North America Before Columbus

1
North America Before Columbus

• 15,000 BC to 1492

2
The First People in North America

• Who were the first? Its hard to say
• 12,000 to 16,000 years ago are widely accepted
  time frames
• Recent Evidence suggests people may have been
  here for 50,000 years

3
Most Accepted Theory to Date

• Theory people from Asia crossed the Bering Land
  Bridge to get to North America
• This bridge was Open between 25,000 and 11,000
  years ago

4
Clovis People

• Is the name given to the first peoples to settle
  North America
• Dates from 13,000 to 11,000 for their arrival
• Clovis people left behind many artifacts that
  have been scientifically dated

5
Clovis People Continued

• There are many sites throughout North America
  Identified as Clovis sites
• Sites are identified usually by the types of
  arrowheads found
• They lived by hunting big game, most of which is
  now extinct

6
Pre-Clovis People?

• There have been sites found that date earlier
  than Clovis People15,000 years ago in South
  America
• Evidence is found in arrowheads that are not as
  well made as Clovis
• They are thought to have survived by hunting,
  gathering and fishing
• Pre-Clovis sites have caused a great deal of
  controversy

7
Megafuana

• This is the name given to the many large animals
  that went extinct at the end of the last ice
  ageabout 10,000 years ago
• These large animals went extinct at the same time
  humans arrived in North Americacoincidence?

8
Mastodon

• Similar to Wooly Mammoth, but had different teeth
  and tusks
• Lived in cold forests

9
Wooly Mammoth

• Lived in colder climates
• Had thick, greasy hair
• Probably used tusks to shovel snow off of
  vegetation
• Many frozen specimens have been found
• It is rumored that members of the National
  Geographic's Society once ate preserved mammoth
• Some scientists are trying to create one using
  preserved DNA

10
Saber Tooth Tiger

• While its in the cat family, its not really a
  tiger
• Probably did not run very fast
• Most likely a social animal that lived in groups,
  as do lions and tigers
• Could open its mouth 120 degree (modern cats can
  only go 60 degrees)

11
Giant Beaver

• Can you imagine the dam a 900 pound beaver could
  make?

12
Giant Ground Sloth

• One of the largest land mammals ever
• Could get to 20 feet tall and weighed 8 tons
  (same as an African Bull Elephant)
• Was a vegetarian
• Had no real enemiestheir huge claws could easily
  fend off Saber ToothTigers
• Human hunters could have easily caused their
  extinction

13
Glyptodon

• Large relative of the armadillo
• About the size of a Volkswagen Beetle
• They were herbivores that grazed on grasses
• It is believed that humans hunted them and used
  their shells for shelter

14
Hagerman Horse

• Related to the African Zebra
• Was a grazer, just like modern horses

15
Camelops

• You guessed it, it was just like the camels alive
  today
• Many Clovis sites show signs that these animals
  were frequently butched

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After Clovis

• Prevailing theory is that Clovis People are the
  ancestors of all Native American groups
• The Clovis way of life ended with the extinction
  of the animals they hunted
• Different groups split off from one another,
  forming their own cultures in different locations
  throughout North America
• Genetic study suggests that all Native American
  groups can be linked to a single founding
  population

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It is Worth Noting

• While scientific evidence points in favor of the
  Bering Land Bridge and Clovis-first theories,
  most present-day Native Americans do not accept
  these theories
• Native Americans generally believe that they have
  always been in North America
• Their evidenceall Native American groups have
  rich oral traditions
• There are no known Native American oral histories
  that refer to ancestors crossing a land bridge or
  leaving Asia by other means to come to North
  America

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Native American Before Columbus

• Today there are 562 Federally recognized Native
  American tribes
• There were probably many more before Columbus
• We will now look at the major groupings of Native
  American tribes throughout the United States

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Cherokee

• The Cherokee lived in the mountains and valleys
  of the southern Appalachian Mountains
• Lived in domed houses in villages along
  riverbanks
• They were farmers, hunters, and fishermen
• Held festivals to celebrate planting and
  harvesting of corn
• Invented Lacross

20
Algonquin

• These are Great Lakes tribes that include Ojibwa,
  Delaware, Powhatan, and Massachusetts tribes
• Lived in wigwams
• Wore very little clothes in summer, dressed in
  animal skins in the winter
• They were hunters, gatherers, trappers, and
  planters
• Traveled in birch bark canoes

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Iroquois

• Included Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and
  Seneca tribes
• Lived in what is now New York state along the St
  Lawrence River
• They lived in Long Houses that held 30 to 60
  people
• Wore mostly buckskin clothes
• They grew The Three Sisterscorn, squash, and
  beans
• They used snowshoes in the winter

22
Seminoles

• They settled in the Southeast, mostly in Florida
• Their lived in Chikee homes, the homes were
  usually placed in swamplands
• They wore clothing woven from Palmetto
• They were hunters and gatherers who traveled in
  dugout canoes

23
Navajo

• Included in this group are the Pueblo, Zuni, Rio,
  and Hopi tribes, as all had similar cultures and
  beliefs
• Lived in what is now New Mexico and Northeastern
  Arizona
• Their homes were called Hogansthese were round
  houses built with forked sticks and covered with
  brush, packed earth, hides, and whatever they
  could find
• Their clothing was made from rabbit skins and the
  Yuka plant
• They were raiders (they usually stole crops from
  the Pueblos), gatherers, and hunters, and
  eventually farmed for themselves
• They are well known for their turquoise jewelry

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Apache

• Also lived in what is now New Mexico and Arizona
• They were nomads who did not stay in one place
  for very long
• They lived in Wickiups, small dome-shaped homes
  that were not very sturdy, and women made them in
  a few hours
• They wore deerskin clothes
• They did not farm, but women gathered plants,
  mostly yucca and mescaline (tasted like cabbage)
• They are known for their well-made and intricate
  baskets

25
Northwest Coastal Native Americans

• Includes tribes such as the Tlingit and Chicook
• Lived along the Northwest coast from Alaska to
  Northern California
• The Northwest Coastal Indians wore little
  clothing. They wore fiber rain capes and skin
  robes
• They lived in large plank houses in groups of 30
  or so
• The men tattooed their arms and hands for
  measuring dentalium. Dentalium was a shell that
  was strung together and used as money
• Of all tribal groups, these people enjoyed the
  most abundant natural resources
• They were hunters, gatherers, and fishermen, and
  they took slaves. Slaves were a sign of wealth.
  Children were kept close to their camp for fear
  that they would be stolen by another tribe and
  become a slave.

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Plains Native Americans

• Group includes Sauk, Fox, Cheyenne, Arapaho,
  Sioux, Blackfeet, Comanche, and Pawnee tribes
• They lived in the area from the Mississippi River
  to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to Mexico
• Most lived in Teepee
• They wore buffalo skins
• They used Peace Pipes in ceremonies

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Inuit

• Lived in the Arctic region of North America
• Their homes were igloos in the winter and skin,
  wood, mud, or sod homes in the summer
• Their clothing was sealskin in the summer and in
  the winter they wore caribou skin
• They made the most out of very limited resources,
  particularly of use were all parts of whales and
  seals
• Never in Angerthey were a very peaceful people

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Map of Pre-Columbus Tribes
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About Pre-Columbian Native Societies

• Native Americans spoke over 300 languages
• Many Native societies had urban settlements,
  farming, architecture, and complex societies
• Native Americans domesticated plants that
  constitute 50-60 of all crops now grown
  world-wide
• Prior to Columbus arrival, there were between 10
  and 100 million people who live in the Americas