Someone good with american history?

Question

how did native american groups adapt to their new environment when they came across the beringia land bridge 22,000 years ago?

i chose to describe the Hohokams adaptations.

i said they moved into the valleys of rivers in central arizona and that they began to introduce crops into the desert landscape.

does anyone else have ideas about how they could have adapted?

factual and opinion answers would be great!

thanks

Answer 1

The Indian peoples have a little different idea on that, but to make the white people happy in school, we'll talk about the retreating ice caps from the last ice age opening up sheltered valleys that were good refuge for game and people. They began to cultivate native grass seeds they got from further south among the Mexican Indians. The result of these trades and early cultivation became corn,squash and beans. They called them the 3 sisters. Oddly enough,thousands of years later science told us that the combo. of the 3 would create a complet protein that was as solid as meat. Hunting and gathering became secondary as the way to store food against hard times. Then ,as food became easier to come by thru cultivation,storage became the issue. The people needed to create a way to store the surplus that was safe and effective. They began to experiment with the stone engineering of the early pueblos. Then, the other Indians who did not have or cared to engage in farming began to raid the farmers for their supplies and sometimes women and children. There arose a need for safer communities. The cliff dwellings developed from that. This made life tougher,but safer from marauders who would take whatever they could. As the ice retreated and the planet got warmer,the people had to move around to find water and fertile ground for their agriculture. That is why so many of the cities they built were later abandoned. Pottery, basketry,and rawhide containers were crafted with a high level of skill and artistry to store the surplus of the crops. Trade was wide spread thru the south west and tha farmers always had lots to trade,and they became wealthy according to the standard of the time. During this time period, the atlatl or spear thrower was replaced by the marvel of engineering; the bow and arrow. Hunting and defending ones home and family from enemies became easier.I hope this helps, I'm tired of typing.

Answer 2

They followed animals and were nomads for a while then they discovered they could plant crops for food and survive without the Buffalo, deer, or whatever they had liked to hunt. Then incredibly they took it one step further and made stuff like this for defense from the elements other tribes and wild animals.

http://www.nps.gov/meve/

Then for some reason the people living at Mesa Verde inexplicably abandoned the cliff fortress.

Answer 3

They wouldn't have farmed crops 22,000 years ago, as farming didn't begin until the Neolithic Revolution, about 10-12 thousand years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_R...

Since they were hunters/gatherers, you can think about:  Did they become nomads, and follow herds?  DId they learn how to hunt New World animals?  Were there any unfamiliar animals/plants of the New World that they lived on?

Answer 4

Well they adapted in many ways... what they ate, what clothes they had, their shelter, and their all around way of life. Most of the these indians were on the move a lot of the time and their environment was constantly changing.