Native Americans: Exploring Ancient Civilizations

1. Native Americans Chapters 3 and 4 of United States: Adventures in Time and Place

2. Civilization • Civilization is a culture that has developed complex systems of government, education, and religion. • Large populations • Often studied by scholars and students • Many civilizations developed when farmers had a surplus of food. They didn’t need to spend all their time hunting anymore.

3. The Maya • On hilly land farmers built terraces to make level surfaces for planting, and in swampy areas they built raised islands. • Farmers moved from place to place to keep the soil from wearing out. Corn was the most important. • They were artists, scientists, and historians. • They wrote books and calendars. • They were one of the first people in the Western Hemisphere to develop an advanced form of writing (pictures and symbols). • Some people believe food shortages and wars caused this civilization to end.

4. Aztec • Had strong armies, powerful leaders, and expert builders. • Legend said…the Aztec had seen an eagle standing on a cactus with a snake in its beak. They believed this was a sign from their main god. It meant their search for a home was over. • Tenochtitlan – swampy, but full of resources. • Built floating gardens – chili peppers, squash, tomatoes, corn, and beans. • Tenochtitlan was an advanced city planned in honor of the sun and their gods. • Aztec children went to strict schools. • On market day people met, shopped, and exchanged news. They also danced, played music, and performed juggling tricks.

5. Aztecs Continued • War was an important part of Aztec life. • Boys, from an early age, were trained as soldiers. • Every soldier’s goal was to become a knight. • Soldier were sent to fight but not to kill the enemy. They wanted prisoners. • Prisoners were slaves or sacrifices for the Aztec gods.

6. Mound Builders • Lived in an area of plentiful rainfalls and plant and animal life. Many rivers for trading crossed their land as well. • 1st mounds were used to bury their dead. • Later mounds were used for religious purposes • The largest, Great Serpent Mound, is found near Cincinnati, Ohio. • Mound builders also built pyramid-shaped structures similar to those of the Maya and Aztec temples. http://www.edu.pe.ca/rural/class_webs/art/images/great%20serpent%20mound.jpg

7. Anasazi • Desert dwellers • Pottery and baskets • 1st they lived in simple underground houses. • Later they developed villages that looked like large apartment house. • Some built villages beneath rock cliffs, on the sides of canyons, and on the tops of tall, flat hills called mesas. • Kiva – underground room used usually by Native American men for religious ceremonies. • Some archaeologists believe that a long drought drove them from their homes. Others believe that enemies, quarrels amongst themselves, or other reasons may have caused them to leave their homes. • Used irrigation to water crops. They guided rain water through channels to their crops of squash, beans, corn, and cotton.

8. Native Americans of the Northwest Coast • They were influenced by their environments. • The Northwest was wet with mild winters and cool summers. • No farming – they gathered roots and berries. They hunted deer, elk, beaver, and bear. • They fished in streams, rivers, and the ocean for salmon, cod, herring, trout, halibut, sea lions, sea otters. • They also gathered mussels, clams, and sea bird eggs.

9. Salmon Run This is a yearly return of salmon to lay eggs in the freshwater rivers where they were born. Salmon can be dried or smoked.

10. Tlingit Northernmost tribe known for catching seals, porpoises, and whales. They became wealthy from trade, or bartering.

11. More about the Tlingit Surplus – plenty, more than enough Specialize – focus on one or two things Technology – making and using tools, ideas, and methods to solve problems. The Tlingit had a surplus of food, so they had more time to specialize in art and developing technology. Examples include: dams, fish traps, 50 people canoes, large homes with 40 – 60 foot totem poles. Most things were decorated – from spoons to blankets

12. Potlatch These were special feasts where the guest received gifts. More important guests got better gifts (ex. Canoes or fur robes). Could last days with songs and dances. Hosts tried to out do each other.

13. Change to Tlingit Russia claimed Alaska Russia, English, Spanish, and French traded fur with the Tlingit. In 1867 the US bought Alaska from Russia. It became the 49th state. The US forced the Northwest Coast Native Americans off their land. In 1971 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act gave control of over 44 million acres back to the Native Americans.

14. Native Americans of the Southwest Southwest is often divided into two groups – Navajo and Apache who were hunters and herders, and the Pueblo who were farmers.

15. Hopi Pueblos – apartment style homes. Desert s, tall mountains, deep canyons, and steep mesas. Dry. Hopi were successful farmers. They irrigated and grew special corn plants with long roots to reach the water underground. Everyone had a job. Respect for nature.

16. Hopi Life Adobe is a type of clay. It protected the house from the desert’s blistering heat and extreme cold as well as floods and blizzards. Invaders were kept out with few doors or windows in the bottom floor and they used ladders to get to the top floors. Kivas were religious ceremonies. Hopi artist were very good at pottery. Nampeyo is a famous Hopi woman who made pottery in the style of the ancient Hopis.

17. Kachinas Kachina ceremonies are an important part of Hopi religion. They’re spirits that visit villages for half of every year. They teach people how to live and behave, and bring peace and prosperity. Kachina dances are an important part of these ceremonies. It takes a year of training to become a Kachina dancer, which is a position of honor. Some Kachina dancers give out colorful wooden dolls that look like the Kachinas they represent. The dolls are used as teaching tools.

18. Native Americans of the Plains • The Spanish brought the horse. • The horse changed their lives. They could move easily from place to place. They could kill more buffalo. More buffalo equals more food, tools, and hides. • Before horses and the buffalo, villages located near water were for farming. • Lodges are homes made of logs covered with grasses, sticks, and soil. • Summer hunts for the men. • Fall harvests

19. Life on the Great Plains • Prairies are flat or gently rolling land covered mostly with grasses and wildflowers. • Hot summers and cold winters • Little rain • Teepee homes while hunting • A travois was a sled-like device • Before horses, dogs pulled travois.

20. Taming the Horse and Hunting the Buffalo • Some horses ran away from their Spanish owners and roamed freely. • The Lakota tamed wild horses and adapted them to their way of life. • Lakota became expert riders, breeders, and trainers. • Buffalo replaced farming as a source of food. They moved with the buffalo.

21. The Lakota Boy • Hunters ride straight into the buffalo herd to confuse them. Then they go after one particular buffalo using a lance, bow, or rifle. • Sometimes buffalo are herded off a cliff. • To become a leader who governs his community a young boy must show courage. • Courage in the hunt and in battle • Hitting his opponent without killing him is very brave. They use coup sticks to do this. • Being a good speaker and being generous will help him attain honor too.

22. The Lakota Girl • Buffalo meat needs to be cut and cured quickly so it will not rot. • Jerky – strips of meat dried in the sun. • Jerky will last through the winter. • Women will gather herbs. Herbs were used to cure common sicknesses. • Aspirin is made from herbs Native Americans used many years ago.

23. Winter Count • The Lakota kept track of time with calendars called winter counts. • Important events were recorded by drawing a symbol on the hide of an animal. • One important event was recorded per year.

24. Eastern Woodlands Eastern Woodlands is usually divided into two language groups – Algonquian and Iroquois. Natural resources are plentiful – fish, animals, wood. Soil is excellent for farming.

25. Penobscot • Around Maine • Difficult farming • Moved place to place, hunting animals for food • Gathered fruits, nuts, and berries. • Wore deerskin clothes.

26. Natchez • Lived in state of Mississippi • Descended from Mound Builders • Depended mostly on farming • To keep cool, they wore light clothes made from plant fibers

27. Most Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands • Permanent villages • Farming • Hunting • Fishing • Similar beliefs and traditions

28. Iroquois • New York • Made up of Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk tribes • Longhouse – can be over 200 ft. long, several families, central aisle with cooking fires, living spaces for each family, storage overhead • Used trails to move between tribes • Expert farmers (Women), corn and beans • Forest provided animals, maple syrup, nuts, roots, vegetables, oils, fruits, berries, teas, herbs for medicine

29. Wampum • Small polished beads made from shells and strung or woven together • Clam, conch, or whelk shells • Belts or necklaces • Each was different • Sometimes created to remember an important event • Given as a special gift • Valuable because of time and effort put into it • Europeans traded wampum for other goods around 1600’s http://home.cshore.com/waaban/images/wampbeltsets.jpg

30. Women • Women had power in the Iroquois world • Decided use of land • Led clan/family • Owned land, longhouses, everything in them • When men married they moved into their wife's longhouse • Clan mother was the head of the family • Clan mother helped make all important decisions • Male leaders were chosen by clan mothers http://socialstudies.cayennepaper.com/longhouse.jpg

31. Conflict • Around 1300, when numbers began to grow, arguments arose and fighting broke out • Fights about hunting grounds • If one is wronged, the clan is wronged, so wrongs had to be punished

32. Iroquois Confederacy • Legend says Deganawida and Hiawatha wanted to stop their people from fighting • They developed rules/guidelines called the Great Laws. • Deganawida set up a Grand Council • They believed in compromise. • A compromise is the settling of a dispute (fight) by agreeing that each side will give up something. • Fought means fight.