The Land Bridge Story PDF

The Land Bridge Story The history of the United States t,eginS with the first people in North A11lerica thousands of years ago. They are the ancestors of present-day Native ATLANTIC...

The Land Bridge Story The history of the United States t,eginS with the first people in North A11lerica thousands of years ago. They are the ancestors of present-day Native ATLANTIC ~:"' OCEAN f , Americans, or American Indians. An ancestor is an early family member. l ACold World PACIFIC OCEAN N How did these first people arrive in -0" o 7W 1,500Mlle W* E North America? After many years of o 150 UOOKilarnetm Azlmuthlll Equal-AIU ProJ«tlol'I s study, scientists are still not sure of the answer. However, they do have sev- Oland 0Glacier eral theories, or possible explanations. Oseaice A theory is an idea based on study and - Land route research. One theory is that there was once a "bridge" of land between Asia and North A MOVEMENT_ About how ma~y miles is it from America. Scientists call this land bridge '8J Asia to the tip of South Amerrca? Beringia (buh RIN jee uh). It was named that the level of the oceans fell by as for the Bering Strait, the body of water much as 350 feet. Because of this, Earth that now separates Russia from Alaska. had more dry land than it does now. Many scientists believe that thousands of years ago, there were several Ice Ages. A Long Journey During these long periods of freezing Many scientists believe that about cold, slow-moving sheets of ice called 12,000 years ago, groups of hunters and glaciers (GLAY sherz) covered large parts their families crossed the land bridge of Earth. from Asia to North America. This Scientists think that so much of Earth's migration, or movemen t of people, prob- water was trapped in these huge glaciers ably took place very slowly. Groups may have moved only a few miles in an entire lifetime. At that rate, it would have taken hundreds of years just to reach Alaska! i;t#!1111Nt1ij:j#ff:♦ 6COMPARE AND CONTRAST How did the climate of the Ice Ages differ from today's climate? Chapter 2 M 53 IJ  -----~-=c=ll: tli-=-' Recent discoveries sugge~t that people Other Theories may have been in the Americas much longer than was thought. Other discov~ The land bridge story is just one theory eries hint that some early peoples may about how people might have arrived in have traveled to the Americas by boat. the Americas-North America and South America. Today, scientists have more Native American Origin Stories information than in the past. However, Ideas about the presence of early peo- there are still disagreements about when ple in the Americas _also ~ome from their and how people arrived. descendants. In ancient times, most peo- ple passed on their history by retelling stories. They told stories to their children and their grandchildren. How THE ROBIN Native American groups have all used GOT HIS RED BREAST stories to tell about their past or how the world was made. The stories about their This story was told by the Miwok people who lived in what is now origins, or beginnings, are called origin California. It explains how people got stories. Many Native Americans believe fire and why the feathers on a robin's their people have always lived in the breast are red. Americas. "A long time ago the world was dark and cold, and the people had no fire. 1;j(;] mtt1H:liH) SUMMARIZE Wit'-tab-bah the Robin learned where How did Native American groups pass on their the fire was, and went on a far journey history? to get it. After he had traveled a great distance, he came to the place and stole it and carried it back to the peo- ple. ·every night on the way, he lay t _with his breast over it to keep it from tI getting cold; this turned his breast.! · red. Finally he reached home. I witb it and gave it to the people. ·Then he made the Sun out of it, but before doing this he put some into -:the.oo'-noo tree (the buckeye) so the. people could get it when they needed -rt:'From that day to this, all the people have known that when they want fire, they can get it by rubbing an oo'-noo stick against a piece of dry wood; this makes the flame come out."  this woolly er to hunt large animals, such as ) EARLY PEOPLE worked togeth mammoth. be co mi ng Slowly, the climate ch an ge d, Early Ways of Life warmer an d drier. Ab ou t 8000 B.C., the or die d ou t. nomadic giant animals became extinct, Early people most likely led a s of food. place to People ha d to find ne w sou rce way of life. They moved from nt sm all er ts ma de They began to fish an d to hu place, living in caves or in ten de ne w ving, fol- animals. Ov er time, the y ma of animal skins. They ke pt mo w an d Scientists hu nti ng tools, su ch as the bo lowing animals they hunted. found spear arrow. know this because they have in the the bones About 3000 B.C., so me pe op le points and other artifacts near ds an d objects Americas be ga n pla nti ng see of ancient animals. Artifacts are an d beans. growing crops suc h as co m made by people. pe op le a Agriculture, or farming, ga ve AChanging Way of Life As gro up s reason to settle in one place. dons an d ion grew. Giant animals, such as masto raised mo re food, the po pu lat d No rth at are woolly mammoths, once roame Some ear ly pe op le for me d wh these ani- o sh are d the America. Early people hu nte d no w called tribes, gro up s wh d the fur, ders. Each mals. They ate the meat an d use sam e language, lan d, an d lea ng an d skins, and bones to make clothi tribe developed its ow n cultu re, wh ich foods, such tools. They also gathered wild ma de it different from oth er tribes. this reason, as nuts, plants, an d roots. For as hunters SUMMARIZE scientists refer to these people people? and gatherers. How did farming change life for Chapter 2 55  ATLANTIC PACIFIC OCEAN OCEAN -. s - Olmec, 1500 B.C.-A.D. 300 ' D Mound Builders, t Gulf of Mexico ~\ D 1000 B.C.-A.D. 1500 Ancient Puebloans, 100 B.C.-A.D. 1300 ------ -;f'"~ ,.,~p ~ 0 Maya, A.O. 300-A.D. 900 Tre_s.Jalna ucatdn c:, Major settlement Zapo et,""" eninsuj o 200 400Mlles ~ alenque Tik 1 - Present-day border San Lorenz Vent;; Bo~a ak o 200 400Kllometers -......... Albers Equal-Area Projection......._ '\.copan ~ 8 LOCATION Which civilization was located farthest south? many Olmec cities, it is located near a The Olmec and the Maya river. The Olmec used rivers to travel Over time, groups began to form between cities and build a trade system. civilizations. A civilization is a group of Olmec artifacts have been found across Mexico. people with ways of life, religion, and learning. With a more settled way of life, A strong trade system was just one some civilizations built large cities that achievement of the Olmec. They also became centers of learning, religion, and created systems of writing and counting. government. These systems helped the Olmec develop a 365-day calendar. The Olmec Civilization No one is sure why the Olmec fell from The Olmec civilization was one of the power, but we know that they influenced earliest in the Americas. From about other cultures. Today, some historians call 1500 B.C. to A.D. 300, the Olmec ruled the Olmec the "mother culture" of the most of what is now southern Mexico. Americas. That is because many Olmec The oldest Olmec city that scientists customs, or ways of doing things, were have discovered is San Lorenzo. Like continued in later civilizations. 56 a Unit 1 fhe Mayan Civilization religious leaders. Then came important nie Mayan civilization was influ- families, traders, and farmers. enced by Olmec traditions. A tradition Mayan civili2ation had no central is a way of life or an idea that has been government. Instead, powerful kings }landed down from the past. Between ruled cities and controlled the surround- A,D, 300 and A.O. 900, the Maya ruled ing areas. The Maya built more than rnuch of what is now southern Mexico, 100 stone cities. The largest was Ttkal Guatemala, and northern Belize. (tih KAHL), which had as many as 100,(XX) Like the Olmec, the Maya developed people. The city of Copan (koh PAHN) their own writing system. This allowed was a center of learning and art. them to record their history. Their writ- Scientists are not sure why the Mayan ing system was based on hieroglyphs civilization fell. Some scientists blame a (HY ruh glifs), or picture symbols. The series of droughts, or long periods with Maya also developed a counting system little or no rain. However, even after the that included the number zero. Maya fell from power, their cultural The Maya were divided into social influence continued. classes. A class is a group of people in a 1;Jija)jm1ff:jjff'9 6COMPARE AND CONTRAST society who have something in common. How were the Mayan and Olmec civilizations At the top of Mayan society were the alike? ) MAYAN RUINS are visited by thousands of people every year. Some places allow visitors to climb to the top of stone pyramids. \.. '\ ' J \ I ,I.,,. ,, ,\.\' _qi...... ~- 1'4~... ,., Chapter 2 5 7 ~(  these sites, the mounds got bigger anct Other Civilizations bigger. Some of the mounds reached The Olmec and the Maya were two heights of 90 feet! of the largest early civilizations in the The largest of the mound-building Am.ericas. Other civilizations also grew in civilizations was the Mississippian. It what is now the United States. began in the Mississippi River valley in about A.O. 700. Two of the largest The Mound Builders Mississippian cities were Spiro, in what Scientists use the name Mound Builders is now Oklahoma, and Cahokia, near to group together many Native American present-day East St. Louis, Illinois. By societies. These societies all built large A.O. 1200, more than 30,000 people earth mounds. However, their cultures, lived in Cahokia. Cities like Cahokia their locations, and even their reasons for helped support a strong trade system. building mounds differed. The earliest Mound Builders were the The Ancient Puebloans Adena (uh OEE nuh). Their civilization Look at the United States map on was located in the Ohio River valley. It page 15. Find the place in the Southwest lasted from about 1000 B.C. to A.O. 200. where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and The Adena mounds were used for New Mexico meet. This area is called the burials. As more people were buried at Four Corners. Some of the first people to >THE MOUND BUILDERS This painting shows what Cahokia may have looked like...... ~... ~ - - - - ~..IMllj ) AN ANCIENT PUEBLOAN VILLAGE At the area that is known today as Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, Ancient Puebloans built stone villages into the canyon walls. settle this area are known as the Ancient \ Puebloans '(PWEH bloh uhnz). The Aniient Puebloans lived in houses There are several theories about how that had many levels. These houses were early people arrived in the Americas. often built against canyon walls or in Early people most likely led a nomadic caves. When the Spanish arrived in the way of life. They kept moving, following Southwest many years later, they called animals they hunted. Over time, people this kind of home a pueblo, the Spanish began to farm and to build settlements. word for "village." The Olmec and the Maya lived in what is liJ(MWtiBOIB:t GENERALIZE now Mexico. The Mound Builders and the How were the homes of the Ancient Puebloans Ancient Puebloans lived in what is now built? the United States. - - REVIEW 1. WHAT TO KNOW How did civilizations 6. "' WRITE A PARAGRAPH Describe the develop in the Americas?...J\ different theories about how people arrived in the Americas. 2. VOCABULARY Use the term migration in a sentence about early people. 7. Focus COMPARE AND CONTRAST skm On a separate sheet of paper, copy 3. GEOGRAPHY What natural feature was and complete the graphic organizer important to the Olmec people of San below. Lorenzo? 4. CULTURE How did the Maya preserve their history? Hunters and 5. CRITICAL THINKING Why do you think the Gatherers Olmec used rivers as trade routes? Chapter 2 59 ) THE EASTERN WOODLANDS The many forests of this region provided people with wood that was used to make homes and tools. Life in the Eastern In the northeastern part of the Woodlands, where the soil was rocky, people did more Woodlands hunting and gathering than farming. Jobs were divided between men and The Eastern Woodlands cultural region women. The men hunted animals for stretched east of the Mississippi River. food and used antlers and bones to make The region's name came from the thick tools. Using spears and nets, they fished forests that once covered this land. The in the region's many lakes and rivers. Eastern Woodlands people built their vil- The women prepared the food and used lages along the banks of the many rivers animal skins to make clothing and moc- and streams flowing through the forests. casins. This division of labor made it possible for people to produce more ACommon Resource goods. Different groups of Native Americans In the southern areas of the Eastern lived in the Eastern Woodlands. However, Woodlands the soil and climate were they all shared an important natural better for farming. The people in this resource-trees. They used trees to make area grew com, beans, squash, and other canoes and shelters, and they carved tools plants. Usually, the men cleared the land and weapons from wood. Trees also gave for planting, and the women and children the people food, such as cherries and did the planting and harvesting of crops. plums. The Eastern Woodlands people were 1;JijmniiBUl8tt 6COMPARE AND CONTRAST farmers as well as hunters and gatherers. How were men's iobs and women's iobs divided? Chapter 2 63  i Cf The Iroquois Iroquois Villages Like other Eastern Woodlands groups, The Native Americans of the Eastern the Iroquois farmed and lived in villages. Woodlands cultural region included two They built their villages on top of steep main language groups, the Algonquian hills. To protect against enemies, many (al GAHN kwee uhn) and the Iroquoian Iroquois built palisades, or walls of tall (ir uh KWOY uhn). Most of the people wooden poles, around their villages. who spoke Algonquian languages lived The Iroquois lived in shelters called on the Coastal Plain. Most Iroquoian- longhouses. These long wooden build- speaking people lived farther inland. ings could hold up to 50 people. Their Among the Iroquoian groups were frames were made by cutting poles from the Mohawk, the Oneida (oh NY duh), small trees, bending the poles, and then the Onondaga (ah nuhn DAW guh), covering them with bark. Each longhouse the Cayuga (kay YOO guh), and the was divided into sections, and each sec- Seneca. Together, they are known as the tion was home to one or two families. Iroquois, or the Five Nations. They lived Near their villages, the Iroquois grew near the Great Lakes, in what is now three main crops-com, beans, and Pennsylvania and New York and the Lake squash. The Iroquois called these the Ontario region of Canada. Three Sisters because all three were - - -·---- (1 An Iroquois Village J ILLUSTRATION The palisades around Iroquois villages protected people II I t , , i I 1 l I I J\ from attacks by enemies. What resource was used to build palisades? ·' '' I  , he plan ted in the sam e fiel d. Aft er a fiel d wh o had kill ed his fam ily. Ho we ver w·as farm ed for a few yea rs, the soil wan ted the figh ting to sto p. bec ame less fert ile. The Iroq uoi s wo uld Hia wat ha left his vill age and me t a then clea r a fiel d in ano the r loc atio n ano the r Iroq uoi s, nam ed Deg ana wid e and beg in farm ing ther e. (de h g ahn uh W EE du h), wh o bec am Like ma ny oth er Nat ive Am eric ans , kno wn as the Pea cem ake r. In tim e, the s to the Iroq uoi s use d wa mp um -be ads cut two me n per sua ded the Fiv e Na tion from sea she lls- to ma ke bea ded des ign s uni te and wo rk tog eth er as a gro up. 0 that sho wed imp orta nt dec isio ns, eve nts, The gro up tha t for me d abo ut A.O. 157 ed or stor ies. Wa mp um wa s also trad ed and was call ed the Iro quo is Lea gue. It act gov - exc han ged for goo ds. as a con fed era tion , a loo se gro up of ern me nts wo rkin g tog eth er. Me mb ers The Iroquois League t to from eac h of the five trib es we re sen The Fiv e Nat ion s ofte n bat tled eac h spe ak for the ir gro up. The y join ed the oth er ove r con trol of hun ting area s. A Gra nd Cou nci l, wh ich the lea gue set stor y abo ut one arg um ent tell s of an up to sett le dis put es am ong the peo ple Iroq uoi s wa rrio r nam ed Hia wat ha. pea cefu lly. Hia wat ha, it wa s said , saw his fam ily killed by me mb ers of ano the r gro up. By i;J,ZimUtjij:j:(ijj MA IN IDEA AND DETAILS trad itio n, he wa s exp ecte d to kill tho se Wha t was the Iroquois League? re used to ke clothing. >THE ALGONQUIAN This engraving was made by Theodor De Bry in A.D. 1590 from a watercolor made by the English settler John White. The Algonquian the Iroquois. Others built round, bark- covered shelters called wigwams. Apart Among the Algonquian groups from their shape, wigwams were made were the Delaware, the Wampanoag in much the same way as longhouses. (wahm puh N0H ag), and the The trunks of small trees were bent, tied Powhatan (pow uh TAN). All three of together into a dome shape, and then these tribes lived on the Coastal Plain. covered with bark. Other Algonquian-speaking groups lived farther inland, around the Great Algonquian Lifeways Lakes. These people included the The Algonquian who lived near the Ottawa (AH tuh wuh), the Chippewa coast did not rely on their crops for food (CHIH puh waw), and the Miami. as much as their Iroquois neighbors. Fish was an important food source. The Villav' and lifeways Algonquian built canoes to fish in the Most Algonquian groups had any- rivers and along the coast. They used where from 1 to 20 villages. Some groups animal bones and wood to make hooks built longhouses similar to those of and fishing traps. 66 Unit 1 -- 'fhe Algonquian made clothing mostly from deerskin, which kept them warm during the cold winters. Men wore shirts I leggings, and moccasins. Women usually wore dresses. Government and Customs Many Algonquian groups had leaders who governed more than one village. Some groups had two chiefs, one to rule on matters of peace and the other to rule on matters of war. Amon~ Algonquian groups, marriage ceremorues were very much alike. If a man wanted to marry a woman, he had ) ALGONQUIAN BOWL Many Algonquian household items were carved from wood. to show her he was a good hunter. If the woman wanted to marry him, she would show him that she was a good home- maker. When the couple married, they usually exchanged gifts and invited their The people of the Eastern Woodlands families to a feast. used trees for food, shelter, and transpor- 1;Jfflmm1HOIHt- 8COMPARE AND CONTRAST tation. The two main language groups of How did the diet of the Algonquian differ from the Eastern Woodlands were the Iroquoian that of the Iroquois? and the Algonquian...----- REVIEW 1. WHAT TO KNOW How did the geography 5. i1U GIVE A SPEECH Write and deliver and climate of the Eastern Woodlands W a speech to try to persuade Iroquois affect the Native Americans there? leaders to join the Iroquois League. Be sure to include good reasons for working 2. VOCABULARY How is the term together. confederation related to the Iroquois League? 6. Focus COMPARE AND CONTRAST skm On a separate sheet of paper, copy 3. GEOGRAPHY Why was living near and complete the graphic organizer the Atlantic Ocean important for the below. Algonquian peoples? 4. CRITICAL THINKING Why did the Iroquois groups choose to come together to form The Iroquois the Iroquois League? Similar The Algonquian Chapter 2 67