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Native American Indians

Everyone has a house or apartment they live in these days. We take for granted many of the modern conviences that we have. Have you ever thought what it might be like to live in the house of an ancient American Indian? Through the internet, you will be transported back to the time of the Anasazi Indians, and walk through their homes (kivas), and see their home furnishing. Click here to start your journey. The Anasazi were thought to have lived from 1000 BC to 300 AD.

Now that you looked into a kiva, lets look an actual ruins of several different indian tribes out west .These pictures show you how archeologist have dug into the ruins, while still preserving these ancient homes. Much care has been taken to preserve the homes as they were found. Here you will find pictures to several of the ruins located in the four corners area of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona.

To get an idea where early man lived check out this map. It is found at a very fine archeology web site you may wish to explore. This is an map of what is referred to as Pre-History of the Native American Tribes.

A little closer to home here in Georgia, are several places along the Mississippi River where Ancient Indian civilizations flourished. The pictures above and below are from a web site sponsored by the National Park Service and features a group of Native Americans known as the mound builders.

The Emerald Mound is a ceremonial earthwork that stands as a monument to the Native architects who built it over two hundred years before Columbus waded ashore in the Caribbean. The Mississippians, as they are known, erected dozens--perhaps thousands--of earthworks across the Delta and he southeast when Europeans were living through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (1200 - 1400).

Here in Georgia there are also mounds built during this same time period. South of Cartersville Georgia are the Etowa Indian Mounds. Mound builders arrived at the Etowah Indian Mounds site about 950 AD. These tribes probably moved east from the Mississippi and featured advanced agricultural techniques, a
form of lineal government (the rulers belonged to the same family), religion, and commerce. The village at Etowah established relations with nearby Eastern Woodland Indians as well as Mound Builders from Ocmulgee. The mound builders were thought to have lived from 1000 BC to 1500 AD.

In 1540 Hernando deSoto arrived at the Etowa, but archeologists generally agree that the Mississipean culture was in decline in general and the Etowah Mounds site was abandoned. Control may have passed to a Mound Builder city northeast of Etowah Mounds near present-day Cartersville, Georgia.

The pottery and art works found in these mounds are very valuable, and these historic sites must be guarded so the pots and luxury goods will not be stolen.

The Eastern Woodland Indians are a name for a group of Native Americans spread out over a large part of the East Coast of the United States. For an in-depth look at the workings of these tribes, check out the many links of this site to examine the life and culture of Native Americans in 1550.

If you are creating your own map of early Indian tribes, these two sites will give you a great deal of information. Both of the files are quite large, but worth the wait. The Eastern Indian Tribes will be found here, and the Western Indians Tribes here. These maps are from the Smithsonian Institution.

Native American music is an important form of music in the United States. Among the Pueblo, songs are sung in unison, (everyone sings the same melody) by groups and accompanied by a single drum. Their songs are a way for them to communicate with the spirits and their ancestors. Songs accompany all ceremonies. Drumming is important and represents the heartbeat of the deities. Rattles represent rain and the two combined create the beat. The music is always sung and is almost always used as an accompaniment to dances.

Middle Americas Maya Indians - pg. 98 - Aztec Indians - pg. 101
link to Maya Indians -

Northwest Chinook Indians - pg. 78 - Makahs Indians - pg. 79

Southwest - Hopi Indians - pg. 81 - Navajo Indians - pg. 74

Great Plains Mandans -Navajo Indians - pg. 74

Eastern - Iroquois Indians - pg. 92 - Cherokees Indians - pg. 95

short histories of all of the below tribes

Anasazi, Cherokee, Hopi, Iroquois, Mandan, Navajo, Pueblo

Georgia / North Carolina - Information on Cherokee Nation and Native Indians

great resource pdf - lesson on land bridge - designed for 3rd grade level - PUT ON TEACHERS RESOURCE