Edith Abrahamson, age 13, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for her question:
WHEN DID PEOPLE FIRST COME TO LATIN AMERICA?
More than 20,000 years ago before Christopher Columbus came to the Americas, the first peoples came from Asia to the Western Hemisphere.
Scientists aren't sure exactly how the first residents arrived. They may have crossed from Asia on a land bridge during the glacial period. Or they may have traveled in boats across the Bering Strait, or from island to island in the Aleutians. But we do know they gradually spread southward throughout the Americas.
These people from Asia, whom we now call American Indians, wandered about the land hunting and fishing. After many generations in America, some of the tribes developed new ways of living.
Instead of wandering, some of the Indians built communities of farms. They were the first people to grow cacao, corn, kidney and lima beans, potatoes and squash. In areas where farmers could raise good crops and lead pleasant lives, the population grew rapidly.
The Mayan culture became the first highly developed civilization in the Western Hemisphere. It began in Central America hundreds of years before the birth of Christ.
By 600 B.C., the Maya had developed a calendar and a system of picture writing. They also developed styles of architecture, sculpture and metalwork. They had a highly organized government and a great knowledge of astronomy and agriculture.
By the time of the Spanish invasion in the 1500s, three major Indian civilizations flourished in Latin America: the Maya in Central America; the Aztec in Mexico; and the Inca in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
These civilizations greatly influenced the later development of Latin America. The gold and silver produced by their mines led the Spanish invaders to conquer the Indians as quickly as possible.
From above1500 to 1800, Spaniards and Portuguese by the thousands poured into thenew lands of Latin America. Planters established cotton, fruit and sugar planations in much of the conquered territory, especially in northeastern Brazil, the Caribbean islands and Central America.
Restless seekers of gold and silver roamed the vast regions from Mexico to present day Bolivia.
Wherever the Europeans went, they forced many of the Indians to work for them in the fields, forests and mines. African slaves wre first brought to Latin America in the early 1500s.
At first, the east coast of South America offered little attraction for the colonists. Few Indians lived there, and the region had no signs of gold or silver. As a result, the east coast was sparsely settled until the 1600s, when the Europeans saw that its land was good for cattle and crops.
Most of Latin America was colonized before the first permanent English settlers landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.