The first "Americans" went to America so long ago that we cannot really know as much as we would like to know about their earliest history. But this is what most authorities think happened.
About 12,000 years ago, bands of hunters on foot wandered into a strange new land, following herds of elk and caribou. The land these early hunters came from was probably Siberia. They crossed over to Alaska where the continents of Asia and North America are closest together at the narrow strip of water now called Bering Strait.
For thousands of years more hunters went to North America. They did not all go at once, but went in small family groups. Although they came from the same homeland and were originally alike, they went over a period of thousands of years and thus the groups differed in many ways. They differed in language, in appearance, in customs, in ways of making a living, and in the way they adapted themselves to life in the new land.They all had straight, black hair and high cheekbones. They were all dark-skinned, but their shadings varied. The skins of some had a reddish tinge and so these people were often called "red men".
They used the same sort of weapons and tools, and methods to provide themselves with their food, clothing, and shelter. But they used different materials to satisfy these needs.
The biggest differences that developed among these people were a result of where they settled to live. There were five main living centers where these people settled: the Northwest Coast, the California region, the Southwest, the Eastern Woodlands, and the Plains. The tribes that developed in each of these centers were quite different from each other they were all what came to be known as "Indians".
About 12,000 years ago, bands of hunters on foot wandered into a strange new land, following herds of elk and caribou. The land these early hunters came from was probably Siberia. They crossed over to Alaska where the continents of Asia and North America are closest together at the narrow strip of water now called Bering Strait.
For thousands of years more hunters went to North America. They did not all go at once, but went in small family groups. Although they came from the same homeland and were originally alike, they went over a period of thousands of years and thus the groups differed in many ways. They differed in language, in appearance, in customs, in ways of making a living, and in the way they adapted themselves to life in the new land.They all had straight, black hair and high cheekbones. They were all dark-skinned, but their shadings varied. The skins of some had a reddish tinge and so these people were often called "red men".
They used the same sort of weapons and tools, and methods to provide themselves with their food, clothing, and shelter. But they used different materials to satisfy these needs.
The biggest differences that developed among these people were a result of where they settled to live. There were five main living centers where these people settled: the Northwest Coast, the California region, the Southwest, the Eastern Woodlands, and the Plains. The tribes that developed in each of these centers were quite different from each other they were all what came to be known as "Indians".
