Culture Areas Geographic Area of “ethnic” groups with similar cultural traits. jaybird/AANewsletter/southwestmap.html

Culture AreasGeographic Area of “ethnic” groups with similar cultural traits.

http://www.nmia.com/~jaybird/AANewsletter/southwestmap.html

Names…

IndiansHoldover from the search by explorers for a route to the “Indies”.Some Native Americans dislike this name.

Amerind, Native American, or First Nation also used.

Names…

Names of tribes are necessarily what they called themselves. At the time of contact, some explorers used names that other groups called a specific group.Thus, Navajo prefer Dine and Yuman prefer Quechan.

Geography and Culture

http://encarta.msn.com/media_461565493/Culture_Areas_of_North_America.html

EnvironmentBiome

A larger biological community of interacting plants and animals, as exemplified by tundra or coniferous forest.

HabitatAn area of land with physical characteristics such as minerals, soils, rainfall, and temperature that affect which plants and animals live there.

EcotoneA community of plants and animals found at the transition between biomes or other large biotic units; characterized by a mixture of species that may attract predators, including humans.

N. A.Biomes

http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/tourFames.cgi?tour_id=14051

Biomes

TundraTreeless biomeGround frozen year round, permafrost

Tundra

Frozen tarn pond in alpine tundra near Dillon, Colorado

Images (c) by James L. Reveal, Norton-Brown Herbarium, University of Maryland

Coniferous forestEvergreens-pine, spruce, fir, and hemlock


Moist Temperate Forest

Mostly coastal and in low mountains (less than 9,000 ft)Abundant precipitation, rain and snow; 25-160 in (65-400 cm).Cool temperatures, rarely below 5° F or above 100° F; moister and cooler in the north.

http://www.life.umd.edu/emeritus/reveal/pbio/biome/lec35c.html

Temperate Deciduous ForestBeech - maple - yellow poplar, oak - hickory, mixed pine - hardwood.Cool /cold winters, warm summers.Moist winters, moist summers.

http://forestry.about.com/library/tree/bl_na_biomes_eastdec.htm Photos Courtesy of Steve Nix, About Forestry

ChaparralArid, very little rain in summer.

Chaparral fire near Ensenada, Baja California


Cold Desert/Hot Desert Biome

Cold Desert-cold in winter, arid.

Cold desert of the Great Basin near Lunar Crater, Nevada


Temperate Grassland Plains, Prairies

Mid-grass prairie near Manhattan, Kansas


Water ResourcesRivers, Lakes, Oceans, Sinkholes, Springs.

Native American Impact on the Environment

Environment of the past dynamic.InterglacialsHypsithermal

Prehistoric people did impact the environment.

Clearing forests, diverting water.

Culture Histories

Use of archaeological methods to construct cultural types based on culture area and artifacts.Temporal Types

Artifacts with temporal signatures

Components

ComponentAn archaeological unit that includes a culturally homogeneous stratigraphic or spatial unit within a site and is thought to represent a single occupation of the site.

Phases

PhaseAn archaeological unit consisting of several components at a number of sites defined by similar artifacts and other characteristics and found in a unique geographical area and time period; phases are thought to loosely represent cultures

Horizons

Horizonan archaeological unit that links phases based on traits of material culture that appear to have spread widely during a relatively short period of time.

Tradition

Temporal continuity in material culture the archaeological unit that links phases and sites based on general attributes of material culture that persist over a long period.

Culture History

PaleoIndian (Pleistocene)Archaic (Beginning with Holocene, continuing through contact with some groups)Woodland (ca 3000)Mississippians, Iroquoians, Plains Village (ca 1000)Historic Period (after contact)

Culture Concepts

BandSmall, mobile groupsWild resourcesLittle personal property

Culture Concepts

TribeLarger groups, sometimes villagesKinship groups-clans“Big men” in some groups (NW Coast)

Culture Concepts

StateMonarchy or democracySocial Classes/castes

Culture Concepts

EgalitarianStatus based on age, individual, gender

RankedSocial position inherited, nearness to chief (or chiefs lineage)=higher status

StratifiedSharp class distinctions

Themes in North American Research

Settlement of America?Adaptation to EnvironmentFood Production?Complex Cultural Systems?Ethnic Identities?European settlement

Documents

Culture Areas Geographic Area of “ethnic” groups with similar cultural traits. jaybird/AANewsletter/southwestmap.html