Early American Civilization Timeline

By idreese
  • 30,000 BCE

    30,000 bc people walk to the Americas

    Around 30,000 BC, natural land bridges were made when water levels dropped during the Ice Age. Hunters then followed animals from Asia to cross over to the Americas.
  • 10,000 BCE

    10,000 BC the Bridge to the Americas turn to water

    10,000 BC, the land bridge was covered with water once again, leaving hunters and gatherers in the Americas. People started planting around 7000 BC in what is now central Mexico.
  • 1300 BCE

    The Olmec

    The olmec people were one of the first civilizations in the Americas. They grew corn, beans, and squash and were well known for thier stone sculptures.
  • 800 BCE

    The Adena people

    The Adena people, one of the first Mound Builders, lived along the Ohio River between 800 BC and 100 BC.
  • 300 BCE

    The Mayan culture

    Mayan culture existed from 300 bc to AD 909. The Mayan's ate corn dough that was like today's tortillas.
  • 200 BCE

    The Hopewell People

    The Hopewell people were Mound Builders from 200 BC to AD 500.
    They were farmers and traders. The Hopewell people built burial mounds in the shapes of birds, bears, and snakes.
  • 1 CE

    The Anasazi

    The Anasazi lived from around AD 1 to AD 1300.They lived in an area called, Four Corners, where todays Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico come together.
  • 700

    The Mississippian civilization

    The Mississippian civilization was from AD 700 to AD 1600. The Mississippians lived in valleys of what we call Mississippi today. They lived in square or rectangular houses made of timber, mud, and thatch. They were mainly farmers.
  • 1000

    The Cahokia

    The Cahokia lived along the Mississippi River around AD 1000. They built small, rounded piles of earth to bury their dead.
  • 1100

    the Aztecs

    Around AD 1100, the Aztecs settled in the Valley of Mexico.
  • 1300

    The end of the Anasazi Civilization

    They disappeared around 1300.
  • 1300

    The Aztec's move to lake Texcoc

    Around 1300AD thee Aztec's moved to an area around Lake Texcoco, called Tenochtitlan
  • 1400

    The Incas

    The Incas empire was established around AD 1400 to AD 1572 in south Peru.
  • 1420

    the great city of Tenochtitlan

    By AD 1420, the great city of Tenochtitlan emerged on an island in Lake Texcoco, now part of Mexico City. Tenochtitlan means "land of prickly pear cactus" in Nahuatl, an Aztec language that is still spoken in Mexico today. Tenochtitlan's construction was an engineering feat built with human laborers. Priests and nobles gave the orders to a common work force who worked day and night to get the city built.
  • 1500

    The Navajo get horses from the Spanish

    The Navajo lived in northern New Mexico. They learned farming and weaving from the Pueblo people. The Navajo lived in dome-shaped houses made with log or stick frames that are called hogans. Navajo were obtained sheep, goats, cattle, and horses in the 1500s when the Spanish came to America. They became expert horse riders and shepherds. The Navajo continue till this day.
  • 1521

    End of Aztec Empire

    In AD 1519, Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador, first led his soldiers to the Aztec civilization. The invasion let to Montezuma's death. The diseases the Spanish brought were extremely deadly to the Aztecs. By AD 1521, the Spaniards had defeated the Aztecs and ended their empire.
  • 1572

    End of inca Empire

    Civil war In AD 1532 weakened the Inca empire. In 1533 the Spanish invaded and by 1572 the Inca Empire was over.

  • The Mississippian civilization end

    The Mississippian civilization came to an end with the arrival of the Europeans. The Europeans' diseases killed many of the Mississippians. Many of the remaining people moved their settlements in order to trade more easily with the Europeans, and they eventually ended up disbanding.

  • Treaties and Agreements with the Utes

    In the 1700s the Ute and Comanche tribes started peace talks so the two powerful tribes could reigned over the southwestern plains, however, peace talks were ended and a fifty-year war started. Peace talks were restarted and a treaty was signed in 1977.

  • The Ute

    The Ute people lived in parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The Ute were made up from two tribes; the Southern Ute tribe and the Mountain Ute tribe. Because there was little food, they lived in small family groups from spring to the end of fall. They hunted during those times of year. They also gathered grass seeds, wild berries, and other fruits.