Early American Civilization Timeline

By ArtyD2
  • Period: 30,000 BCE to 1492

    Early American Civilization

  • 29,000 BCE

    The first migration

    hunters who were following animals from Asia to cross over to the Americas.
  • 10,000 BCE

    The Land bridge disappears

    By 10,000 BC, the land bridge was covered with water once again, leaving hunters and gatherers in the Americas.
  • 7000 BCE

    The rise of farming

    people in South America and central Mexico started to plant seeds to grow food. They learned how to raise an early form of corn called maize. They also planted beans, squash, tomatoes, and sunflowers.
  • 1300 BCE

    The Olmec Civilization

    From 1300 BC to 400 BC, the Olmec people lived along the Gulf Coast of what is now southern Mexico. The Olmec civilization developed specialized jobs and became farmers, fishers, artists, sculptors, and priests. They are known as the first Americans to use stone in sculpture and architecture.
  • 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 Mayans

    The Mayan culture existed from about 300 BC to AD 909 in what is now southern Mexico and Guatemala. Maize (corn) was their main food. Mayans formed corn dough into flat cakes similar to modern-day tortillas
  • 100 BCE

    The Hopewell Mound Builders

    . The Hopewell Mound Builders lodged in the same area as the Adena People around 100 BC to AD 500.
  • 1 CE

    Year 0

  • 200

    The Anasazi

    The Anasazi culture emerged in the Southwest in the Four Corners area (where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet) around AD 200 and lasted until around AD 1300. They used irrigation to water their farms in the desert.
  • 700

    The Mississippians

    The Mississippian civilization existed from AD 700 to AD 1600. The Mississippians settled in the river valleys of present-day Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
  • 900

    The Mayans disappear

    Around 900 AD, the Mayan civilization disappeared for reasons unknown. Experts believe food shortages and wars were the causes. The Mayan civilization is gone, but descendants still live in Guatemala and Mexico. They speak a Mayan language and follow the customs and traditions of their ancestors.
  • 900

    The Mississippians build Cahokia

    The largest community of Mound Builders was Cahokia, which is in present-day Illinois. This city was built after 900 AD by people called the Mississippians and had a population of around 16,000 or more.
  • 1100

    The Aztecs

    Around AD 1100, the Aztecs settled in the Valley of Mexico. Roughly 225 years later, they moved to an area around Lake Texcoco, called Tenochtitlan (which means "land of prickly pear cactus"). War was important to their people, and Aztec soldiers captured their enemies. Aztec culture is still present in Mexican culture today.
  • 1300

    The Anasazi migration

    Around AD 1300, the Anasazi began leaving the pueblos and cliff dwellings to live in smaller communities. The large villages were probably abandoned because of drought (long periods of little rain), during which the crops would have dried up.
  • 1400

    The Incas

    The Incas established their empire around AD 1400 to AD 1572 in southern Peru. Incas conquered neighboring people and eventually stretched from present-day Ecuador to central Chile. Both the Aztec and Inca built great stone monuments that tell about their lives.
  • 1420

    The Aztecs build their Capitol

    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.
  • 1428

    The great alliance

    In AD 1428, Itzcoatl, the Aztec leader, helped the Aztecs to form a three-way alliance with the Texcocans and the Tacubans to conquer their rivals for influence in the region. The Aztec army conquered almost all rural communities through central and southern Mexico.
  • 1492

    Columbus discovers the East Indies

    It's the end of the world as we know it.
  • 1532

    The Incan civil war

    Inca Empire was weakened by civil war.
  • 1533

    The Spanish invasion

    The Spanish invaded the Incan empire
  • 1572

    The end of the Incan Empire

    The Empire ended due to civil war and Spanish Conquistadors