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
drop
and expose land.
In the Bering
straight a land
bridge
appeared
connecting
Asia and the
Americas
This land bridge
is known as
Beringia.
Animals like
mammoths
crossed the
bridge or
migrated 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 covered
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
environments
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.
2. No one can own
land.
4. Only use what is
needed(no waste).
5. 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
South East
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 huntFenced in salmon laying eggsused cedar to make rope, mats and basketsshell needles used wedges, sledge hammers, drills, and knifes to carve wooden masks
Clothing:Cedar water proof clothing like capes withdecorative shell buttons
Shelter: lived near the coastCedar 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 sapFloating 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 hidesShelter: 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,
rabbits
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, vegetables,
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.