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

decrease

and expose land.

In the Bering

straight a land

bridge appeared

connecting

Siberia (Asia) and

the Americans

This land bridge

is known as

Beriniga

Animals like

mammoths

crossed the

bridge or

migration 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

environment

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

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

Used cedar canoes to hunt

Fenced in salmon laying eggs

used cedar to make rope, mats and baskets

shell needles

used wedges, sledge hammers,

drills, and knifes 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

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 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

Tools: water baskets sealed with tree sap

Floating 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

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

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 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, shields,

Clothing: Buffalo robes and hides

Shelter: Houses called tipis

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, rabbi

ts

Large 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 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, vegetabl

es,

nuts, berries

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.

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 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.