Native Americans

How did they get here?

migrated on foot from Siberia (in Asia), to

Alaska across a land bridge that no longer

exists.

Native Americans' View of the Land

They lived in harmony with the land;

Didn't believe you could own the land as a personal property

Native Americans of CaliforniaFood Sources:

salmon; shellfish; rabbits; ducks; roots, berries; acorns

Shelter:

simple homes covered with reeds or bark

Clothing:

simple aprons/skirts from grass (warm)

animal hides during the colder months

Native Americans of the Great Basin

Food:

migrating ducks and their eggs; snakes, grasshoppers, mostly ate plants

Shelter:

temporary shelters (migrated from place to place)

clothing: during the cold months they made robes from rabbit hides (about 100 rabbit hides)

Native Americans of the Plateau

Food:

hunters/gatherers - relied mainly on fish and plants

Shelter:

build villages along rivers, houses made of driftwood

Clothing: hides for winter, weaving clothes and hats

Native Americans of the Southeast

Food:

farming

Shelters:

built towns around earthen mounds

Clothing:

deerskin skirts and cloth

European Exploration and Settlement

Europeans interested in lands that lay to the east.

For example, China

The Americas were found as explorers were trying to locate a new trade route the China because of the travels of Marco Polo to Asia

Spain

As the printing press made books more available, more and more people read about Marco Polo's time in China/Asia

Spain

Christopher Columbus

Believed shortest route to Indies was west, across the Atlantic Ocean

He needed $ for the trip

He convinced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to pay for the trip.

Spain

In August 1492, Columbus sailed west with 3 small ships.

After a month they found what they thought were the Indies, but it was really the Caribbean Islands.

He called the new people he encountered Indians.

Spain

The "Indians" were fascinated by these new people;

Columbus claimed the land for Spain.

He returned to Spain for more ships and supplies.

He returned four more times, finding more islands he would claim for Spain.

Columbia Exchange

Native Americans get a raw deal

Slavery, had been around since ancient times

The Conquistadors

Spanish Borderlands

New France

English Colonies

Jamestown