Social Studies: The Earliest Americans Study Guide

Bering Land Bridge

Strip of land connecting Alaska with Russia

Paleo-Indians

First peoples who crossed from Asia into North America

Migration

Movement from one place to another

Hunter-gatherers

People who hunt animals and gather wild plants

Environments

Climates and landscapes that surround living things

Culture

Shared values and traditions of a society

Pueblos

Aboveground houses made out of heavy clay

Kivas

Underground ceremonial chambers at the center of Anasazi communities

Totems

Images of ancestors or animal spirits carved into tall wooden poles

Teepees

Cone-shaped shelters made of buffalo skins

Matrilineal

Related to ancestry traced through the maternal line

Iroquois League

Political confederation of five northeastern Native American nations

Ice Age

Period of extremely cold climate with glaciers

Olmec civilization

Earliest civilization in the Americas located in Mexico and Central America

Anasazi

Native American group that built kivas and cliff dwellings

Cultural areas

Geographic locations that influenced ancient Native American societies

Food sources

Differences in food sources for Native Americans in different regions

Iroquois League

Significant political development that kept peace among members

Languages

Approximately 300 languages spoken in North America at the time of European contact

Land ownership

Native American belief in communal land ownership

Nature in religion

Role of nature in the religious ideas of Native Americans

Women in Native American groups

Positions of power and influence held by women

Kwakiutl

Native American tribe known for totem poles and fishing

Inuit

Native American tribe living in the Arctic, known for igloos and hunting

Pueblo

Native American tribe focused on rain and maize

Sioux

Nomadic Native American tribe known for hunting buffalos

European settlers at Plymouth

Impact on the Wampanoag tribe, including disease and enslavement