Lesson 1: Early Native Groups

Why did the first hunter-gatherers travel from Asia to North America?

• to find better farm land

• to follow herds of animals for food

• they wanted to see The Grand Canyon

• They were bored

The _________ builders lived in the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys.

Click on the area where the Desert Peoples were located.

Click on the area where the Mound Builders were settled.

Click on the area where the Maya and Olmec were settled.

Match the following pictures with the native group that lived there.

• Mound Builders

• 
• Olmec and Maya

• 
• Desert Peoples

• 

“In cities such as Uxmal, Tikal, and Copan, the Maya built great palaces for their rulers and

huge pyramid temples to honor their gods. These structures were covered with elaborate

carvings and inscriptions in their system of picture writing. Scholars often refer to such

inscriptions as hieroglyphs. The meaning of these inscriptions was unknown for centuries after

Maya civilization collapsed. Thorough translations appeared in the mid-1900s.”

What is the meaning of the term hieroglyphs?

• structures that honor ancient gods

• modern versions of ancient languages

• people who study ancient cultures

• symbols used in picture writing

What happened to make hunter-gatherers in the Americas stop hunting and begin growing

their own plants?

• Several kinds of animals they hunted had died off.

• People decided they wanted more variety in their diet.

• Some of the people began to focus on arts and religion.

• The climate grew so hot that hunting became too difficult.