CHAPTER 7Peoples of North America

SETTING THE SCENE

Climate and natural resources had profound effects on the daily life for the first people in North America

The impact of the environment stretched far beyond the southwest

Hundreds of cultural groups emerged in present-day United States and Canada

Early people lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering

The success of farming led to large populations and permanent settlements

EARLY TRIBES

THE DESERT SOUTHWEST---HOHOKAMS More than 1,000 years ago, fields of corn, beans,

and squash bloomed in the desert southwest These crops were raised by the Hohokams

(“Vanished Ones”) To farm the desert, they built complex irrigation

systems The Hohokams lived near the Gila River in present-

day Arizona They may have acquired skills such as irrigation

from the civilizations of Middle America They built temple mounds and ball courts The Hohokams survived until about 1500 AD, when

a drought forced them from their settlements

GILA RIVER

HOHOKAM IRRIGATION DITCHES

THE DESERT SOUTHWEST---ANASAZIS

The best-known society of the southwest was that of the Anasazi

They lived in what is known as the Four Corners region of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah

Between about 900-1300 AD, the Anasazi built large villages called pueblos (named by the Spanish)

Kivas (large underground chambers) were used for religious ceremonies

Paintings on walls show their concern with weather, including storms that might damage crops

FOUR CORNERS REGION

FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT

FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT

FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT

VISITING FOUR STATES AT ONE TIME!!!

ANASAZI PEOPLE

PUEBLO

PUEBLO

THE DESERT SOUTHWEST---ANASAZIS

In the late 1100s, the Anasazi began building housing complexes in the shadow of canyon walls, where the cliffs offered protection from raiders

The largest of these cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, in present-day Colorado, had over 200 rooms

People had to climb ladders to reach their fields on the flatlands above or the canyon floor below

In the late 1200s, a long drought forced the Anasazi to abandon their land

Attacks by Navajos and Apaches may have contributed further to their decline

Anasazi traditions survive among the Hopis and other Pueblo Indians of the present-day southwestern U.S.

MESA VERDE

MESA VERDE

MESA VERDE

MESA VERDE

THE MOUND BUILDERS

In the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, other farming cultures emerged as early as 700 BC

The Adena and Hopewell peoples left behind giant earthen mounds

The Mississippian people also built great earthen mounds

Their greatest center, Cahokia in present-day Illinois, housed as many as 40,000 people by about 1200 AD

Cahokia boasted at least 60 mounds

MAP OF MOUND BUILDERS

MISSISSIPPIAN TOWN

CAHOKIA MOUNDS

MOUND

CAHOKIA MOUNDS

DIVERSE REGIONAL CULTURES

Modern scholars have identified 10 culture areas in North America based on the environments in which people lived: Arctic, Subarctic, Northwest Coast, California, Great Basin, Plateau, Southwest, Great Plains, Eastern Woodlands, and Southeast

In each area, people adapted to geographic conditions that influenced their ways of life

A FROZEN WORLD

In the frozen north, the Inuits (Eskimos) adapted to a harsh climate using limited resources of the frozen land to survive

Seals and other sea mammals provided them with food, skins for clothing, bones for needles and tools, and oil for cooking

The used kayaks in open waters or dog sleds to transport goods across ice

Inuits also constructed igloos, or dome-shaped homes made from snow and ice

INUITS (ESKIMOS)

KAYAK AND DOGLSEDS

POLAR BEARS

IGLOOS

A LAND OF PLENTY The people of the Northwest Coast lived in a far

richer environment than the Inuits Rivers teemed with salmon, and the Pacific Ocean

offered other fish and sea mammals Hunters tracked deer, wolves, and bears in forests People built large, permanent villages with homes

made of wood They traded surplus goods, gaining wealth that was

shared at a potlatch At this ceremony, which continues in Canada today,

a person of rank and wealth distributes lavish gifts to a large number of guests

By accepting the gifts, the guests acknowledge the host’s high status

PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRIBES (WASHINGTON)

CANOE

WILD SALMON

GRILLED SALMON

PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIVES

THE IROQUOIS LEAGUE

The Iroquois lived in the Eastern Woodlands, which stretched from the Atlantic Coast to the Great Lakes

According to Iroquois tradition, the prophet Dekanawidah urged rival Iroquois nations to stop their constant wars

Out of that grew the Iroquois League---an alliance of five nations who spoke the same language and shared similar traditions

Member nations governed their own villages but met jointly in a council when they needed to address larger issues

DEKANAWIDAH

IROQUOIS LEAGUE