America In The

BeginningWho 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

Siberia(Asia)& the

Americas

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 bridge.

Some animals

died off like

mammoths.

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

environments

in 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

resources 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

region.

Many Native

American have these

things in common.

1. Nature has a spirit

and believe in many

gods.

2. No one can own

land.

3. Only use what is

needed (no waste).

4. 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

Plains

Northeast

Southeast

California

Northwest coast

Southwest

Great basin

Plateau

8 Cultural Regions

North West CoastWeather:

long cold winters

cool summers

heavy rainfall

Natural Resources:

ocean/beaches

thick forests of fir,

spruce, and cedar

rugged mountains

seafood/salmon

deer, moose, bear, elk,

beaver, mountain goats

Culture:

Tools: Use cedar canoes to hunt.Fenced in salmon laying eggsUsed cedar to make rope, mat and baskets, shell needles Used wedges, sledge hammers drills and knives to carve wooden masks

Clothing:Cedar water proof clothing like capes with decorative shell buttons

Shelter:Lived near the coast, cedar long houses with cedar bark roofs

CaliforniaWeather:

rainy winters

hot dry summers

Natural Resources:

ocean/coast

foothills

valley's

deserts

mountains

acorns, oak trees

grass, and plants

redwood trees

salmon/seafood/shellfish

deer, rabbits, ducks,

roots berries, pine nuts

Culture:

Tools: Used bow and arrows, snares, and nets used cooking stones to cook acorn meals. Tools from antlers

Clothing: Grass/leather apron and skirts

Shelter:Cone shaped made of red wood bark. Poles and reeds woven into mats

Great BasinWeather:

little rain

hot during the day

cold at night

Natural Resources:

mostly dessert

low areas surrounded by

mountains at the edges

with valleys that had

seasonal lakes and streams

plants that need little water like

grasses, 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

Culture:Tools: Water basket sealed with tree sap. Floating duck decoys, nets sharp sticks and flat baskets for catching seeds.

Clothing: rabbit robes in winter

Shelter: Nomadic temporary cone shelters of willow brush and reeds

PlateauWeather:

long cold winters

comfortable summers

Natural Resources:

mountains with

dense forests in areas

flatter in the center with

drier grass lands

rivers

driftwood, mud, dirt,

grass and sage brush

fish, antelope, deer, seeds

onions, carrots, camas roots,

salmon

Culture:

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 design

Shelter: Near rivers, partly underground out of driftwood, mud, sap and reeds

Great PlainsWeather:

cold winters

hot summers

Natural Resources:

mountains surrounding edges

treeless grasslands in the

center

east more water and softer

soil

west drier dense grass

Buffalo and smaller animals

Culture:

Tools: Bow made of buffalo tendon, arrows, V shaped stone trap, fire, bone knives, shield

Clothing:Buffalo robes and hides

Shelter:Houses call tipi’s (plains word for dwelling)

South WestWeather:

high temperatures

little rain

dry/arid

Natural Resources:

mountains, canyons

desserts, flat top mesas

rivers, little water

clay, brightly colored plants, cotton

corn, beans, squash, peppers,

rabbits

Houses: Made of bricks of adobe(sun baked clay) Up to four stories and hundreds of roomsClothes: made of cotton. Using plants to dye the fabricTools: lived in flooded areas. Men dug irrigation ditches and dams to hold the summer rain. Women were grinding corn kernels into cornmeal. They used clay pots to cook chili pepper stews.

Eastern WoodlandsWeather:

snowy winters , rain

Natural Resources:

rivers, ocean/coast

lots of lakes and streams

Forests, plants,

maple trees, elm,

deer, bears, beavers, birds, fish

corn, sunflowers, tobacco,

vegetables,

nuts, berries

House: Long house sturdy , long-framed houses covered with elm bark. About 20 feet wide and over 100 feet long. Several related families live in sections of the house.Clothing: Skirts capes and moccasins made of deer skin Tools: Ground corn with wooden sticks, used wooden canoes, speared fish For farming land, man burnt small sections of trees and underbrush. Women used hoes for planting. Made maple syrup and wooden storage canisters.

South EastWeather:

long warm humid summers

mild winters

Natural Resources:

rivers, ocean/coast

Fertile coastal plains

mountains,

swamps

Trees, clay, shells,

corn, beans, squash,

pumpkins,

sunflowers, sweet potatoes

squirrels, rabbits, turkeys,

deer, alligators, turtles,

wild rice, persimmons

Houses: made of 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 which as burial sights and used as platforms and temples. Clothing: Made of deer skin. Jewelry made of stones, shells, feathers, pearls, bones, and clay.Tools: used hoes made of stone, shell or animal shoulder blades. Hunted using small blow guns, bows and arrows.