Land and Peoples
I.
Land
A. 7000 miles from Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego
B. 19% of world land mass
C.
Mostly in the tropics
D. Major civilizations primarily in the highlands
E.
South America bordered by Andes, longest mountain chain (3200 miles) in
the world
F. Highlands in west, mostly flat interior
G.
Amazon has 25,000 miles of navigable rivers
H. Pampas in Argentina some of the richest soil the world
I.
Mexico and C.A. -
highlands in west, tropics in
east.
II.
Indian
A. Crossed Bering Strait in pursuit of game at least 15,000, perhaps much earlier.
B. Slowly moved south, uneven development.
C. 2200 linguistic groups by 1500.
D. Common cultural traits
1. Shaman/animist religions
2. Cultural hero
3. Communal land