Cultures of North America

Group Members:Alejandra RiveraSteffani Zelaya

Early Mound Builders: The Adena

These group of people lived in the Ohio valley about 600 B.C. These people were called the Adena, they used to construct mounds of usually less than 20 ft. high, some mounds were tombs. It is believe that by 100 B.C the Adenans seem to have declined.

The Hopewell CultureThe Hopewell did not have a highly organized society with a single ruler, instead they lived in many small communities with local leaders, they grew more crops then the Adena. Historians believe that severe drought, overpopulation or invasions were causes of their disappearance.

The MississippiansThey flowered in eastern north America by about 700 A.D. They inhabited small and large communities, they also live along rivers and built mounds. Maize and beans were part of their diet, they also grew new kinds of crops. they spread in present day south and Midwest. Their biggest city was Cahokia, localized in what is now Illinois. Their disappearance is unknown.

Ancestral PuebloansAlso known as Anasazi were early Native American peoples of the southwest. Their culture begin about 100 A.D. Historians think that Chaco Canyon was a trading center. The southwest had dry winters and summers.

Later Pueblo PeoplesThe region of New Mexico and Arizona where the place were they lived. They didn’t have too much rain but they have rivers. They relied on intensive irrigation to raise their crops, they also sustent with hunting and gathering. They believed in many spirits called Kachinas.

The Plains Indians

Individual groups have their own languages and traditions, they used a form of sign language to trade with one another. They divided in groups, some of them were the Mandan, the Sioux and the Tipis. After the European invasion they had to share territories with the Omaha.

Peoples of the WoodlandsNative American groups lived in woodlands in different parts of present-day North America and Canada. They created structures named totems. They have images of real and unreal animals, the animals were identified with the owner´s family line. In the 1500s five Iroquois nations formed a peace alliance. This was the best-organized political system in the Americas.