The Americas Before Columbus

Wait… Which term do I use? What is considered “correct” by society changes often so it is important to keep up to date The two most common and accepted terms are Native American or American Indian Things that don’t work: Indians, natives, those people in the loin clothes, etc. Make sure you are being polite just as you would expect someone to be to you!

The Ice Age Ice ages greatly changed climates and allowed different animals to prosper Areas that are current deserts used to be cool and have lots of vegetation Saber tooth tigers, mastodons, and ground sloths Ocean levels dropped due to all the glaciers

Best Guess How many years ago did people arrive in the Americas?

Arriving to the Americas People migrated somewhere from 15,000-30,000 years ago Migration- movement of people for the purpose of settling in a new place People crossed a land bridge between Russia and Alaska that was exposed due to the low sea levels The Ice age ended around 12,000 to 10,000 years ago It is still unknown how many people were living in the Americas when Europeans arrived Some say 8 to 10 million or 700,000 to 800,000 people

Imagine… Imagine you a dropped in the middle of a forest. No food, no weapons, no electronics, etc. (Think REALLY old school) What would you do to get food? (McDonalds is not an option here…)

Early Americans Survival first based on hunting and gathering Most early Americans were nomads Nomads moved around with weather and hunting patterns After the Ice Age ended, people began to farm First crop is thought to be maize (corn) Some groups stopped being nomadic as farming let them stay in one place

Your Life… Who or what organizations did you need to rely on when growing up? Ex/ parents, school, etc. Think outside the box!

Social Structure Kinship Division of Labor They would rely on family to fulfill social needs People would go to family to get medical care, child care, education and settle disputes People today rely on the government, churches, and private organizations for social needs Kinships were organized into clans Clans are a group of families with a common ancestor Division of Labor Tasks were assigned to people based on gender, age, or states Ex/ Slaves performed low jobs while nobles enforced laws

Social Structure (cont.) Religion Many early Americans believe in powerful sources that were spiritual to control the earth and believed in animism Animism- the belief that all living things have spirits Native Americans performed ceremonies to recognize these spiritual forces They believed that the rituals would help them avoid disasters such as invasions, disease, or bad harvest Additionally, many cultures believed in one Supreme Being

Trade As some groups settled, they began to develop specialties Trade allowed them to share these Many Native Americans traded for food and items both in and outside of their groups They saw trade as a sign of respect They utilized natural trade routes like the Mississippi River and also built a network of paths Traders sometimes carried things thousands of miles from the source

Land Use Land was saw as a source of life so it couldn’t be traded They did not just leave the land untouched though Farming required burning fields to be able to create an area to farm rich with nutrients However, they only disturbed the land when it was necessary