How did early
people adapt
to life in
North
America?
Page 20
SETTLING THE AMERICAS – LESSON 1
How did the first Native
Americans arrive in North
America?
Water routes
Land routes
Why did hunter-gatherers
settle in the Americas?
They were following game
that supplied their food and
clothing.
Glaciers trapped water to
expose the floor of the
Bering Sea between Siberia
and Alaska. This formed a
land bridge called Beringia.
Hunter-gatherers crossed a
land bridge following
animals and picked berries,
grasses, and mushrooms.
SETTLING THE AMERICAS
What are the three main
reasons civilizations
develop?
Farming
Surplus
Specialization
Surpluses in
food allowed
people time to
specialize in
trade, building,
and pottery.
What are two of the earliest civilizations in
Mexico?
Olmec
Maya
What led to the decline of the Maya
civilization?
The people could not produce enough
food for everyone.
The Olmec were the first to use chocolate, develop a calendar, and understand
the idea of zero.
Teotihuacán was the first major city in the Americas. Its temples and streets were
laid out according to the position of the sun
The Maya had a calendar, developed a mathematics system, built pyramids,
created a system of writing, and studied the stars.
Movie 45:52 – 53:06
Page 23
What are three early North
American civilizations and where
did they settle?
Hohokam (present-day Arizona)
Ancestral Pueblo (the Southwest)
Mound Builders (the Midwest)
Why did some early people build
mounds?
The Hopewell used mounds for
burials and religious ceremonies.
Mississippians used mounds for
burial and to watch the sun and
stars.
The Hohokam farmed using irrigation and built homes from adobe.
Irrigation supplies land with water through a series of pipes and ditches.
The Ancestral Pueblo built homes into the sides of cliffs and used dry farming.
Dry farming uses collected rainwater and melted snow.
Homes had special rooms, called kivas, for meetings and religious purposes.
Cahokia was the greatest Mississippian city. In 1100 ., it was one of the largest cities in the world.
A.D
Movie 37:38 – 45:45
Page 25
SETTLING THE AMERICAS
What are two factors that affect
the way that cultures
developed?
Climate
Natural resources
What three crops were
important to the Hohokam and
the Ancestral Pueblo?
maize
beans
squash
How did the availability of natural resources affect
people’s decisions to settle.
NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE
WEST – LESSON 2
How did
environments of
the West affect
the lives of Native
Americans?
Page 28
NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE
WEST
Inuit were hunters who used different parts of
animals for food, clothing, tools, and weapons.
The Tlingit and other Pacific Northwestern groups
used waterways to hunt and trade.
Pacific Northwest groups made totem poles to tell
stories about important family members and to
celebrate special events.
Potlatches are feasts at which guests receive gifts
from the host.
NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE
WEST
Alike
Inuit
Tlingit
conserved
natural resources
wealthy traders
got most food from sea
known for crafts
made tools and shelter from
natural resources
built plank houses
hunters
lived in Arctic
built pit houses, igloos,
tents
Page 31
PEOPLE OF THE SOUTHWEST –
LESSON 3
How did the
Pueblo and
Navajo adapt to
a desert
environment?
Movie 30:10-37:38
Page 32
NATIVE PEOPLE OF
THE SOUTHWEST
Pueblo
The Pueblo used dry farming and built homes from adobe. Homes were
secured by raising ladders so intruders could not enter.
They also made jewelry.
Navajo
The Navajo were hunter-gatherers who migrated to the Southwest.
They borrowed ideas from the Pueblo to adapt to the desert environment.
They used dry farming, wove cotton to make cloth, and made jewelry from
silver and turquoise.
They lived in hogans, which are dome shaped homes made from log or
stick frames then covered with mud or sod.
The Navajo captured sheep and became shepherds.
They used the meat for food and they used wool to make clothes and
blankets.
NATIVE PEOPLE OF
THE SOUTHWEST
Pueblo
built adobe
apartments
grew maize
Alike
used dry farming
Navajo
built single-family
hogans
wove cotton cloth
made silver and
turquoise jewelry
raised sheep
“walked in beauty”
Page 35
NATIVE AMERICANS
OF THE PLAINS – LESSON 4
How did Native
Americans of the
Plains use natural
resources to
survive?
Page 36
NATIVE AMERICANS
OF THE PLAINS Native Americans of the Plains hunted bison
List two ways life
changed for Native
Americans on the
Plains after the
arrival of horses.
Hunted on
horseback
Traded with faraway
groups
for food, clothing, and to make teepees.
Teepees are cone-shaped homes made with
long poles and covered with animal hides.
The Lakota kept records of important events
of each year. These records are called winter
counts.
Boys and girls were taught different skills to
prepare them for adulthood.
Page 37
PEOPLE OF THE EASTERN
WOODLANDS – LESSON 5
How did groups of
the Eastern
Woodlands live?
Page 40
PEOPLE OF THE
EASTERN WOODLANDS
Identify two major
Native American
groups that lived in the
Eastern Woodlands.
Creek
Iroquois
What kind of farming
did they use and why?
They used slash-andburn farming because
the forests were so
thick.
Eastern Woodlands groups
used materials from the
forest for food and
clothing. for example, they
ate muskrat and deer
meat.
Slash-and-burn farming is
when people cut down, or
slash, trees to allow rays
of sunlight to reach a plot
of land. Then they burn the
undergrowth to clear room
for crops.
After the harvest, they
leave the plot of land
empty for several years.
This prevents the soil from
wearing out.
Page 41
PEOPLE OF THE
EASTERN WOODLANDS
Creek
The Creek built wattle-and-daub huts for individual families. Huts were
made from poles and covered with grass, mud, or thatch.
They arranged the town around a council house or Chokofa.
They also decorated pots with stamps.
Iroquois
The Iroquois built homes on top of steep-sided hills with wood. These
homes are called longhouses.
The used high log fences to protect their villages
Page 43
PEOPLE OF THE
EASTERN WOODLANDS
Creek
Iroquois
Alike
had huts for
individual families
used wattle-anddaub
arranged around
a council hut
stamped designs
on pottery
grew corn
celebrated
Green Corn
Festival
played
lacrosse
had longhouses
for several
families
built of wood
protected village
with fence
made wampum
PEOPLE OF THE
EASTERN WOODLANDS
Government in the Woodlands
Creek
Formed a confederacy
Divided towns into two types
War towns (red)—declared war,
planned battles, and held
meetings with enemy groups
Peace towns (white)—passed
laws and held prisoners
Page 44
PEOPLE OF THE
EASTERN WOODLANDS
Government in the Woodlands
Iroquois
Women led the clans and appointed
male leaders.
Formed the Iroquois Confederacy
Became known as the League of
Six Nations after the six Iroquois
groups that formed it
The League of Six
Nations is an
example of an
early democracy.
Benjamin Franklin
borrowed some of
its ideas to include
in the U.S.
Constitution.
Purpose of the confederacy was
to promote peace among
Iroquois groups.
Page 45
REVIEW
In which areas of North America did native people settle and develop
their cultures?
West
Southwest
Plains
Eastern Woodlands
What are three farming techniques that native people used?
Irrigation – West in California desert
Dry Farming – Southwest
Slash-and-burn – Eastern Woodlands
How did people in the Pacific Northwest use the sea?
They used the sea to hunt and trade.
Describe some of the homes of native people and who built them.
Adobe – bricks made from mud and straw; protects from extreme heat
and cold (Hohokam and Pueblos)
Cliffs – built into the sides of cliffs (Ancestral Pueblos)
Hogans – dome-shaped homes made from log or stick frames and
covered with mud or sod (Navajo)
Teepees – cone-shaped homes made with long poles and covered
with animal hides (Plains)
Wattle-and-daub huts – made from poles and covered with grass,
mud, or thatch (Creek)
Longhouses – built with wood on tops of steep-sided hills (Iroquois)
Which Native American group formed the League of Six Nations?
The Iroquois formed the League of Six Nations.
How did Native Americans on the Great Plains adapt to the
environment?
They hunted bison and built lodges from grass, sticks, and soil.