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

*Siberia (Asia)*

&

*The Americas*

This land bridge

is known as

*beringia*.

Animals like

mammoths

crossed the

bridge or ** 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 *warming*

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 & believe in

many gods*.

2. No one can own

*land*.

3. Only use what is

*needed (no waste)*.

4. *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 hunt

Fenced in salmon laying eggs

used cedar to make rope, mats and baskets

shell needles

used wedges, sledge hammers,

drills, and knifes to carve wooden masks

Clothing:

Cedar water proof clothing like capes with

decorative shell buttons

Shelter: lived near the coast

Cedar 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 sap

Floating 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

Tools: bow made of buffalo

tendon, arrows, V shaped stone

trap, fire, bone knives, shields

Clothing: Buffalo robes and hides

Shelter: 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, rabbi

ts

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.

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

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.

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