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?