History of People & the 1st Americans

• Oldest human relative found: “Ardi” 4.4 million yrs ago in Ethiopia.

People began to migrate…

• Reasons for migration:1. Search for food, shelter, and water 2. Avoid conflicts with neighboring tribes3. Curiosity

The 1st Americans!

• Where: Across the Bering Straight • How: Walked- People were nomads and relied

on hunting and gathering. • Why: Probably following the food source• When: Archaeologists believe during the last

ice age: 12,000 yrs ago or 10,000 B.C.E.

The Bering Straight- as sea levels dropped…land appeared

The Bering Straight Today…

The 1st Americans or Native Americans

• The 1st people into North and South America are Native Americans

• Native = Original inhabitant • American = Person of North or South America• “Indians” is NOT correct! The only Indians on this

planet are people from the country, India.• We often call NA (Native Americans) “Indians”

b/c Christopher Columbus made a mistake!

Remember the difference!

Indians Native Americans

How do we know about Native Americans?

*The 1st Americans lived during pre-history (before written records), so they didn’t leave us any written records like books or articles.

*We do use things like, artifacts, fossils, and hieroglyphics.

Native American Hieroglyphics

NA Culture Areas of North America

Major NA Tribes of North Carolina

• Lumbee - many were part of the famous/infamous “Lowery Gang”- retaliated against racist hate groups and oppressive (to hold one down; not give full freedoms, etc) government.

• Cherokee • Tuscarora• Catawba• Hatteras• Cape Fear• Waxhaw

Town Creek NA Mound North Carolina

NA Life-Styles

• Nomadic/ Hunted and Gathered • Fished and whaled • Slash and Burn farming (once learned)- slash

and burn down forests. Provides 2 things:1. Clear area for a small village2. Excellent soil for farming

PROBLEM: Not sustainable- could only do it once, then they had to move on.

• No paper money, so they used a barter system (trading)

NA Housing1. Tepees: tent-like homes made from wood

and animal hides (often buffalo).* Tepees were common w/ the PLAINS (central part) NA.

2. Wigwams Wigwam means house in the Abenaki tribe. They are small houses.

3.) Longhouses – were used by the Iroquois tribes (EASTERN WOODLAND PEOPLE). As many as 60 people could live in one.

4. Igloos: used by the Inuit tribes (PACIFIC NORTHWEST) or “real people.” We often call them Eskimos. The word Eskimo translates to “eater of raw meat.”

5.) Pueblos: “small towns” in Spanish. Made out of sundried mud bricks called “adobe.”

People of the SOUTHWEST were famous for these.

A more modern pueblo:

NA Families & Political Structure:

• Clan- Members of the same family• Tribe- Many clans joining together• Chief- Head of the tribe How did Native Americans get along w/out court systems, police, jails, etc? Do we, in 2010, rely on our community &

family as much as NAs did?

NA Clothing & Survival Tools:*Remember… everything the NA made came

from the land. NOTHING was wasted! • Moccasins- made from tanned hides of deer,

moose, elk, or buffalo.

• Clothing- made from animal skins

• Canoes

• Kayaks

• Weapons – Were made out of WOOD and STONE. Knowledge of how to work w/ metal came much later!

a. Spears & Arrowheads

B. Bows and Arrows

C. Tomahawks

• Snowshoes

• Headresses: worn for various reasons: 1.) show one’s prestige, 2.) ceremonies, 3.) during battle, etc.

• Totem Poles – thought to tell stories, celebrate important events, show change in leadership, etc.

• Toboggan- Basically a sled that was used to carry game across snow or rough terrain.

The Inuit (Eskimos) would often use sled dogs to pull them, the sleds, game, and supplies!

Mr. Meyer- Modern Day Mushing!Montana, USA

*Native Americans lived on the North & South American continents for THOUSANDS of years before the “white man” ever stepped foot on to their soil.

• That all changed in 1492…