Chapter 1

resourceful

good at finding ways to solve problems

To adapt to their environment, the Indians of the Great Basin lived in

temporary camps set up as groups searched for food.

American Indians of the Plateau found it relatively easy to get food because

the climate was cool and wet, and rivers provided fish.

Dominted

to be most noticeable within a group

Adapting

to change in order to adjust to a new condition or environment

Revise

to change in order to improve

Plains Indians relied on the buffalo for everything except

transportation.

American Indians respected their natural environment by

trying not to waste anything taken from nature

Natural resources

useful material found in nature, including water, vegetation, animals, and minerals

American Indians were able to adapt to different environments by

using natural resources for food, clothing, and shelter.

The mesa people of the Southwest adapted their homes to their arid environment by

using sun-baked clay bricks to build thick-walled houses.

Scientists believe the earliest Americans were hunters who came from Asia during the last Ice Age by..

walking across a land bridge to present-day Alaska.

Although they lived in different environments, a basic food for most California Indians was

Acorns

Northwest Indians lived near the coast to take advantage of

food from the sea, such as fish, shellfish, and seals.

temporary

for a limited, often short-term, period of time

Main Idea-S3

American Indians lived in a variety of places, from snowy forests to dry deserts and vast grasslands Groups of American Indians survived by adapting, or changing, their style of living to suit each environment, its climate, and its natural resources. Over generations, groups of American Indians developed their own cultures, or ways of life Using such artifacts (items made by people), historians have grouped American Indian peoples into cultural regions

Main Idea- S1

Europeans and other groups did not start arriving in North America until a little more than 500 years ago. For thousands of years, the first Americans had the American continents to themselves. In this chapter, you will learn about these resourceful

Migrated

Flip card migrated to move from one place and establish a home in a new place. A move of a large number of people is called a migration, and the people are called migrants.

Main Idea-S8

North of the Great Basin lies the Plateau cultural region. Plateau people built their villages along major rivers. Food was so plentiful that some groups were able to live in their villages year-round. Plateau people used their weaving skills to create many kinds of baskets, as well as elaborate hats. The food most important to Plateau people was salmon.

Main Idea- S2

Scientists believe that the first Americans migrated on foot from Siberia, in Asia, to present-day Alaska. This exposed a wide bridge of land between Asia and North America that scientists call Beringia (bear-IN-jee-uh) Over thousands of years, the animals slowly spread eastward. Generations of Siberian hunter families followed. Once in America, hunters followed the animals south, where spring brought fresh grasses. As the glaciers melted and the oceans rose, the land bridge disappeared

Main Idea-S6

The California cultural region stretches from southern Oregon through Baja California. The California region includes not only the coast, but also the coastal foothills, an inland valley, deserts, and the western side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Most people in the region relied on acorns from oak trees as a basic food. Because the climate was mild, California people built simple homes. California people wove plant materials into many useful items.

Main Idea-S11

The Eastern Woodlands cultural region reaches from the Mississippi River eastward to the Atlantic Ocean and from Canada to North Carolina. Winter snows and summer rains produced endless forests, lakes, and streams. The forests provided most of what Iroquois (EER-uh-kwoi) people needed to live. To clear a space for farming, Iroquois men burned away trees and underbrush. Women did the rest.

Main Idea-S10

The Great Plains cultural region is a vast area of treeless grasslands. The Great Plains stretch for 2,000 miles from the Rockies to the Mississippi Valley, and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. On the eastern Great Plains, various groups took up farming, going on buffalo hunting trips only a few months each year. On the western Great Plains, American Indians followed buffalo herds much of the year. Buffalo provided the main food for Plains people. Plains people used every part of the buffalo. Buffalo provided materials for housing as well.

Main Idea- S5

The Northwest Coast cultural region extends from southern Oregon into Canada. Northwest people found food plentiful, particularly that taken from the sea. The forests of the Northwest provided materials for houses and many useful objects. With abundant food nearby, the Northwest people had time to practice crafts.

Main Idea-S12

The Southeast cultural region stretches from the southern part of the Ohio Valley to the Gulf of Mexico and from Texas to the Atlantic Ocean. Some Southeastern peoples built towns dominated by large earthen mounds. The first mounds were burial sites. Centuries later, people made mounds several stories high as platforms for temples. With the region's long growing season, Southeastern people relied on corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers for most of their food.

Main Idea-S4

They viewed themselves as a part of the community of plants, animals, and other natural objects American Indians generally believed that each part of nature had its own spirit. Unlike Europeans, American Indians did not believe that land could be owned as private property American Indians modified the land to suit their needs. American Indians modified the land to suit their needs.

Main Idea-S7

To the east of California lies the Great Basin, a low area between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. The mountains on either side of this region block the rain, making this land mostly desert. With limited food and water, only a few families could live in a place at one time. When winter came, temperatures dropped below freezing. n this arid (dry) environment, people followed food sources from season to season

Cultural

a people's way of life, including beliefs, customs, food, dwellings, and clothing

Envirnment

all of the physical surroundings in a place, including land, water, animals, plants, and climate

Cultural Region

an area in which a group of people share a similar culture and language

In order to grow corn in the Southwest, farmers had to

build irrigation ditches and dams.

The Iroquois people of the Eastern Woodlands adapted their homes to their environment by

building wooden longhouses covered with bark.

Peoples of the Southeast built their towns around large mounds made of earth and used as

burial places and platforms for temples.

An area where people share a similar way of life and language is called a

cultural region.

Before they had horses, Plains Indians hunted buffalo by

driving herds over a cliff, then killing them.

The Northwest Coast is to the Great Basin as wet and forested is to

dry and barren.

Indians of the Eastern Woodlands survived by

farming, hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Main Idea-S9

he Southwest cultural region includes present-day Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah and Colorado, and portions of Texas, Oklahoma, and California. This region has many environments—canyons, mountains, deserts, and flat-topped mesas. The heat and lack of water made living in the Southwest a challenge. The mesa people lacked trees for building homes. Instead, they made homes from the earth itself Despite living in a desert, the early mesa people learned to grow corn, beans, and squash. Corn was by far their most important crop.

Indians of the Northwest Coast used wood from their forests to make

houses and baskets.

The Southeast cultural region was good for farming because its climate has

long, warm, humid summers and mild winters.

As the Ice Age ended, descendants of the earliest Americans had to

move east and south to find new sources of food.

American Indians believed they were

one part of the community of the natural world