Native Americans and Early Explorers

Transcription

1 Native Americans and Early Explorers Unit focus topics: 1. Land Bridge Theory 2. Lives of Native Americans in each region of North America Specific Tribes of Interest: Eastern Woodlands Plains Native Americans Southwest Native Americans Pacific Northwest Native Americans 3. Why explore the new world? 4. Tools and Technology used by the Explorers 5. 7 Famous Explorers Leif Eriksson Christopher Columbus Ferdinand Magellan Hernando de Soto John Cabot Henry Hudson Robert LaSalle NA 1

2 Landbridge Theory According to the Landbridge Theory, Native Americans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge that was formed during the Ice Age. This bridge was formed when the temperatures dropped very low causing the water to freeze! This left the land between Asia to North America, normally hidden beneath the ocean, exposed. By following herds of animals, hunter-gatherer people MAY have crossed this exposed land bridge from Asia into North America. Once in North America, the theory states that they then continued across North America into South America, being the first real Americans! NA 2

3 The everyday lives of Native Americans depended on the area, or region in which they lived. The region affected how they interacted with their environment because of the resources found there. Lives of Native Americans Eastern Woodlands lived in the eastern part of North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, including the Great Lakes region of south to the Gulf of Mexico. Eastern Woodland Indians kill and prepare their own food. Along with home construction, fathers also teach their sons how to hunt and fish. The typical diet consists of animal meat such as deer, rabbit, bison, and bear. Additionally, the Indians enjoyed a host of delicious nuts, berries, beans, and vegetables (corn and squash). Both males and females worked in the fields. With their young children attached to their back, mothers would plant seeds and harvest the fields. There was no need to water the fields. For this matter, the Eastern Woodland Indians relied on water from the sky. Since the Eastern Woodland Indians reside in the forest, they have uncovered many different uses for wood Plains Native Americans lived on the Great Plains of central North America from north of what is today the Canadian border to present-day southern Texas. Many of the tribes of the Great Plains were nomadic and followed the buffalo migrations which provided their food. These tribes spent a good part of the year living in camps that could easily be dismantled and moved to follow the buffalo migrations. Buffalo were extremely important to the Native Americans of the Great Plains. It was their main food source, the hide was used for shelter and clothing, the bones were used to make weapons and tools, the horns were used for various items including spoons and cups, tails were used as whips, and the buffalos stomach was used as a container to hold water. The Indians used the natural resources available to them wisely. They only killed the number of buffalo they needed and did not waste what they killed. Southwest Native Americans lived in the region that included what is today Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah. Due to the harsh environment farming was challenging and usually required irrigation. Southwest Indians create many beautiful pieces of art. They make pottery, clothing and baskets that are still sold in stores and arts and craft shows. Because they are very spiritual tribes, most of their art contains symbols and signs of their beliefs, dreams, and visions. The pottery is for both everyday use and display. The clothing they make can be anything from an outfit, such as a dress with gorgeous flowers on it, to an elaborately decorated headdress, full of feathers. Turquoise is a stone used in quite a bit of Southwest Indian jewelry. The Indians look at it as a stone that promotes health, happiness, and good fortune. The Navajo Indians are also well known for their silver belts and jewelry. Pacific Northwest Native Americans lived in the region that included what is today southern Alaska to northern California. There was no shortage of food sources in the forest areas that blanketed the Northwest region. Deer, moose and elk are just a few of the many animals these Indians hunted on land. The sea, however, is where they got most of their plentiful food supply. Northwest Coast tribes enjoyed various types of fish including Salmon, in addition to whale, sea lion, porpoise, seal, and sea otter. The sheer abundance of food made these tribes wealthy. Their homes were known to be very sturdy and large. Made of plank from cedar, they were both wide and long and put together with wooden pegs. Although there were no windows, there was a small hole in the roof to let fire out and fresh air inside. Most homes were built right along the seashore. Massive canoes were carved from cedar trees. The canoes were known to hold massive amounts of fish in addition to about 20 warriors. Of all the resources available to the Northwest Coast people, the two most important were cedar and salmon. *REMEMBER- These lands were not considered states yet! We weren t even a country yet. These were regions, later to be settled as states by white settlers. NA 3

4 Why Did Explorers Visit the New World in the first place? Economic (money) factors motivated Europeans to get involved in world-wide trade, called international trade with other countries. International trade also continued to grow as the Age of Exploration grew. Merchants brought spices from the Far East to Europe to trade for a profit. The Europeans that were purchasing these spices and other materials wanted more from the East without the added expense charged by these middle men who were bringing the merchandise back to Europe. Because of Prince Henry and because of their easy location on the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal was the first to seek a water route to Asia. Economic competition (We all know how competitive people can be.) with Portugal then drove Spain to send Columbus and others to explore the unclaimed lands in the New World. So the more people explored, the more motivated other people were to do the same! As you can see, greed can really drive people s decisions! Political factors created this same competition between nations. Because the Spanish found gold and silver that made them the most powerful nation in Europe, England and other countries in Europe became interested in the New World right away. They wanted to be powerful as well. The English monarchs then began to send explorers to the New World, and in the next few centuries, they became the most dominant country in the settlements of North America. Tools and Technology that Helped Explorers Technological factors helped the explorers as they set out on their adventures! Advancements in shipbuilding included the construction of the caravel, which was a smaller and faster ship with triangular sails that could sail into the wind. Many improvements in the driving, or navigational skills allowed sailors to venture further out to sea. The astrolabe, which measured the height of the sun above the horizon, the compass, and the reading of the celestial stars helped sailors in planning their location and course. Cartography, map making skills, helped them to share their knowledge with others and was taught at the Portuguese School of Navigation. As you can see, explorers made many technological advances during this time period. They may not have had computers or GPSs, but during this time period, they were considered to be very advanced with technology. NA 4

5 Famous Explorers The motivations of the European explorers led them to many accomplishments, land claims and the colonization by European countries in the New World. Leif Eriksson was a Viking from Greenland who sailed the northern Atlantic Ocean and settled briefly in North America, which he called Vinland. However, because of the Vikings argumentative relationships with other Europeans, he did not share his discovery, so North America remained unknown to most Europeans. Selfish? Maybe so. Christopher Columbus sailed for Spain looking for a new and faster route to the Spice Islands. Columbus sailed west because the Portuguese controlled the eastern route around Africa. Columbus believed the world was small enough that he could reach the Far East by sailing west. Believe it or not, Columbus was not the first person to believe the world was round. Most educated people of this time held this belief, and this is still a common misunderstanding still today. I bet you thought so too! Columbus did not reach his goal to bring back the many riches from the Far East. Instead he discovered the lands of San Salvador-West Indies and lots of wealth. This provided the beginning of the Spanish settlements in North and South America! Ferdinand Magellan s expedition was the first to sail around the world! Although Magellan died before the journey was complete, he claimed lots of land for Spain. His crew proved that sailing around the world could be achieved, but at a great cost. NA 5

6 Hernando de Soto was a Spanish conquistador who explored throughout the southeastern United States and claimed that area for Spain. As a result, Spanish explorers claimed Florida and the south west region of what is today the United States. They called all of this land New Spain. John Cabot sailed from England in Cabot was looking for a faster route to the Indies known as the Northwest Passage. Cabot tried to re-sail Columbus route by sailing west, but hoped to be able to travel northwest. The commonly held belief that the Northwest Passage would link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans continued to motivate other explorers even into the 1800s (Lewis and Clark). This route would never be discovered of course, because no such route ever existed. Cabot sailed near the Arctic Circle, but he had no success. He did however; claim the lands he encountered along the way for England. Henry Hudson was an explorer who sailed for both the Netherlands and England. In searching for the Northwest Passage, he claimed and mapped what is now New York for the Dutch and some areas in Canada for the English. The Hudson River and Hudson Bay are named for him! Consequently, the English claimed the coast of North America based on the explorations of Cabot and called the land Virginia and New England. The Dutch claimed the area around the Hudson River and established New Netherlands and New Amsterdam in what is today New York. The Dutch later surrendered their colonial claims to the British, leading to the establishment of the original thirteen European colonies. Robert LaSalle explored for France. LaSalle explored the Mississippi River to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico and named the area Louisiana. Also, the French explored the St. Lawrence River and the length of the Mississippi River to what is now New Orleans and claimed this land as New France. NA 6