Michigan Geography and Early History

GeographyEarly People

Michigan History

Map of Thomas Jefferson’s plan for the division of states West of Appalachia.

What Region is Michigan Located In?• Midwest• Mideast • East North Central – according to Dept. of

Commerce• Great Lakes – Many college regional's are called

the Great Lakes Region• Eastern – As in the Detroit Pistons Conference and

the Eastern Time Zone• Central – As in the Detroit Lions Conference• Mid-American – as in the Mid-American

Conference (MAC)

Today’s Plan• Jumpstart Assignment– What does this picture tell you about Michigan’s first

people? (Write your answer in your notebook)

• Notes: Michigan’s Early People

• Assignment: The EarlyResidents

Michigan – What’s with the name?• Comes from two native Algonquian words:–Michi – meaning “great or big”–Gama – meaning “lake”

• The term first came into use by the French in 1681 in reference to Lac de Michigami or (Lake Michigan)

• Michigania was actually first the proposed name for a territory in present day northern Wisconsin and the southwest Upper Peninsula.

Native Peoples of Michigan• The First Natives of Michigan were known as

Paleo-Indians who are believed to have migrated from Russiain 12000 B.C.

Historical Periods• Archaic Period – 8000 B.C. – 1000 B.C. - glaciers

recede to the north giving rise to hardwood forests in the south

• Woodland Period – 1000 B.C. – A.D. 1650 – Agriculture begins to flourish

The Mound Builders300 B.C. – A.D. 500• Built conical mounds for

ceremonies and funerals.• Traded with natives from the west.

Archaeologists know they traded because of the artifacts left behind were similar to those in other parts of Michigan and the Rocky Mountains.

Map of Michigan Counties