Roots of the American People: Cultures of north America

Ch. 1, Sec. 2 (Prehistory-1500) Roots of the American People: Cultures of north America

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 citiesin 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 beliefsand basic traits.

Meeting Basic Needs • Native American tribes all adaptedto meet needs • Women collected roots, wild seeds, nuts, acorns, and berries • Men huntedfor 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 storefood • 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 • Tradewas 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 naturalworld • They believed that spirits dwelled in nature and these spirits were part of their dailylives • They had many traditions that reflected these beliefs

Shared Beliefs • Native Americans also had a strong oraltradition • Storytellers memorized history and beliefs and then recitedthem • 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 diversegroup 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, permanentsettlements, 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 rainfor 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 farminguntil about 1,000A.D. • The Iroquois was the most advancedgroup, 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?

Roots of the American People: Cultures of north America