Native Cultures

Chapter 2.2NATIVE CULTURES

Map is divided up into culture areas and within that area are various Native tribes.

CULTURE AREA

• 5,000 years ago corn was tiny (about the size

of a human finger). Natives developed dozen

varieties. • Natives also traded

among each other traveling up to 1,000

miles- this created diffusion and spread

farming skills.

Climate, Resources, and Culture

• Climate and natural resources shaped Native American cultures in different regions.

• It determined the food they grew, animals they hunted, clothes they wore, houses they lived in, and ultimate shaped all their basic needs.

• Frozen Seas and ice made this an Artic Region

• Short summers• Used drift wood for shelter- pit houses• Used sea oil lamps for warmth• Clothes made out of fur (waterproof by seal skin)

• Hunted mountain sheep and rabbits

NORTH AND PLATEAU

• Plenty of fish near seas• Abundant of trees from forest (used for canoes and houses)

• Plenty of food allowed people to stay in one place

• This allowed tribes to developed social classes or family statuses

• Potlatch

NORTHWEST

• Warm moist climate • Hunted, fished, and farmed fertile soil• Strawberry, little corn, mulberry, deer, turkey, and bear

• Natchez

SOUTHEAST

Shared Belief

• Respect nature• People are bond to the earth• Natives respected the natural world• Must adapt THEIR ways in order to survive

• Each group even had special ceremonies

Iroquois Confederacy• “The People of the Long House”• 150 long and 20 feet wide 12 or more

families lived in them• Women had a special place in Iroquoian

society• Choose clan leaderFive nations:

MOHAWKSENECAONONDAGAONEIDACAYUGA

• They agreed to end the fighting between themselves

• 50 chosen leaders would make decision for the tribes