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Native Americans. Objectives. Explain how American Indians may have come to North America. Describe the process by which different American Indian groups and cultures developed. Describe the major culture areas prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America. Terms and People.
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Objectives • Explain how American Indians may have come to North America. • Describe the process by which different American Indian groups and cultures developed. • Describe the major culture areas prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America.
Terms and People • ice age− period in Earth’s history with low global temperatures and glaciers covering large areas • migrate − to travel • Mayas − ancient people of Mexico who lived along the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean coast
Terms and People(continued) • Aztecs − ancient people of Mexico who lived in the central highlands • adobe − sun-dried brick made from earth, water, and straw • Iroquois League− loose confederation made up of five Iroquois peoples: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas
How did the spread of civilization begin in the Americas? The earliest inhabitants of the Americas found a land rich in resources and varied in geographic features. As they settled across the land, they adapted to local environments and developed distinct ways of life.
Scientists refer to the first humans to live in the Americas as Paleo-Indians. • Scholars believe the Paleo-Indians came from Siberia, a region in Asia. • They disagree, however, about when and how the Paleo-Indians arrived.
The Paleo-Indians eventually migrated throughout the Americas.
About 12,000 to 10,000 years ago, the climate warmed, melting the polar ice and raising the ocean level. Paleo-Indians adapted by turning their attention to fishing, gathering nuts and berries, and hunting smaller mammals. The warming climate and the increased skill of hunters killed off the mammoths and other large animals.
They learned to domesticate plants such as maize (corn), squash, and beans. The expanded food supply led to population growth and permanent villages. In Mexico, some villages grew into great cities ruled by powerful chiefs. About 3,500 years ago in central Mexico, Native Americans developed agriculture.
From Mexico, agriculture slowly spread northward into North America. In Mexico, the Mayas and the Aztecsbuilt advanced civilizations. However, in some places, people continued hunting, gathering, and fishing.
Diverse cultures emerged in what would later become the United States. In different regions, Native Americans • Had different kinds of homes and clothes • Ate different foods • Developed different traditions • Spoke hundreds of different languages
In the arid Southwest climate, Native Americans learned to build dams and irrigation canals in order to grow crops. Some Native Americans in this region lived in adobe houses in farming villages, while others lived in pueblos and cliff dwellings.
Because of the mild winters, warm summers, and ample rainfall, most Native Americans in the Southeast were farmers. But they also hunted in the forests and fished in the rivers and lakes of the region. A Seminole village in what is now Florida
Northeastern people developed into two major language groups: the Algonquians and the Iroquoians. The Algonquians lived in wigwams on the Atlantic seaboard, while the Iroquois lived in longhouses around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Five Iroquois peoples united to form the Iroquois League, which promoted peace among the member nations.
Despite their cultural diversity, most Native American groups shared several cultural features • Decentralized political power • Spiritual beliefs and shamanism • Little private ownership of property • Equality among the various tribes and nations • Division of labor along gender lines
