North American Culture

The pre- Columbian Northwest tribes marked important events; such as, weddings, funerals, raising of the totem pole, and new clan houses with a ceremony called Potlatch. A Potlatch was also held to show off wealth- which was acquired and distributed throughout the ceremony. These ceremonies included storytelling, dancing, gift-giving, and the destruction of possessions. In their minds, the more one could afford to destroy, the greater their wealth. The main purpose potlatches had was to display wealth and social status.

American culture has been referred to as a “melting pot.” Different cultures have added their own distinct aspects to society, making America a diverse country. Despite the plethora of cultures, certain norms, mores, and folkways are evident in American society. These ideas are vital to the function and stability of America. They provide guidelines for what is acceptable and not. In virtually every society, there are people who engage in deviant behavior and do not abide by the values that the rest of society follows. Theorists have debated if people are socialized into acting this way and if it is a social or personal problem. The sociological study of culture focuses on norms, mores, and folkways.

They developed ongoing human inhabitance in the Western Hemisphere since the first hunters crossed Beringia until the first arrival of Europeans in 1492 and much further than that. Archaeologists named the first migrations and their descendants Paleo-Indians. A large amount of their history is still unknown due to the lack of a writing system. They did not use a system of writing, but they did have many spoken languages However, a good amount can be put together based off conclusions made from the artifacts the Ancient Americans left behind. The Ancient Americans were successful because of their ability to adapt. They adapted to new environments and climates. They were also able to modify themselves socially and culturally triggered by man-made changes. Their creativity and artistry was clearly shown in the artifacts they left behind. The diverse groups they came across along the way heavily influenced the attitudes of the Europeans arriving in 1492 in the New World. The Europeans wanted the wealth, work, and land the Natives had. At the same time, the Native American were infatuated with the technology the Europeans had such as there large ships, gunpowder and steel weapons. During the four hundred years after 1492, as the amount of foreigners increased, Native Americans and colonist encounters grew more common. Negotiations in order to keep

The northern tribes used bones and deer antlers to make knives, scrapers, awls, fishing tools, whistles, and pendants. The first tribes denpended on agriculture were those that lived on the Atlantic Costal Plain. They learned how to make pottery and cloth. The cloth was woven with thread made from soft layers of splint baskets. They made musical instruments like pipers, rattles, drums, nd they were played during ruitals and ceremonies dances. They built two types of houses, long houses, and wigwams. The first type was formed by bending poles into a cone or dome shape and by tying the poles together with vines. The frame was covered with woven mats, bark, or hide . These people grew corn, squash, beans, pumpkins, and tobacco.

They used what is known as a diffused substinance pattern. By this we mean that by using resources available to them lightly as opposed to intensely using the same resources, they were conserving for the future. These tribes would spiritualize nature. In this culture everything was significant. They held reverence for the environment and a strong kinship with nature. Often these people observed respectful guidelines to avoid spiritual retaliation. For instance, the bones of the beaver would be returned to the river where it had been trapped. This was believed to keep the beavers there plentiful.

Culture is a very vital part of the world as we know it today. There are very many different cultures all around the world. In the USA, we have a mix of all the different cultures and and family values. From the original Native Americans that inhabited America to the Middle Eastern people in Afghanistan. These people groups have brought their language, food, values, and customs with them.

However, with the remains of their pieces of tools and other goods across the lands in different villages it can be speculated that some groups of Native Americans had social relations with others, or had mobile groups spread across the lands. For example, the clovis was an instrument used for hunting by the Paleo-Indian groups. The Clovis and Folsom peoples, and has been found in animal and village remains across the land. Judging that their groups traveled a lot this means that they built social connections with other groups. Leaving behind many small villages of fewer people for archaeologists to excavate. Additionally, social constrictions are seen in the people who follow after the Paleo-Indian peoples who focused more on hunting and gathering, but relied heavily more on natural foods such as fruits and nuts. As a result of this gathering technique for food supply, more villages were formed beginning with the archaic peoples. I believe this had led to the evolution of larger populations in native villages as I had read throughout Plog’s book that the villages got bigger with the increased use farming agricultural goods such as maize and beans. Rather than small campsites, villages rose as a result such as the Shabik’eschee peoples in Chaco Canyon. The development of village life led to new cultural customs such as cremation of the dead and preserved

Long before the coming of the so-called "civilized" Europeans, North America was inhabited by traveling bands of ancient people. Nomadic tribes, these early ancestors of Southwest Native Americans traveled the land in search of food from the thriving herds of large animals. But possibly as early as A.D. 900, as the wandering herds began to diminish, these people began to settle down and developed societies and cultures around what is called the Four Corners area of the southwest, in southern Utah and Colorado, and northern Arizona and New Mexico.

In the early history of the United States, even before Europeans set foot in North America, there were Native Americans all across the continent. Native Americans lived in tribes and were nomadic. Although they were nomadic, they would also inhabit “permanent villages” where they would live year-round. On the occasion that those “permanent villages” were abandoned, left behind would be artifacts from their culture that explained a great amount about their lifestyle and traditions. These popular artifacts were most commonly found in southwest and northeast regions such as the Great Plains, the Great Basin, and the Mississippi River Valley.

The Tchefuncte culture, during the Woodland Period, was the first people to use the land to make pottery. Populations in the Woodland Period became more sedentary and began to establish semi-permanent villages and to practice agriculture. “A major change in hunting strategy occurred during the time of the Woodland Indians with the introduction of the bow and arrow.” (Prehistory, screen 1). They continued to hunt and farm, more efficiently with the bow and

In general, they were the first people to cultivate chocolate, corn, cotton, peanuts, pineapples, potatoes, rubber, quinine, tobacco, and vanilla. But, in the frozen tundra of Western Alaska, Native Americans dealt with arctic conditions. They relied on hunting and fishing. They hunted seals, whales, and other marine mammals. These animals were not only useful as food, but as skinned layers of clothing that kept them warm in such climate. However, in milder regions along the northwest Pacific Coast, the people there could produce food with very little effort. The physical environment impacted them by providing marine life for fishing. In the Southwest, some of the earliest farming societies developed. Since the environment was desert, Native Americans developed complex irrigation systems for farming. They even dug wells, built ponds, and built dams to collect rainwater to water their crops in the desert weather. All across the different regions and climates where the First American lived, they all adapted to thrive in whatever environment they were dealing

•Anasazi – They were a cultural group of people during the Pueblo I and II Eras. During their time, corn was introduced to society, and the ideas of nomadic hunters and gatherers were present. Their crafts and houses still stand today, which plays an important role in the advancement of architecture and craftsmanship.

Native Americans that lived in the Great Plains had to have been part of one of four tribes. The four tribes were the Cheyenne, the Lakota, the Osage, or the Pawnee. The region in which they lived was the Mid-West, areas in which we now call Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, etc. The weather area is very harsh, considering the tornadoes and other absurd weather conditions. Since there are many tornadoes in those areas, they had to figure out a way to make extremely sturdy houses. Their main source of food on this flat land was hunting. They would hunt deer, elk, buffalo, bear, and wild turkey. Most of the tribes had their own language, two of which being Siouan, which was for the Osage tribe and Caddoan, which was for the Pawnee tribe. Some of the

Agricultural based societies began to develop like the Mayans and Aztecs in the South and Moundbuilders and Mississippians in the Midwest (Mintz & McNeil, 2013). At this time people have been living in this new land for more than 10,000 years and living in this newly developed land had become easier and more sophisticated with the increasing amount of crops being used. During this time period many of the cultures developed large complex farms that were being used as a main source of food along with hunting. While hunting and gathering was still heavily used being able to rely on the food they grew was more reliable and they could generate large amounts without having to move around. While become less nomadic the size of the tribes grew and became very bonded together this meant more people working together. The growing amount of local people meant many people knew and lived together and this gave way to large ceremonies and rituals when a person died. At these ceremonies many people came together and would bury the dead and they would smoke herbs and roots out of hand crafted pipes during the burial rituals (Museum of Native American History, n.d.). With less moving they had more time to craft and make objects like pipes and hunting

Prior to the European explorers arriving in North America in the 1500s, Native American peoples developed civilizations that were advanced in many aspects. While exploring the “New World”, explorers found civilizations that were as advanced as that of the Aztec or Mayan empires; these were those of which the Native American tribes developed. Due to this, early Native American tribes were civilized, as well as several other reasons, including: the advanced art styles, tools, and traditions they practiced, the civility and architectural advancements of their towns, and their organization in both geographic location and political development.