- developed their societies using the resources available to them
-> ex. Great Plains / Great Basin (barren): limited resources, nomadic, hunt/fish/gather
Southwest (dry): maize/corn cultivation, irrigation systems, permanent settlements
Northeast (4 seasons): Iroquois (farm 3 sisters, hunt, permanent settlements, longhouses)
Atlantic Seaboard (4 seasons/mild winter): Powhatan (farm, hunt, permanent settlements)
Northwest (wet): Chinook (farm, fish, permanent settlements, longhouses)