Ch. 1, Sec. 2 (Prehistory-1500) · North America ! Well before 10,000 B.C. Native Americans had...
Transcript of Ch. 1, Sec. 2 (Prehistory-1500) · North America ! Well before 10,000 B.C. Native Americans had...
Ch. 1, Sec. 2 (Prehistory-1500)
Lesson Objectives
� 1. Students will learn about the earliest people of North America.
� 2. Students will discover what different groups of Native Americans had in common.
� 3. Students will explore the impact of geography on Native American cultures.
Outline � First Cultures of North America � Ways of Life
� Meeting Basic Needs � Shared Beliefs
� Native Americans of North America � Far North � Northwest � Far West � Southwest � Great Plains � Eastern Woodlands � Southeast
Key Terms � culture – ways of life � Culture area – regions in which groups of people
have a similar way of life � kayaks – small boats made from skins � potlatch – a ceremony at which the hosts
showered their guests with gifts � adobe – sun-dried brick � clans – groups of families that were related to one
another � Sachem – tribal chief
First Cultures of North America
� In North America groups developed very distinct cultures
� Around 3,000 years ago, various groups began to emerge in the area stretching from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi Valley.
� These people are referred to as mound builders, constructing large piles of earth
� While many of these mounds were burial places, some served as the foundations for public buildings.
Mound Builders
� One group, the Mississippians, were responsible for building the first cities in North America
� In present day Illinois, as many as 40,000 people lived in one city
First Cultures of North America
� A far different culture, which we call the Anasazi, emerged in southern Utah, Colorado, northern Arizona, and New Mexico.
� They built large cliff-dwellings � These helped defend against attacks from other tribes
� Their largest community housed about 1,000 people � They were very skilled in making baskets, pottery,
and jewelry � They also engaged in trade � By 1300, they had mysteriously abandoned their cliff
dwellings.
First Cultures of North America
� From about 300 to 1450, highly skilled farmers called the Hohokam dug irrigation canals in the deserts of present-day Arizona.
� Trade brought these people in contact with those who lived near the Gulf of California
� They traded for seashells, which they used to make jewelry and religious objects.
Checkpoint Question For what purposes were mounds built? ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________
Checkpoint Question
For what purposes were mounds built?
For burial places and some were the foundations of government buildings.
Ways of Life
� Historians classify Native Americans into several culture areas
� Though the cultural areas were very different from one another, many of them shared the same beliefs and basic traits.
Meeting Basic Needs
� Native American tribes all adapted to meet needs � Women collected roots, wild seeds, nuts, acorns,
and berries � Men hunted for game and fished. � Wild game was plentiful in regions like the Pacific
Coast and the Eastern Woodlands
Meeting Basic Needs
� In many places, farming allowed people to grow and store food
� Each tribe learned how to grow crops that were adapted to their particular climate
� They used sticks for digging; bones and seashells were used as hoes
� Some even used fertilizer, in the form of dead fish � Native Americans who lived by farming were more
populous than those who did not farm
Meeting Basic Needs
� Trade was a common activity in all the Northern American cultures
� In some areas, items such as seashells and beads were used as currency
� Shells, flint for making fires, copper, and salt were all important trade items.
Shared Beliefs
� Many Native Americans felt a very close relationship to the natural world
� They believed that spirits dwelled in nature and these spirits were part of their daily lives
� They had many traditions that reflected these beliefs
Shared Beliefs
� Native Americans also had a strong oral tradition
� Storytellers memorized history and beliefs and then recited them
� This is the way their tradition was passed on from generation to generation
Checkpoint Question
How did North Americans cultures meet their needs?
__________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________
Checkpoint Question
How did North Americans cultures meet their needs?
Hunting, gathering, farming, and trading
with each other.
Native Americans of North America
� Well before 10,000 B.C. Native Americans had spread across the North American continent
� They had adapted to the climates and living conditions of the places where they settled
� By 1500, when the first Europeans arrived, this was a very diverse group of people.
Far North � Kutchin, Cree, Inuit, Ojibwa � The people of the arctic lived in a vast and
harsh land, some covered with ice all year long � They hunted marine mammals such as whales,
seals and walruses � They used kayaks � In the summer they fished in rivers for smaller
fish � Most land was covered in forest; the people
relied on plants and animals of the forests for food (moose, bear, other smaller animals)
Northwest � Tlingit, Bella, Coola, Coos � From Southern Alaska to Northern California deer
and bears roamed the forests, rich with roots and berries
� People here lived in large, permanent settlements, even though they were not farmers.
� High ranking people celebrated potlatches. Some gifts included woven cloth, baskets, canoes, and furs.
� A families wealth was judged by what they could give away.
Far West � Pomos, Shoshone, Nez Perces, Kwakuitl, Cheyenne � These tribes lived in very different geographic regions � Some parts had very cold winters; while others were
desert-like � Some areas in California allowed for fishing, hunting
of small game, and gathering berries � Housing differed greatly based on location; some lived
in pit houses, dug into the ground, while others lived in cone-shaped houses covered with bark. In the farthest north areas, houses were even made from wooden planks.
Southwest � Navajo, Hohokam, Apache, Comanche, Hopi, Pueblo � These tribes experienced dry weather most of the
year. � All groups did some farming, but some still primarily
relied on hunting and gathering � Some tribes had to learn how to collect and store the
rain for hard times. � Some groups had stable towns that lasted for
hundreds of years � They built large apartment houses made of adobe
Great Plains � Arapaho, Osage, Crow, Blackfeet, Mandan, Dakota � Covers a vast region from the Mississippi River to
the Rocky Mountains � Lived mainly by farming; women planted corn, beans
and squash. � Most people lived in earth lodges; built with log
frames and covered with soil. � Western areas were too dry to farm, so people here
hunted � Their houses were teepees (large timbers covered
with animal skin)
Eastern Woodlands
� Miami, Leni-Lenape, Pequot, Iroquois, Huron, Algonquin, Montagnais
� These people lived by hunting, fishing and foraging for nuts and berries
� They did not take up farming until about 1,000A.D. � The Iroquois was the most advanced group,
developing their own specific language
Iroquois � Made up of 5 distinct nations � Each nation was made up of clans � Women had great influence in society; they
passed membership in a specific clan to their children.
� Women owned all the property that was owned by the clan and chose the Sachem
� During the 1500’s they went through a period of warfare, finally making peace and forming the League of Iroquois. � It established a council to govern the 5, still giving them
individual rights.
Southeast � Cherokee, Shawnee, Natchez � The climate in the Southeast was mild, but the
summers were steamy and hot, perfect for farming � Houses were built on wood frames and covered
with straw mats. They were “plastered” with mud clay to keep the interiors cool and dry
� The Natchez people created a complex society; the ruler, at the top, was known as the “Great Sun”, with a noble class. The people at the bottom were commoners. The nobles has to marry a commoner, so the classes constantly changed.
Review � 1) What role did nature play in Native Americans’
religious beliefs? � 2) Identify two areas in which farming was the
primary way of life � 3) What do you think farming did not develop
extensively in the Arctic and subarctic regions?