Chapter 1 Native Americans
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1.2 Migration Routes of the First Americans.
* Migrate- To move from one place and establish a home in a new
place.
Across a Land Bridge
-Ocean levels drop 200 feet due to Ice age 30,000 years ago.
-Exposes land bridge between Asia and North America called
Beringia.
-Animals migrate East to North America over thousands of years.
-Hunters follow animals.
Migrating East and South
-As larger prey die off, hunters become hunter-gatherers, catching
small animals, fishing, and collecting edible plants.
-Over time, Native Americans head south and eventually spread
across the two American continents.
Migrating Routes of the First Americans
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1.3 Native Americans Adapt to the Environment.
* Environment- All of the physical surroundings in a place, including
land, water, animals, plants and climate.
* Natural Resources- Useful materials found in nature, including
water, vegetation, animals and minerals.
* Culture- A people’s way of life, including beliefs, customs, food,
dwellings, and clothing.
* Cultural Region- An area in which a group of people share a similar
culture and language.
Using Natural Resources
* Native Americans make clothing from animal skins and goggles out
of bone.
* Live most of the year in houses made from driftwood and animal
skins. Make igloos out of blocks of snow in winter.
* Learn to raise crops such as squash, peppers, beans and corn.
* Enables them to settle in one place and built villages.
1.3 Continued…
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Native American Cultural Regions
Over generations, groups of Native Americans develop their own
cultures.
Forest dwellers often live in houses covered with tree bark.
Desert people make shelters out of branches covered with brush.
Historians identify cultural regions including the Northwest Coast,
California, the Great Basin, the Plateau, the Southwest, the Great
Plains, the Eastern Woodlands, and the Southeast.
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1.4 First American’s View of Their Environment.
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Nature’s Spirits
Believe that each part of
nature has its own spirit.
Using the Land
Believe land cannot be
owned as private property.
Adapt the land to suit their
needs.
Try not to waste anything
they take from nature.
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1.5 Native Americans of the Northwest Coast.
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Abundant Food
Region extends from southern Oregon into Canada.
Northwest people build villages along the narrow
beaches and bays of the coastline.
They fish, gather clams and shellfish, hunt seals,
sea lions and whales from the ocean, and deer,
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moose, bear, elk and other forest animals from the land.
Build tools such as harpoons, spears, and traps
to catch prey.
Builders and Carvers
Cut long, thin boards from trees to build large,
sturdy houses.
Make roof shingles out of large sheets of
cedar bark
Weave baskets, mats, rope and blankets.
Craft decorative shell buttons, animal masks and wooden bowls.
1.6 Native Americans of California
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Many Sources of Food
Stretches from southern Oregon through Baja California.
Includes coast, coastal foothills, inland valley,
deserts, and the western side of the Sierra Nevada
mountain range.
Salmon and shellfish abundant along the coast.
Deer, rabbits, ducks and other small animals hunted
inland.
Vegetation harvested includes roots, berries,
and acorns.
Clothing, Houses and Baskets
Make clothing from grasses and other plants, as well as fur and
leather from animal hides.
Use bark from redwood trees to build cone-shape houses.
Use plant materials to weave baskets, sifters and fish traps.
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1.7 Native Americans of the Great Basin.
Extreme Heat and Cold
* Low area between the Sierra Nevada and the
Rocky Mountains.
* Mostly desert. Vegetation includes grasses,
sagebrush, and craggy pinon trees.
* Temporary shelters made of willow poles covered
with brush and reeds.
* Clothing made from rabbit hides.
Searching for Food
* Follow food sources from season to season.
* In spring, people camp along rivers. Men hunt for ducks while
women gather duck eggs.
* In summer, snakes and grasshoppers are caught. Other summer
foods include a variety of plant roots and berries.
* In autumn jackrabbits are hunted.
* Live off of dried foods in winter.
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1.8 Native Americans of the Plateau
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Sturdy Houses and Clothing
Bounded by the Cascade Range to the west,
the Rockies to the east, and the Fraser River in
Canada to the north.
Dense, forested mountains and flat, drier central
area. Long, cold winters with mild summers.
Inhabitants build houses along major rivers, such
as the Columbia and Fraser.
Food is so plentiful that many groups able to live
in their villages all year long.
Columbia River
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Fraser River
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1.8 Continued…
* Build homes partly underground to stay cool in
summer and warm in winter. Dig pits, line with
frame of logs, cover everything with grass and
reeds.
* Plateau people weave elaborate baskets and
hats.
* Men hunt antelope and deer in fall.
Women scrape and soften hides for
dresses,leggings, and shirts.
Camas and Salmon
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* Plateau people rely mostly on fish
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such as salmon,and plants such as
camas, onions and carrots from
low grasslands.
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1.9 Native Americans of the Southwest
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Mesa People
Region includes Arizona, New Mexico, southern
Utah and Colorado, and parts of Texas, Oklahoma,
and California.
Many environments-canyons, mountains, deserts,
flat-topped mesas. Very hot and dry.
Two major rivers-Colorado and Rio Grande.
Heat and lack of water make living there difficult.
Some groups lived as nomads. Others became farmers along the
Colorado River.
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1.9 Continued…
* Without trees for building, the mesa people
make houses from adobe bricks. Thick walls
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cold.
* Some pueblo villages have populations as
large as 1000 people.
* Mesa people wear clothing made of cotton to
protect them from the sun.
Corn Culture
* Mesa people grow corn,
beans and squash.
* Dig irrigation trenches and
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distribute the water
to their crops.
1.10 Native Americans of the Great Plains
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Buffalo Hunters
Region extends from the Rockies to the
Mississippi Valley; from Canada to the
Gulf of Mexico.
Vast grasslands perfect for animals to graze.
Western plains tribes follow and hunt buffalo.
Hunting parties ambush buffalo herds, using
hardwood bows and wooden arrow tipped with
sharp stone.
Using the Buffalo
Every part of the buffalo is used. Hides
used for clothing, shields, waterproof containers.
Buffalo hair used for bowstrings and ropes.
Skins sewn together and fastened around a tall
cone of poles to make dwellings called tipis.
Meat not eaten is dried and kept for winter.
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1.11 Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands
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Plentiful Woods
Region extends from the Mississippi River
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Canada to North Carolina.
Endless forests, lakes and streams.
Two language groups emerge: Algonquian and
Iroquois.
Main food supply is deer, bear and small animals.
Iroquois build villages near waterways.
Log-frame houses, called longhouses
are about 20x100 feet in size. Many
families can live in one house.
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1.11 Continued…
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Women Farmers
Men clear the land by burning away trees and underbrush.
Women do the rest. They plant corn, beans, squash.
Tan deerskins to make skirts and moccasins.
Grind corn into meal.
Harvest crops in fall and store in large bark bins in longhouses.
In addition to corn, beans and
squash, crops also include
sunflowers,tobacco and other
veggies still planted in American
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gardens today.
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1.12 Native Americans of the Southeast
Towns built Around Mounds
*Stretches from the southern part of the Ohio Valley to
the Gulf of Mexico, and from Texas to the Atlantic.
* Fertile coastal plains, river valleys, mountains and
swamps.
* Long, warm, humid summers and mild winters.
* Southeastern peoples’ towns dominated by earthen mounds used
for burial sites and as platforms for temples.
* Rectangular frame houses built with strips
of young trees and plastered with clay.
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Secotan Village
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A Fertile Region
Long growing season perfect for growing corn, beans, squash,
pumpkins, and sunflowers.
Women work the fields.
Men hunt squirrels, rabbits, turkeys, and deer.
Women gather edible plants like potatoes, wild
rice, and persimmons.
Clothing is simple and made mostly from
deerskins.
Decorative jewelry made from stones, shells,
feathers, pearls,
bones, and clay.
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1.13 Summary
• Ancestors of Native Americans migrate from Asia
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across a land bridge during the last ice age.
Their descendants travel east and south, adapting to
the challenges of living in many different
environments.
They believe that they are a part of nature and treat
the environment with respect.
Diverse people who speak many languages.
Develop different cultures and ways of life.
Build first towns and villages in North America, and are
the continent’s first farmers.