NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES IN THE US
The First Americans
Last Ice Age
Glaciers covered N. America
NomadsWalked from Asia
across the Bering Strait
Some societies were very simple Others very complex
“Bone Pit” 1908-African-American
named George McJunkin uncovered very large animal bones in Folsom, New Mexico
Called it the “bone pit” Self-taught in ancient bones,
minerals, arrowheads, geology, natural history
Wrote to scientists about discovery
1922-scientists began research after his death
Bones 9,000 yrs old Some had flint in shape of
spear points-Folsom point
Clovis Point
Clovis, New Mexico in the 1930’s
Clovis point more than 4,000 yrs older than Folsom
Thought to be 1st Americans-more evidence that other groups arrived at the same time
Southwestern Cultures
Hohokam-ArizonaMogollon-SE Arizona
& SE New MexicoAnasazi-4 corners
area on flat-topped mesas
Hohokam
Desert areas, irrigation canals (hand-dug)
Grew cotton for cloth, pottery, and jewelry from seashells
Snaketown-meeting place w/ball courts, dance platforms
Abandoned in 1450-lack of water
“the vanished ones”
Mogollons
Don’t know what they called themselves-Don Juan Mogollan-Spanish governor of New Mexico in 1700s (Mt. Range)
Shelters on high ground & underground
Kivas-underground for religious ceremonies & official business
New form of pottery-clay bowls w/ geometric designs
Carvings-1000s of animals, human faces & masks
No other people created so many artistic images
Anasazi
Master builders “Golden Age” from AD
850-1150 Planned community-roads,
ceremonial buildings “wagon wheel”-center was
Chaco canyon in New Mexico (even though they didn’t use the wheel)
Cliff dwellings-pueblos Signal fires to
communicate w/other villages (obsidian rock to reflect message by firelight)
1150 AD-culture vanishes Drought, lack of resources,
leaders lost power possibly
Woodland Culture
East of Mississippi, Great Lakes region, and East Coast
Hunter-gatherers Mound builders-burial
chambers w/small log rooms Pipes& tobacco & artwork
found inside Adena mounds found in Ohio
on private property (700 BC-100 AD)
Hopewell-mounds found in Ohio in shape of snake
Snake mound-curves for a ¼ mile, mouth is swallowing a huge egg
Symbol of growth and change Artifacts in mound show
trading w/ other cultures
Cahokia
Illinois-by 1200 AD more than 20,000 people
Largest settlement of Mississippians in N. America
Located where 3 rivers come together-Mississippi, Missouri, & Illinois
Planned city w/ palisade (wooden fence)
Mound builders Monk’s mound-found in early
1800s 1500-vanished, unsure why
Possibly disease or wars
Iroquois
Between 1200-1400 AD powerful Woodland culture in upper NY developed
Descended from Mississippians
6 tribes create “Great Law of Peace”-democracy
Great leaders-Hiawatha & Seneca Famous for important speeches
Most powerful Native Americans when Europeans arrive
Great Plains
Between Mississippi river & Rocky Mts.
Sioux, Cheyenne, Comanche & Blackfoot
Rode horses while hunting buffalo-after 1500s when horses introduced to N. America by Europeans
Settlements before 1500s near streams or rivers, dome-shaped buildings, farmers mostly
Pacific CoastAbundant natural
resources Salmon, seafood, wildlife,
nuts & berries, vegetablesPuget Sound in modern-
day Washington stateCedar-used to store dried
foods, houses (longhouses-up to 100 ft.), shoes, tools, clothes, canoes
Potlatch “throw into the air”-celebration where host gave many gifts to guests-only Pacific tribes did this
Inuit
Modern-day Alaska & northern Canada
Were called “Eskimo”-eaters of raw meat
Call themselves Inuit-real people
Harsh frozen environment
Igloos-homes of snowSea mammals & caribou
for foodArt-carvings of soapstone
or ivory