Geographic Context

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

Migration refers to the movement of people and animals from one location to another.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

An idea or explanation about how and why groups of people moved from one place to another in the past.

Student tip
In U.S. history, the main migration theory is that the first people came to North America from Asia across the land bridge (Beringia) during the Ice Age.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

An artifact is an object made, used or left behind by people in the past that helps historians and archaeologists learn about how they lived.

Student tip
Artifacts are found in dig sites. The further down archaeologists dig, the older the objects they find.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

Push Factors are reasons people leave an area and settle somewhere else. These can include famine, minimal drinking water, disease, natural disaster, and even fear of an enemy.

Student tip
Think of it as something that pushes people out of where they live.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

Pull Factors are conditions that attract people to migrate to a different area like fertile soil, a more desirable climate, or a natural water supply.

Student tip
Think of it as something that pulls people toward a new home.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

A way of life where people move from place to place instead of staying in one permanent home, usually to follow food, animals, or seasons.

Student tip
Many Native American groups on the Great Plains were nomadic because they followed the buffalo herds.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

Agriculture: The practice of farming — growing crops and raising animals for food, trade, or other needs.

Student tip
Agriculture allowed people to stay in one place, build villages, and develop more complex societies.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

A way of bringing water to dry land by using ditches, canals, or pipes to help grow crops.

Student tip
Native Americans in the Southwest, like the Pueblo, used irrigation to farm in the desert.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

Adapting is the way people adjust to their environment in order to survive or live more comfortably.

Student tip
Building houses on stilts in flood areas or wearing warm clothes in cold climates are examples of human adaptation.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

Culture is an entire way of life shared by a group of people. It can include clothing, food, housing, tools, language, and even social habits, beliefs and music.

Student tip
Culture is “how people live” — including their traditions, food, music, clothing, and values.

● Standard 7.1a — Native American Regions and Cultures

Native American Culture Regions: Large areas of North America where Native American groups lived and developed ways of life shaped by their environment, resources, and climate.

Student tip
Different regions (like the Eastern Woodlands, Great Plains, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, Arctic/Subarctic, and California/Great Basin) had unique homes, foods, clothing, and traditions because people adapted to their surroundings.