Early Native Americans

Early Native Americans

1. People first came to the Americas thousands of years ago. At the time, a drop in sea level in the Bering Strait created a land bridge connecting Asia and North America.

   • land bridge
   • Americas
     • North America + Central America + South America + the Caribbean
   • Early people depended on hunting for food, so they probably walked across the land bridge following animals. Over time, people built great societies throughout the Americas.
     • We call the people who first lived in North American Native Americans or American Indians. There were many different groups of Native Americans. Each group had its own way of life..
       • Native Americans = American Indians
         • the people who first lived in North America
           • natural environment --> ways of life
             • Arctic (very cold)
               • people
                 • Inuit, Inupiaq, others
               • food
                 • hunted marine animals, birds, & large mamaals
               • housing
                 • houses called igloos (snow + ice)
               • other
                 • animal skins --> warm clothes & kayaks (small boats)
             • Northeast
               • people
                 • Mohawks, Iroquois
               • food
                 • hunted animals + planted crops
               • other
                 • a representative form of government & used by Founding Fathers
             • Great Plains
               • food
                 • hunted animals (buffalo)
               • housing
                 • homes from soil, wood frames, teepees
               • other
                 • developed a cultural around the buffalo
             • Pacific Northwest
             • Southwest (dry)
               • people
                 • Pueblo Indians, Anasazi
               • food
                 • grew crops (collected rain water)
               • housing
                 • Pueblo - homes of adoboe; Anasazi - sides of cliffs
               • other
                 • developed an agricultural system that used irrigation
             • Southeast (swampy)
               • peolpe
                 • Seminole, Greek, others
               • food
                 • grew food & hunted in the woodlands
               • housing
                 • chickees
       • These early people did not have a written language, but they left behind petroglyphs, pottery, and weavings. They also left behind homes and mounds. Historians study these artifacts and sites to learn about the lives of early Native Americans.
         • weaving
           • cloth made from thread or fibers
         • mound
           • a small hill that may be either natural or created by people
         • petroglyph
           • a stone with writing or iamges carved on it
         • pottery
           • objects made from clay
     • hunting
       • chase and kill wild animals for food
     • society
       • a large group of people who share the sam culture

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