The First Americans

1
The First Americans

• I. Origins
• II. Pacific Northwest Coast
• A. Economy
• B. Society
• III. Eastern Great Lakes
• A. Confederacy/Politics
• B. Society/Women
• IV. New England
• A. Northern
• B. Southern
• C. Land Use
• V. European Contact

• Key Terms
• Bering Land Bridge
• Salmon Cedar
• Longhouse
• Iroquois
• Hiawatha
• Tipi
• Wigwam
• Columbian Exchange
• Virgin Soil Epidemics
• Horse

2
Todays Lecture Themes

• Origins
• Diversity
• Changing nature of Indian societies before and
  after European contact

3
Native Americans Origins

• Numerous theories and beliefs
• Many Anthropologists and Historians agree humans
  lived in North America 30-35,000 years ago.
• How did they arrive?

Bering Land Bridge
4
Indians Of The Pacific Northwest
They were hunter/gatherers, but also INCREDIBLY
wealthy.
5
Cedar The Backbone Of PNW Coast Technology
Can reach 250 feet high 18 feet in diameter
6
Cedar The Backbone Of PNW Coast Technology

• Baskets/boxes
• Clothing
• Canoes

• Homes Longhouse

7
Salmon The Backbone Of PNW Coast Diet
Fish Traps (1894)
8
Rank In Society
Top (Most Wealth)
Free men and women
Bottom (Least Wealth)
Slaves
9
PNW Coast Society
Key Concept
Society was VERY highly stratified
Two Classes of People

• Slaves

• Free

- Their rank was determined primarily
by wealth
In some cases, occupation influenced rank
10
Iroquois A Confederation Of Five Separate
Tribes In Eastern Great Lakes

• Mohawks
• Oneidas
• Onondagas
• Cayugas
• Senecas

Sauvage Iroquois (1796)
11
Who Started The Confederation?
Hiawatha-
A Mohawk Sachem created the confederacy to end
inter-tribal warfare about 1450.
Hiawatha Iroquois chief
12
Political Structure

• Council Government
• Each tribe in the confederacy sent delegates or
  representatives to council meetings (50 total)
• Tribes brought issues to the Council action was
  taken by consensus

13
Iroquois Society

• Homes-Longhouses (not very mobile)

• Property was owned communally

• Division of labor between men/women

• Men-hunted/fished were warriors

• Women-farmed gathered and raised children

• 2/3 of their diet came from farm products

14
Women In Iroquois Society

• Descent was matrilineal Longhouses were headed
  by women.
• Divorce was the prerogative of the wife.
• Women selected all delegates to the Iroquois
  Council influenced policy.

An Iroquois woman child
15
Women In Iroquois Society

• Descent was matrilineal Longhouses were headed
  by women
• Divorce was the prerogative of the wife
• Selected ALL delegates to the Iroquois Council
  influenced policy
• Responsible for child rearingtheir practices
  differed from Europes

An Iroquois woman child
16
Homes New England

• Homes
• Tipi common among hunting communities made of
  animal skin.

17
New England Indians
Northern New England

• Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine

• Hunter-gatherers-VERY mobile moved seasonally

• 15,000-20,000 pop. in 1600

Southern New England

• Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts

• Hunted AND farmed (2/3 of diet)

• 55,000-80,000 pop. in 1600

18
Homes New England

• Homes
• Tipi common among hunting communities made of
  animal skin.

• Wigwam common among farming communities made of
  grass, bark, woven mats.

19
Farming Methods(Indians in Southern New England)

• Fields were cleared by girdling with fire.
• Corn, beans squash were planted together.
• Fall Harvest abundant food.

Corn, Beans Squash
20
Indians Planting Corn, Beans Squash
Indians living in Southern New England impacted
the land more so than those in the North.
21
Columbian Exchange

• The range of items exchanged between Europeans
  and Native Americans following European
  settlement.

22
Columbian Exchange Crops
23
Before Access To HorsesContentment full
stomach fire
6 Miles
6 Miles
6 Miles
24
After Access To Horses(Ideas about contentment
change)
36 Miles
36 Miles
36 Miles
25
Native American Population(North of Mexico)
1492
10-12 Million
500,000
1900
These figures are approximate.
26
Impact Of Diseases
Diseases brought by Europeans caused more deaths
destroyed more of Indian society than any other
single factor.
27
Why So Deadly?

• Virgin Soil Epidemics
• A disease that hits a population which previously
  had no contact with that disease.
• Multiple diseases often hit Indian populations at
  the same time.
• These were tough diseases!
• Small pox, chicken pox, influenza, measles,
  whooping cough are some examples.

28
The First Americans

• I. Origins
• II. Pacific Northwest Coast
• A. Economy
• B. Society
• III. Eastern Great Lakes
• A. Confederacy/Politics
• B. Society/Women
• IV. New England
• A. Northern
• B. Southern
• C. Land Use
• V. European Contact

• Key Terms
• Bering Land Bridge
• Salmon Cedar
• Longhouse
• Iroquois
• Hiawatha
• Tipi
• Wigwam
• Columbian Exchange
• Virgin Soil Epidemics
• Horse