Native Americans

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Chapter 2

• Native Americans

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Origins
Many scientists believe that Indians came from
Asia during the last ice age.
The ancestors of these Indians crossed the land
that connected Asia and North America, arriving
in N.C. about 14,000 years ago.
Knowledge of early Native American cultures comes
from Archaeologists, scientists who study
artifacts left by ancient civilizations.
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Pre-Contact Cultures

• Cultures that existed before the Europeans arrived

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Paleo Indians
Paleo very old or long ago.

• Nomadic hunters who hunted large animals such as

mammoths
early type of bison
camels
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Archaic Indians
Archaic old.

• hunted smaller animals using an atlatl.

• fished and gathered plants, nuts, fruit, and
  roots for food.

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Woodland Indians

• developed the bow and arrow

• hunters

• grew crops such as corn, squash, gourds and
  sunflowers

• built permanent villages made with grass roofs

• created clay pottery to store and serve food

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Mississippian Indians

• farmers

• held ceremonies for planting and harvesting

• built ceremonial centers

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Post-Contact Cultures
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The largest tribes were the

• Tuscarora

lived in the Coastal Plain

• Catawba

lived in the Piedmont and Southern Coastal Plain

• Cherokee

lived in the Mountains
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Three main language groups

• Algonquian

spoken by Chowanoc, Moratoc, Pamlico, Roanoac

• Iroquoian

spoken by the Tuscarora and Cherokee

• Siouan

spoken by the Catawba
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Plants

• Native Americans used plants
• For food
• To fight disease, and
• To bring healing
• Corn
• Was the main source of food
• Most important plant

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How Native Americans Lived
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The Family
Most of the Indians of North Carolina had a
mother-centered family system
Within this family system, a child was related by
blood only to the mother.
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Food
The main crop was corn.
Other crops that they grew include
Squash
Pumpkins
Beans, and
Sunflowers
The main fruit tree that they grew was the peach.