Busch Period 1 Part 1 Notes
In the beginning….
Essential Question:
How did all of these people, “natives,” get to the Americas?
The most commonly accepted view:
Populating the Americas….a long, long, time ago…the Bering Sea was frozen (Ice Age) and migrants from
Asia following herds of animals walked across this frozen sea and over thousands of years populated the
Americas.
These migrants evolved and adapted to their environments, creating “civilizations” (Tribes) with unique
cultures and languages. From Alaska to the point of South America these are the first peoples of the
Americas.
Other views;
“Kon-Tiki,” Thor Heyerdahl-- TH postulated that Polynesians actually were able to travel to the Americas
over the water…
Pangea – The single continent view…
What of the Vikings?
What of the Chinese?
Obviously, with little direct evidence…most of these claims are difficult to prove 
Essential Question(s): Analyze causes of the patterns of settlement of each region of
North America and how geographic and environmental factors shaped the
developments of the communities. How does the competition for natural resources
affect the interactions among the tribes and development of their individual
cultures?
-orWhat do the Americas “look like” in 1491 (before any European
Contact)…civilizations, population, characteristics [political, social, and economic]
of the civilizations in each region… how would they compare to Europeans at this
time…How does the Geography and Environment impact the several unique
cultures that developed… How do they regionally impact the environment…How
“civilized” were they really? How were the indigenous South American Tribes
different from the tribes living in North America?
Historians differ on the population of the Americas in 1491… some would say that the
population was approximately 112 million…. and approx. 18 million in North America….
Some would say that the Americas had a much smaller population as few as 8 million in
1491… and that in North America the population was closer to 2-4 million…
Why is this significant? One point would be… that by 1650 there are only approximately
5 million natives left IN ALL OF THE AMERICAS…
So this leads to another question…which we will examine later… How and Why does this
mass amount of death occur?
Central and South American Cultures were dominated by three (3) tribes…the Mayas,
Yucatan Peninsula, The Aztecs, in Central Mexico, and the Incas, in the Peruvian highlands.
All three had highly developed “civilizations” with extensive trade networks, cultivated
crops and sophisticated social systems. MAIZE-(CORN), Fed most indigenous populations
and the cultivation of this crop and others spread into North America impacting the
population and population density of North American Tribes and even transforming some
from Nomadic hunter/gatherers who were nomadic into communities of settled
agricultural villages. These 3 Central and South American tribes had sophisticated
scientific knowledge, use of irrigation, use of calendars based on solar systems, and the
use of various simple machines. These expansive civilizations WERE NOT
IGNORANT…most historians’ marvel at the sophistication of these societies politically,
economically, and socially. Some historians even claim that these 3 civilizations were
adapted beyond their European counterparts in 1491.
North American indigenous people:
Generally, North America had a much smaller population and was less sophisticated than
Central and South American populations in 1491. Some of the earlier more sophisticated
tribes in North America, the Anasazi (Chaco Canyon is amazing) and Adena-Hopewell, had
disappeared by 1491.
Most North American tribes by 1491 lived in semi-permanent settlements in groups
seldom exceeding 300…and were very diverse and isolated by regional geographic
features (one reason for the ease of the Europeans later being able to dominate them).
According to historians and archeologists, there were over 350 distinct groups who spoke
over 250 distinct languages that existed in North America in 1491. All had unique political,
social, and economic systems. WOW.
In the SOUTHWEST- The Pueblo (Spanish word for Village) dominated this area. They
lived in multi-faceted societies supported by farming (using irrigation). Most lived in
Adobe homes and some construct multi-storied buildings (like the earlier Anasazi- Chaco
Canyon is amazing and you can see images on the internet) and struggled with violent
more mobile tribes (Apache) and later the Spanish incursion into New Mexico in 1609-10.
Other Tribes in this area: Yaquis, Hopi, Zuni, Pimas, and Navajo.
Conflict ensued between nomadic hunters and settled agricultural tribes in competition
for scarce resources.
In the Northwest, from Alaska to Washington, most tribes lived in longhouses, had a rich
diet from hunting, gathering, and fishing (Ocean and lakes)… Some even carve giant
TOTEMS to preserve their history. Most were isolated by the geography of the region, high
mountain ranges for example, which limited their interaction with Europeans until the
later 1600s and early 1700s. Tribes: Tlingit, Salish, Chmakum and many other smaller
groups. The Tlingit had a matrilineal society and lived primarily in the Alaskan panhandle.
The Coastal Salish was the largest of the Southern Coastal group and resided on the
modern day Washington-British Columbia border (Puget Sound). They celebrated with a
POTLACH…a highly complex event to commemorate significant events, such as raising a
TOTEM or election of a new chief. These civilizations practiced a spiritualism based on the
significance of the environment and played an integral role in their everyday life.
California tribes are known for their unique and distinct linguistic and cultural diversity.
They practiced low-intensity fire ecology, which allowed them to manage their
agricultural practices to feed their populations and also attract more food animals. Tribes
such as the Yokuts, Shasta, Mono, Mohave, Cahuilla, Chumash, La Jolla, Maidu, and Miwok
were among the largest
The Indigenous Tribes of the Great Plains are historically nomadic and eventually
develop and equestrian culture (Spanish horses) which were used then to more effectively
manage the giant herds of Buffalo which they followed and was a main source of food and
resources. The lived in Tepees made from Animal skins along rivers. They had extensive
and large trading networks with neighboring tribes. Most spoke a derivative of the Siouan
language. The Gender roles were different but complimentary. Women generally owned
the family’s home and the majority of its contents but were not engaged in public political
life. However, if they were not satisfied with their husbands they would participate in a
ceremony called “Making Out,” where the mans possessions would be left outside of the
Tepee and he would leave. Tribes such as the Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Comanche,
Kiowa, Mandan, Sioux, and Pawnee were the largest.
The natives of the Southeast – were descendants’ of ancient cultures such as the AdenaHopewell, Mound Builders, or Mississippians. This large and dynamic culture
geographically covered much of the North American Midwest, and Southeast. The largest
city was known as Cahokia (modern day St. Louis) and had possibly as many as 40, 000
inhabitants making it the largest and most influential urban settlement in the
Mississippian culture and in pre-Columbian North America and developed 1000 years
before European contact and is a nation historic landmark today. Evidence of copper
workshops, creation of tools to farm, and traded with tribes from as far away as modern
Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and the Gulf Coast. The Tribes in the Southeast were dependent
on a MAIZE BASED AGRIGCULTURE… and PRACTICED THREE-SISTER FARMING…using
Corn, Beans, and Squash all grown together… which gave these tribes the highest
population density of any in North America by 1491 The 5 Civilized Tribes; Cherokee,
Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole were all descendants of the ancient
Mississippians and were present in 1491. All were matrilineal in nature.
The Northeastern Woodlands and Atlantic Seaboard tribes (From the Great Lakes to
the NC coast) are some of the most famous and well known due to their immediate contact
with the first English and French settler of North America. The Iroquois Confederacy of at
first 5, later 6 tribes are the most known, others like the Illinois, Miami, Wappinger,
Mahican, Huron were also prominent among many others. The Iroquois League was
formed prior to European contact and is often credited with being one of the most
sophisticated political systems created by any of the North American tribes. The Powhatan
Confederacy, which interacts with the English at Jamestown, spoke the Iroquoian
language. The Iroquois farmed, fished, gathered, traded, and hunted…a very dynamic and
mixed system. Their culture was based on the Clan Mother and was Matriarchal. No one
owned land but believed that the Creator appointed Women as leaders and stewards of
the land. Clan Mothers appointed males as leaders and could be replaced at any time the
council of women’s elders in each clan. Women owned all property and property stayed
with the Women after divorce… a process where male’s possessions were placed outside
the dwelling and he would return to his mother’s longhouse.
THE EARLIEST AMERICANS IN GENERAL:
- Most of the history of these early (1491) Americans is shaped by popular mythology.
- Millions of people lived in the Americas before Columbus’ arrival in 1492 (Exactly how
many is debated)
- Early Native American societies were rich, diverse, and sophisticated.
- Native Americans were impacted by the geography and environments of their regions
and also impacted or transformed their environment to suit their particular lifestyle.
- Native Societies throughout the Americas:
-Practiced medicine, created art, practiced ecology, irrigation
-Cultivated plants and animals for: eating, color dyes, medicine, and textiles (cloth)
- Mathematical- practiced Astronomy
- Domesticated Animals
- Established expansive and exclusive patterns of trade
- Built cities with monumental architecture
- Had complex religious/spiritual beliefs that had been developed over thousands of
years
- Various and diverse Social and Political organizations and styles; Matriarchal,
Patriarchal, Confederacies, Clans, etc..
- Had crimes, laws, and punishments