in extensive trade networks
• Iroquois


  • Grew crops like maize, squash, and beans
  • Lived in villages in longhouses with 30-50 family members