Introduction

The First Americans

The First Americans arrived between 12,000 - 40,000 years ago, when ice masses connected Asia and North America, between points in what we now know as Siberia and Alaska, on a land bridge called Beringia

Scientists believe that Asiatic nomads trekked across in a series of distinct migration as they hunted for edible plants and animals (megafauna)

When did the first people arrive?

RECONSTRUCTING THE PATH OF HUMAN MIGRATION

The First Americans arrive in the New World 40,000-12,000 y.o.

When and from where?

North American Sites

American Continent

Nomadic Beginnings:

Ancient nomads dispersed throughout the vast land of North and South America.

Different cultural and linguistic patterns appeared as bands struck out on their own in the search for fresh sources of game and vegetation, and as people sought to adjust to diverse habitats.

Nomadic Hunting and Gathering

What did the first Americans hunt?

Atlatl

Maize, beans and squash were planted in the same hill of soil, loosened and weeded by hoes made of shoulder blades of bison and elk.

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/CORRIDOR/archeo/sites/sites.htm

New World peoples began to develop agriculture around 7000 B.C. Once New World societies learned to till the soil and harvest plants, human beings began to exercise some control over nature and develop strong ties to the land.

Time Periods (tool technologies):• Paleoindian (oldest)

12,000 B.C.- 8,000 B.C.

• Archaic 8,000 B.C. – 1,000 B.C.

• Prehistoric 1,000 B.C. – 1492

• Historic 1492 – Present

Conclusion: Native Indians have been here a really long time!!!

The New World before Columbus 15,000 B.C. to 1492 A.D. Earliest Cultures (tools):

Clovis (Paleoindian) Lower Mississippi (Archaic) Pueblo (Prehistoric

southwest) Hohokam (Prehistoric

southwest) Hopewell (Prehistoric

woodlands)

• The Maya

• The Aztecs

• The Incas

Despite the wide variety of different Amerindian peoples, there were, essentially, three forms or levels of Indian culture:

• Nomadic hunters and gatherers

• Sedentary or semi-sedentary

• Complex civilizations

The New World Before Columbus

By the time Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492, over 350 major tribal groups, 15 distinct cultural group centers, and more than 160 linguistic stocks could be found throughout the Americas

Northeast Woodlands

“Five Civilized Tribes”

Pueblos

Major Native American Groups of North America

Stereotypes & Misrepresentations: “Real” Indians and their

cultures vanished years ago Indians as icons: “noble savage,”

environmentalist, warrior, mascot, squaw

“All Indians were alike”: lived in tipis, etc.

“Indians were simple and primitive people”

To be Indian today, you must be “pure-blooded,” have “high cheekbones,” speak a Native language, etc.

Native American Indians Today

No Shortage of Stereotypes

Thanksgiving Considerations Native peoples have been farming in the Americas for

more than 900 years and celebrating the harvest that long.

The “First Thanksgiving” was only “first” for the English colonists, who would have starved if nearby tribes hadn’t fed them.

American Indian foods like corn, potatoes, and tomatoes have transformed human health globally by providing balanced nutrition, previously unavailable to all but the very rich.

Native cultures’ used ingenuity and innovation in tool and hunting technologies to succeed in their environment .

It is important that we convey respect for Native cultures.

Teaching Respect for Native Peoples