Main Idea: The first people to live in the Americas came from Asia in a

series of migrations. Their patterns of living reflected a remarkable

adaptation to their environment.

Essential QuestionsEssential Questions

• How does the environment affect the development of a society?

• How did the American Indians adapt to and modify their environment?

The First Texans ArriveThe First Texans Arrivea. People first came to the Western Hemisphere by migrating from Asia over a land bridge called

the Bering Strait about 35,000 years ago during the Ice Age.

b. These people were nomads (people who moved from place to place) that followed herds of animals they hunted.

c. They crossed the interior of North America and reached the Texas regions about 10,000 years ago during the Paleolithic or Stone Age.

Path of migration acrossPath of migration acrossBering Strait Bering Strait land bridgeland bridge

How did they get here?How did they get here?1. Freezing temperatures of

the Ice Age turns ocean water into glaciers.

2. Ocean levels fall.

3. Bering Strait becomes dry, forming a land bridge between Asia and North America.

4. Early Asian peoples crossed the land bridge at the Bering Strait.

5. “Native Americans” or “American Indians” settle in North America.

Artifacts Are Historical CluesArtifacts Are Historical Clues

a. Our knowledge of ancient people comes from: i. Archaeologists who study artifacts; andii. Anthropologists who study ancient culture.

b. Rock paintings in caves and canyons in Southwest Texas provide clues about how ancient people lived and viewed themselves.

c. Human bones, like those found near Midland and Leander, provide information about what ancient people looked like.

Early People Hunt for FoodEarly People Hunt for Fooda. Early people lived in small groups and

hunted large animals, such as mastodons, mammoths, and giant bison for food.

b. The people had tools and developed a notched throwing stick, or atlatl, for hunting.

c. The hunter-foragers stayed in one area longer than other hunters, but did not settle permanently, always looking for food.

American Indians Progress

Hunters Become FarmersHunters Become Farmersa. While hunters and gatherers searched for food in

Texas, people in central Mexico were growing their own food.

b. Around A.D. 100, several groups in Texas adopted this settled way of life.

c. Farming changed the people’s way of life because a dependable source of food meant that they could settle in one place.

– Corn, squash, tomatoes, peanuts, etc.

d. Living in one place led to more complex societies that included craft workers, warriors, and political and religious leaders.

Different Cultures EmergeDifferent Cultures Emergea. Culture includes language, customs,

clothing, shelter, ways of working and playing, and beliefs.

b. By around the year 1500, when Europeans arrived, many different American Indian people lived in North America.

Different Cultures EmergeDifferent Cultures Emergec. People living in Texas belonged to one of four

cultures:

i. Southeastern – sedentary food-rich environment and complex social systems

ii. Gulf – nomadic hunters/gatherers

iii. Puebloan – sedentary, farmers, adobe houses

iv. Plains – nomadic, buffalo dependent, fierce warriors

d. Europeans were later influenced by these cultures to prepare new foods, cultivate plants that would grow well, and hunt native animals.

The Four Cultures of The Four Cultures of Texas IndiansTexas Indians

SoutheasternSoutheastern

PuebloPuebloGulf CoastGulf Coast

PlainsPlains

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Essential QuestionsEssential Questions

• How does the environment affect the development of a society?

• How did the American Indians adapt to and modify their environment?