Lesson 1 – The first Americans History Alive! P. 2-24
State Standards Objectives GEO. 1b. Describe the nature and spatial distribution of cultural patterns
The first Americans: American Indians Migration Routes Land Bridge – Beringia Environment Native Americans of the Northwest Coast Native Americans of California Native Americans of the Great Basin American Indians of the Plateau American Indians of the Southwest America Indians of the Great Plains American Indians of the Eastern Woodlands American Indians of the Southeast Content Standards
Who were the first Americans? How did they get here? What similarities and differences are there between the many different early American people? Essential Questions
Resourceful Land Bridge Migrated Hunters and Gathers Environment Cultural Region Ice Age Beringia Key Terms
Physical Geography of North America (You will need to label the following) Rocky Mountains Appalachian Mountains Coastal Plains Great Plains Sierra Nevada Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Gulf of Mexico Great Lakes Mississippi River Platte River Colorado River Rio Grande Ohio River Arkansas River Red River Saint Lawrence River Hudson Bay
The first Americans were considered Resourceful, people who were very creative in their methods to adapt to the many different environments of North America. Scientist today are still trying to find out even more about these early people. The most studied question about these people is, where and when did they inhabit North America? The First Americans - Introduction
The Earliest Americans While civilizations were developing in Africa, Asia, and Europe, they were also emerging in the Americas. At first, the ancient people of the Americans survived mainly by hunting and gathering. Over time, they developed farming methods that ensured a more reliable supply of food. This led to the growth of the first American civilizations.
The American continents include North and South America They are connected and span two hemispheres, from the frigid Arctic Circle in the north to the icy waters around Antarctica in the south. The Americas were once connected by a land bridge to Asia. Most experts believe that some of the first people came to the Americas from Asia over the land bridge. The Land Bridge is known as Beringia The Great land Bridge
The first Americans arrived sometime toward the end of the last Ice Age, which was roughly 1.9 million to about 10,000 B.C. Hugh Sheets of moving ice, called glaciers, spread southward from the Arctic Circle. They covered portions of North America. The buildup of glaciers locked up huge amounts of the earths water. It lowered sea levels and created a land corridor between Asia and Alaska across what is now the Bering Strait. Peopling the Americas
American Hunters and Gathers Hunter and Gather Societies follow the food source as it moves to fresh water, warmer temperatures and fresh grasses to eat. When the animals that were hunted ran scarce, other plans for survival were required.
American Indians lived in a variety of places, from snowy forests to dry deserts and vast grasslands. An environment include everything that surrounds us; land, water, animals, and plants. Groups of American Indians survived by adapting or changing their life style of living to suit each environment they inhabited. The First Americans Adapt to the Environment
American Indian Cultural Regions Over generations, groups of American Indians developed their own cultures, or ways of life. Many became part of larger groupings that were loosely organized under common leaders. Cultural Region is made up of people who share a similar language and way of life. By 1400, 1 and 2 million American Indians lived in ten major regions north of Mexico.
You will use your text book to complete a American Indian Cultural Regions Map (p. 8) You will label all Regions and shade each with an individual color. You will turn in your North American Maps with all labeled and colored Physical Geography. Please be sure your names are on all work before turning it in. Assessment