America In The Beginning Who 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 lower and expose land In the Bering straight a bridge appeared connecting Siberia & Asia ______________ _ This land bridge is known as beringia. Animals like mammoths crossed the bridge or migrated to the America's.
Transcript
America In The Beginning
Who were the first Americans?
How and why did they come here?
30,000 years ago During a period of low temperatures
called an ice ageThe world was covered in glaciers or sheets of ice.
This caused ocean levels to
lower and expose
landIn the Bering straight a bridge appeared connecting Siberia & Asia _______________
This land bridge is known as beringia.
Animals like mammoths crossed the bridge or migrated 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
covering up glaciers
causing water levels to rise covering up the 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
environmentin 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.2. No one can own land.4. Only use what is needed.5. 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 Coast Weather:long cold winterscool summersheavy rainfall
Natural Resources:ocean/beachesthick forests of fir, spruce, and cedarrugged mountainsseafood/salmondeer, moose, bear, elk, beaver, mountain goats Used cedar canoes to hunt
Fenced in salmon laying eggsused cedar to make rope, mats and basketsshell needles used wedges, sledge hammers, drills, and knifes to carve wooden masksClothing:Cedar water proof clothing like capes withdecorative shell buttons Shelter: lived near the coastCedar Long Houses with cedar bark roofs
California Weather: rainy wintershot dry summers
Natural Resources:ocean/coastfoothillsvalley'sdesertsmountainsacorns, oak treesgrass, and plantsredwood trees
salmon/seafood/shellfishdeer, rabbits, ducks, roots berries, pine nuts
Used Bows& arrows, snares, and nets, used cooking stones to heat acorn meal tools from antlersClothing: grass/leather aprons and skirtsShelter: Cone shaped made of redwood bark, pole, and reeds woven into mats
Great Basin Weather:little rainhot during the day cold at nightNatural Resources:
mostly dessertlow areas surrounded by mountains at the edgeswith valleys that had seasonal lakes and streams
plants that need little water likegrasses, 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 sapFloating duck decoys, nets, sharp sticks, flat baskets for catching seedsClothing: rabbit robes in winterShelter: Nomadic temporary cone shelters of willow, brush and reeds
Tools: woven baskets, willow digging sticks, wooden fishing platforms, nets, and spears for salmonClothing: antelope and deer hides leggings, dresses and skirts, woven hats, seed and shell designsShelter: near rivers, partly under ground out of driftwood, mud, sap, and reeds
Great Plains Weather:cold winters hot summers
Natural Resources:mountains surrounding edgestreeless grasslands in the centereast more water and softer soilwest drier dense grass
Buffalo and smaller animals
South West
Weather:high temperatureslittle rain dry/arid
Natural Resources:mountains, canyonsdesserts, flat top mesasrivers, little water
clay, brightly colored plants, cottoncorn, beans, squash, peppers, rabbits Large thick walled houses made of bricks of
adobe(sun baked clay). Up to 4 stories and had hundreds of rooms. Clothes were made of cotton that they grew. Using plants and minerals, they dyed the fabricLived near naturally flooded areas. Men dug irrigation ditches, and also built dams to hold summer rain. Women spend most the day grinding corn kernels into cornmeal. They used clay pots to cook stews
Eastern Woodlands
Weather:snowy winters , rain
Natural Resources:rivers, ocean/coastlots of lakes and streams
Long House: Sturdy, log-framed houses covered with elm bark, about 20 feet wide and over 100 feet long. Several related families live in sections of the house.Skirts, capes, and moccasins were made out of deer skins.Women ground corn with wooden sticks .Men often paddled on the rivers and streams in log and bark canoes . They trapped beavers, hunted deer, bear, caught birds, and speared fish. For farming land, men burnt small sections of trees and underbrush. Women did the hoeing and planting. They planted many different types of corn, beans and squash. Made maple syrup and wooden storage canisters.
Trees, clay, shells, corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, sweet potatoessquirrels, rabbits, turkeys, deer, alligators, turtles,wild rice, persimmonsHouses were made from strips of young trees woven into a rectangular frame, then plastered with clay. These houses had pointed roofs made of leaves.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.Simple clothing was made of deer skin. Jewelry made of stones, shells, feathers, pearls, bones, and clay. Women used hoes made of stone, shell or animal shoulder blades. Men hunted using small blow guns, and bows and arrows.
