America In The Beginning

Who were the first Americans?

How and why did they come here?

30,000 years ago During a period of low temperatures called an ice

age.The world was covered in glaciers or sheets of ice.

This caused ocean levels to

drop and expose

land.In the Bering straight a land bridge appeared connecting North American

& Asia.

This land bridge is known as Beringia.

Animals like mammoths crossed the bridge or migrated to the America's.

Hunter's in Asia who moved from place to place to

find food or nomads followed the mammoths and spread out or migrated to the America's

The ice age ended

warming up glaciers

causing water levels to rise covering up the land .

Some animals died off like mamoths.

Living in many different parts of the Americas the Natives needed

to adjust or adapt to every

thing in the new surrounds that

made up each of their own

environmentsin order to survive.

What happened when they came to America?

How did they meet their new needs?

America In The Beginning

America In The Beginning

Living in many different parts of the Americas the Natives used the different natural recourses in their own different environments for food, clothing, and shelter.

Different groups in different

environments developed their own beliefs and ways of life or

culture. Groups in the same

environments adapted similar life styles, and

language creating cultural nations.

Many Native American have these things in common.1. Nature has a spirit.2. No one can own land.4. Only use what is needed.5. Trade was important to most societies

How did Native Americans adjust to the new environments?

What did they have in common?

8 Cultural Regions

North West Coast

California

Plateau

Great Basin

South West

Great Plains

Eastern Woodlands

South East

California

NorthwestPlateau

Great Plains

Great Basin

Northeast

SouthwestSoutheast

8 Cultural Regions

North West Coast Weather:long cold winterscool summersheavy rainfall

Natural Resources:ocean/beachesthick forests of fir, spruce, and cedarrugged mountainsseafood/salmondeer, moose, bear, elk, beaver, mountain goatsCulture descriptions

Used cedar canoes to huntFenced in salmon laying eggsused cedar to make rope, mats and basketsshell needles used wedges, sledge hammers, drills, and knifes to carve wooden masks

Clothing:Cedar water proof clothing like capes withdecorative shell buttons

Shelter: lived near the coastCedar Long Houses with cedar bark roofs

California Weather: rainy wintershot dry summers

Natural Resources:ocean/coastfoothillsvalley'sdesertsmountainsacorns, oak treesgrass, and plantsredwood trees

salmon/seafood/shellfishdeer, rabbits, ducks, roots berries, pine nuts

Used Bows& arrows, snares, and nets, used cooking stones to heat acorn meal tools from antlers

Clothing: grass/leather aprons and skirts

Shelter: Cone shaped made of redwood bark, pole, and reeds woven into mats

Great Basin Weather:little rainhot during the day cold at nightNatural Resources:

mostly dessertlow areas surrounded by mountains at the edgeswith valleys that had seasonal lakes and streams

plants that need little water likegrasses, sagebrush, pinon trees, at the outer edges pine trees, and willow

small animals rabbits, lizards, grasshoppers, snakes sometimes ducks , duck eggs during certain seasons seeds,berries pine nuts, roots, cattail

Tools: water baskets sealed with tree sapFloating duck decoys, nets, sharp sticks, flat baskets for catching seeds

Clothing: rabbit robes in winter

Shelter: Nomadic temporary cone shelters of willow, brush and reeds

Plateau Weather:long cold winterscomfortable summers

Natural Resources:mountains with dense forests in areasflatter in the center with drier grass landsrivers

driftwood, mud, dirt,grass and sage brushfish, antelope, deer, seedsonions, carrots, camas roots, salmon

Tools: woven baskets, willow digging sticks, wooden fishing platforms, nets, and spears for salmon

Clothing: antelope and deer hides leggings, dresses and skirts, woven hats, seed and shell designs

Shelter: near rivers, partly under ground out of driftwood, mud, sap, and reeds

Great Plains Weather:cold winters hot summers

Natural Resources:mountains surrounding edgestreeless grasslands in the centereast more water and softer soilwest drier dense grass

Buffalo and smaller animalsCulture:

Tools: bow made of buffalo tendon, arrows, V shaped stone trap, fire, bone knives, shields,

Clothing: Buffalo robes and hidesShelter: Houses called tipis

South West

Weather:high temperatureslittle rain dry/arid

Natural Resources:mountains, canyonsdesserts, flat top mesasrivers, little water

clay, brightly colored plants, cottoncorn, beans, squash, peppers, rabbitsLarge thick walled houses made of bricks of adobe(sun baked clay). Up to 4 stories and had hundreds of rooms.

Clothes were made of cotton that they grew. Using plants and minerals, they dyed the fabric

Lived near naturally flooded areas. Men dug irrigation ditches, and also built dams to hold summer rain.

Women spend most the day grinding corn kernels into cornmeal. They used clay pots to cook stews

Eastern Woodlands

Weather:snowy winters , rain

Natural Resources:rivers, ocean/coastlots of lakes and streams

Forests, plants, maple trees, elm,

deer, bears, beavers, birds, fishcorn, sunflowers, tobacco, vegetables,nuts, berriesHouses were made from strips of young trees

woven into a rectangular frame, then plastered with clay. These houses had pointed roofs made of leaves.

Towns included many mounds, first mounds were burial sights, but others were larger, and used as platforms for temples. It took many months, even years, to build these mounds, because they moved the dirt 1 basket full at a time.

Simple clothing was made of deer skin. Jewelry made of stones, shells, feathers, pearls, bones, and clay.

Women used hoes made of stone, shell or animal shoulder blades. Men hunted using small blow guns, and bows and arrows.

South East

Weather:long warm humid summersmild winters

Natural Resources:rivers, ocean/coastFertile coastal plainsmountains, swamps

Trees, clay, shells, corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, sweet potatoessquirrels, rabbits, turkeys, deer, alligators, turtles,wild rice, persimmons

Long House: Sturdy, log-framed houses covered with elm bark, about 20 feet wide and over 100 feet long. Several related families live in sections of the house.

Skirts, capes, and moccasins were made out of deer skins.Women ground corn with wooden sticks .

Men often paddled on the rivers and streams in log and bark canoes . They trapped beavers, hunted deer, bear, caught birds, and speared fish. For farming land, men burnt small sections of trees and underbrush. Women did the hoeing and planting. They planted many different types of corn, beans and squash. Made maple syrup and wooden storage canisters.