chapter 1 unit
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NotesTRANSCRIPT
America In The
BeginningWho 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
drop
and expose land.
In the Bering
straight a land
bridge appeared
connecting
Siberia(Asia)& the
Americas
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 warming
up glaciers
causing water
levels to rise
covering up the
land 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
environments
in 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
and believe in many
gods.
2. No one can own
land.
3. Only use what is
needed (no waste).
4. 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
Plains
Northeast
Southeast
California
Northwest coast
Southwest
Great basin
Plateau
North West CoastWeather:
long cold winters
cool summers
heavy rainfall
Natural Resources:
ocean/beaches
thick forests of fir,
spruce, and cedar
rugged mountains
seafood/salmon
deer, moose, bear, elk,
beaver, mountain goats
Culture:
Tools: Use cedar canoes to hunt.Fenced in salmon laying eggsUsed cedar to make rope, mat and baskets, shell needles Used wedges, sledge hammers drills and knives to carve wooden masks
Clothing:Cedar water proof clothing like capes with decorative shell buttons
Shelter:Lived near the coast, cedar long houses with cedar bark roofs
CaliforniaWeather:
rainy winters
hot dry summers
Natural Resources:
ocean/coast
foothills
valley's
deserts
mountains
acorns, oak trees
grass, and plants
redwood trees
salmon/seafood/shellfish
deer, rabbits, ducks,
roots berries, pine nuts
Culture:
Tools: Used bow and arrows, snares, and nets used cooking stones to cook acorn meals. Tools from antlers
Clothing: Grass/leather apron and skirts
Shelter:Cone shaped made of red wood bark. Poles and reeds woven into mats
Great BasinWeather:
little rain
hot during the day
cold at night
Natural Resources:
mostly dessert
low areas surrounded by
mountains at the edges
with valleys that had
seasonal lakes and streams
plants that need little water like
grasses, 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
Culture:Tools: Water basket sealed with tree sap. Floating duck decoys, nets sharp sticks and flat baskets for catching seeds.
Clothing: rabbit robes in winter
Shelter: Nomadic temporary cone shelters of willow brush and reeds
PlateauWeather:
long cold winters
comfortable summers
Natural Resources:
mountains with
dense forests in areas
flatter in the center with
drier grass lands
rivers
driftwood, mud, dirt,
grass and sage brush
fish, antelope, deer, seeds
onions, carrots, camas roots,
salmon
Culture:
Tools:Woven baskets, willow digging sticks, wooden fishing platforms, nets and spears for salmon
Clothing: antelope and deer hides leggings dresses and skirts, woven hats seed and shell design
Shelter: Near rivers, partly underground out of driftwood, mud, sap and reeds
Great PlainsWeather:
cold winters
hot summers
Natural Resources:
mountains surrounding edges
treeless grasslands in the
center
east more water and softer
soil
west drier dense grass
Buffalo and smaller animals
Culture:
Tools: Bow made of buffalo tendon, arrows, V shaped stone trap, fire, bone knives, shield
Clothing:Buffalo robes and hides
Shelter:Houses call tipi’s (plains word for dwelling)
South WestWeather:
high temperatures
little rain
dry/arid
Natural Resources:
mountains, canyons
desserts, flat top mesas
rivers, little water
clay, brightly colored plants, cotton
corn, beans, squash, peppers,
rabbits
Houses: Made of bricks of adobe(sun baked clay) Up to four stories and hundreds of roomsClothes: made of cotton. Using plants to dye the fabricTools: lived in flooded areas. Men dug irrigation ditches and dams to hold the summer rain. Women were grinding corn kernels into cornmeal. They used clay pots to cook chili pepper stews.
Eastern WoodlandsWeather:
snowy winters , rain
Natural Resources:
rivers, ocean/coast
lots of lakes and streams
Forests, plants,
maple trees, elm,
deer, bears, beavers, birds, fish
corn, sunflowers, tobacco,
vegetables,
nuts, berries
House: Long house sturdy , long-framed houses covered with elm bark. About 20 feet wide and over 100 feet long. Several related families live in sections of the house.Clothing: Skirts capes and moccasins made of deer skin Tools: Ground corn with wooden sticks, used wooden canoes, speared fish For farming land, man burnt small sections of trees and underbrush. Women used hoes for planting. Made maple syrup and wooden storage canisters.
South EastWeather:
long warm humid summers
mild winters
Natural Resources:
rivers, ocean/coast
Fertile coastal plains
mountains,
swamps
Trees, clay, shells,
corn, beans, squash,
pumpkins,
sunflowers, sweet potatoes
squirrels, rabbits, turkeys,
deer, alligators, turtles,
wild rice, persimmons
Houses: made of 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 which as burial sights and used as platforms and temples. Clothing: Made of deer skin. Jewelry made of stones, shells, feathers, pearls, bones, and clay.Tools: used hoes made of stone, shell or animal shoulder blades. Hunted using small blow guns, bows and arrows.