The First Americans: Origins, Diversity, and Native American Cultures

1. The First Americans

2. Introduction • Origins • Regional Diversity • Mesoamerica • Southwest • Eastern Woodlands • Mississippian • Iroquois • New England • Pacific Northwest • Conclusion • Key Terms: • Bering Land Bridge • Teotihuacan • Aztec • Anasazi • Cahokia • Iroquois • Hiawatha

3. Themes • Origins of Native Americans in Western Hemisphere • Diversity of lifestyle • Changing nature of Indian societies before European contact

4. Introduction • Origins • Regional Diversity • Mesoamerica • Southwest • Eastern Woodlands • Mississippian • Iroquois • New England • Conclusion • Key Terms: • Bering Land Bridge • Teotihuacan • Aztec • Anasazi • Cahokia • Iroquois • Hiawatha

6. Aztec Capital - Tenochtitlan

7. Native Americans and Origins • Numerous theories and beliefs… • Many anthropologists and historians agree humans lived in North American about 35,000 BC • How did they arrive…? • Bering Land Bridge

8. Map of Bering Land Bridge

13. New World Civilizations

14. Introduction • Origins • Regional Diversity • Mesoamerica • Southwest • Eastern Woodlands • Mississippian • Iroquois • New England • Conclusion • Key Terms: • Bering Land Bridge • Teotihuacan • Aztec • Anasazi • Cahokia • Iroquois • Hiawatha

15. Locations of Selected Native American Peoples, 1500 AD

16. Farming • Access to food = key • Agricultural Origins • 8000 B.C. Middle East • 5000 B.C. Western Hemisphere

18. Introduction • Origins • Regional Diversity • Mesoamerica • Southwest • Eastern Woodlands • Mississippian • Iroquois • New England • Conclusion • Key Terms: • Bering Land Bridge • Teotihuacan • Aztec • Anasazi • Cahokia • Iroquois • Hiawatha

19. Major Mesoamerican Cultures

20. Major Mesoamerican Cultures (Aztecs) • Became dominant power by 1400s • Capitals = Tenochtitlan • Pop: 300,000 (bigger than an city in Europe)

21. Great Temple at Tenochtitlan • Aztec honored over 200 deities

22. Major Mesoamerican Cultures (Aztecs) • Became dominant power by 1400s • Capitals = Tenochtitlan • Pop: 300,000 (bigger than an city in Europe) • Irrigation network created fertile cropland and access to fresh water • Still expanding their empire in early 1500s

23. Introduction • Origins • Regional Diversity • Mesoamerica • Southwest • Eastern Woodlands • Mississippian • Iroquois • New England • Conclusion • Key Terms: • Bering Land Bridge • Teotihuacan • Aztec • Anasazi • Cahokia • Iroquois • Hiawatha

24. Southwest

25. Southwest • Know for its dry climate but farming was important • Anasazi • Chaco Canyon - important center for trade • Towns were set up so that straight roads would connect satellite communities

26. Anasazi culture declined by 12th and 13th centuries as rain levels dropped. • Large communities most likely dissolved into smaller tribes and bands

27. Introduction • Origins • Regional Diversity • Mesoamerica • Southwest • Eastern Woodlands • Mississippian • Iroquois • New England • Conclusion • Key Terms: • Bering Land Bridge • Teotihuacan • Aztec • Anasazi • Cahokia • Iroquois • Hiawatha

28. Eastern Woodlands

29. Mississippian • Mississippian culture emerged about 700 AD • Cahokia was located near present-day St. Louis

30. Cahokia Mounds • Covered about 125 sq miles • 20,000 residents • Built platform mounds • Served as temples and homes for chiefs

31. Mississippian • Mississippian culture emerged about 700 AD • Cahokia was located near present-day St. Louis • After 1200 it entered a period of decline

32. Iroquois

33. Iroquois: A Confederation of Five Separate Tribes • Confederation of tribes that number around 10,000 total • Mohawks • Oneidas • Onondagas • Cayugas • Senecas

34. Political Structure • Council Government • Each tribe in confederacy sent delegates/representatives to council meetings

35. Iroquois Society • Homes = Longhouses • 25 ft wide • Up to 200 ft in length • Several families would live in each longhouse

36. Iroquois Society • Homes = Longhouses • 25 ft wide • Up to 200 ft in length • Several families would live in each longhouse • Property was owned communally • Division of labor between men/women: • Men: hunted/fished; warriors • Women: farmed and gathered • A significant portion of their diet came from farmed products

37. Women in Iroquois Society • Descent was matrilineal; • Husband moved into home of wife’s family • houses were headed by women • Women could divorce their husbands • Women selected all delegates to the Iroquois Council and influenced policy

38. New England – Algonquians • Pequot • Wampanoag • Powhatan • Potawatomi

39. New England – Algonquians • Northern New England • Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine • Southern New England • Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island

40. New England – Algonquians • Northern New England • Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine • Hunter-gathers: Very Mobile • Spring and summer lived near coasts; moved inland for fall and winter to hunt game animals • Southern New England • Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island • Hunted and Farmed (at times up to 2/3 of diet)

41. New England – Algonquians • Northern New England • Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine • Hunter-gathers: Very Mobile • Spring and summer lived near coasts; moved inland for fall and winter to hunt game animals • 15,000-20,000 population in 1600 • Southern New England • Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island • Hunted and Farmed (at times up to 2/3 of diet) • 55,000-80,000 population in 1600

42. Farming Methods • Fields were cleared by girdling and with fire • “Three Sisters” of agriculture • Corn, beans, and squash were planted together • Corn drew Nitrogen • Beans added Nitrogen • Farming had a major impact on the environment

43. Pacific Northwest

44. Pacific Northwest • Lived as hunter/gatherers, but also very wealthy • Indians of the Pacific Northwest Coast

45. Pacific Northwest • Cedar trees could reach 250 feet height and 18 feet in diameter • Bark: used for clothing, baskets, etc. • When softened it could be fashioned into diapers for babies • Lumber: Canoes, homes (longhouses), etc. • Longhouses were very large: 100 x 40 ft

46. Seafood/Salmon • Seafood was the foundation of their diet • Fish could be caught in many way • Fish were preserved by drying and smoking • Key = Abundance • Clams, crabs, and other shellfish were eaten • Whales were hunted in some areas

47. Introduction • Origins • Regional Diversity • Mesoamerica • Southwest • Eastern Woodlands • Mississippian • Iroquois • New England • Conclusion • Key Terms: • Berign Land Bridge • Teotihuacan • Aztec • Anasazi • Cahokia • Iroquois • Hiawatha

48. Review • Origins of Native Americans • Tremendous differences among Indian Peoples • Compare and contrast life; what ere some important traits of people living in different regions?

49. Source • http://college.cengage.com/history/lecturepoints/part01_lecture01/part01_lecture01.html