North America & Montana Pre-History Early Montana Pre-Historic Peoples Migration Routes Early People of Present-Day Montana

After the Dinosaurs Huge Mammals Roamed the Americas….

Large Pre-Historic Animals Woolly mammoth Mastodon Steppe bison Giant ground sloth Giant beaver North American horse Camel Saber Tooth Cat

How & When did Humans Arrive in the Americas?

MigrationS Multiple migrations of pre-historic peoples from Asia 12,000-30,000 years ago Land Bridge (Beringia) -original theory, most widely accepted Coastal Routes by sea -additional routes -recent research seems to confirm multiple routes Paleo-Indians/Clovis People

Beringia

Land Routes

Land Bridge Siberia North America

Coastal Routes

How do we know this stuff? Archaeologists and geologists study layers or strata in the earth (bottom layers are older, top layers are newer) Radiocarbon dating (tests organic materials to determine age) DNA & Linguistics (compares DNA and languages to find connections between people in different parts of the world)

S T R A

Creation Stories Each Indian tribe today has its own creation story. Passed down through oral traditions Some call them legends or myths, but many tribal members believe in these creation stories like members of any other religion. Many tribes believe they were always here based on their creation stories.

Who were the 1st Americans? Where did they originate? Differing theories

Kennewick Man Skeleton found near Kennewick, Washington ½ buried in Columbia River bank Approx 9300 years old Unique (“Caucasian” features?) Umatilla Indian Tribe objected to examination of skeleton Indian Grave Repatriation Act Evidence links ancestry to Japan

Family Resemblance?

Movin’ to Montana Pre-Historic peoples arrived in MT about 12,000 years ago (10,000 B.C.) People were highly mobile and lived in small groups, which was better for hunting Followed herds of Mammoth Before 1600 the only tribes to live in MT were in the western mountains Kootenai Flathead or Salish

Paleo-Indians or Clovis People

Pre-Historic Indian Ancestors Paleo-Indian or Clovis people Hunter/Gatherers Named for shape they gave their spear points

Atlatl

THE END