Transcript The First Americans

The First Americans
The First Americans
A long time ago North America was very different from
the way it is today. There were no highways, cars, or
cities. There were no schools, malls, or restaurants.
But even long, long ago, there were still communities.
A community is where a group of people live and have
fun together. People made their own homes, food,
and clothing from the plants and animals they found
around them, or natural resources. These first
Americans descended, or came from cave men of
Asia. These were the first people to live in North
America. That is why we call them Native Americans.
These people have lived in North America for
thousands of years, and there are still Indian
communities today.
Cultural Regions
• Often people living in the same area share some
ways of life. Such an area is called a cultural
region. People living in a place with cold
weather, for example, wear heavy clothing.
Many people living in a place with rich soil farm
the land. Yet in North America, there were great
differences even among the people of the same
cultural region. Think about these differences as
you read about each cultural region.
Native Americans
Beringia land bridge: possible migration route
Bering Strait
Anasazi
Location of Southwest
The Anasazi are
located in the
desert that is the
southwestern part
of the USA.
Today it is known as
the Four corners
and covers
Colorado, New
Mexico, Utah, and
Arizona.
Culture of Southwest
They used
animals
skins for
clothes.
How they lived?
They lived in adobe
buildings. Some used cliffs
made of sandstone for
their homes.
Their first floor had no
doors or windows in order
to keep thieves out. They
used a ladder to get to the
second floor of their
house.
Dry farming was used to
grow the 3 sisters (corn,
squash, and beans).
Anasazi
cliff dwellers
Southwest Religion
They believed in
Spirits in nature.
Kachina dances
were done to
bring rain to the
crops.
They also had
kivas, a religious
building
Southwest Art
The Southwest
made pots, cloths,
and baskets as well
as jewelry and
dolls.
Southwest Clothing
Their clothing was
made from cotton
but they didn’t
need much since it
was very hot
They did wear
moccasins.
What happened to the
Southwest?
Many of the Southwest
Native Americans have
moved on to other
places.
Some Native Americans
remain in the
surrounding areas.
Mound Builders
“Mississippians”
Location of Mound Builders
They lived in the
Ohio and
Mississippi River
valleys.
How the Mound Builders lived?
They grew and
ate maize (field
corn).
Cities were built
on top of mounds
of dirt.
Mound Builder
Religion
They believed that spiders and
woodpeckers had special powers.
They also had a leader known as the
“Great Sun.” When he died, his
wives were killed and buried with
him so he would have them in the
next life.
The Mound Builders’ got
their name because they
would bury people along
with their goods in concical
mounds on a hill.
Many mounds contain
hundreds of people buried
on top of one another
creating a mountain.
Many of these mounds
have tons of dirt and these
people didn’t even have
horses to help them. The
people carried all the dirt!
The largest mound is found
in Cahokia, Illinois and
contains about 40,000
people.
What happened to the Mound
Builders?
Most of them died as a
result of the White man
bringing disease with him
from Europe.
The Hohokam