Chapter 1: The First Americans - Part 3

Chapter 1: The First Americans - Part 3

American Indians in different regions met their needs in different ways, using the resources available to them in nature.

This region is mostly in a basin, or low land, between two big mountain areas. The land has many high flat places, or plateus. The climate is dry due to little rain.

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​California Intermountain Region

Multiple Choice

Which word does not describe the California Intermountain Region?

• basin

• wet

• plateau

• mountains

Some years there was very little rain, causing the American Indians to be hungry. To avoid starvation, they ate nuts, seeds and wild plants. They gathered these in baskets they made. Sometimes they used acorns, which are seeds from an oak tree to make bread.

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Match

Match the following

• acorn

• plateau

• basin

• climate

seed of an oak tree

dry, high land

low land between 2 mountain areas

weather over a period of time

• seed of an oak tree

• dry, high land

• low land between 2 mountain areas

• weather over a period of time

Some American Indians in the California Intermountain Region lived along the coast where they could fish for food.

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Many of the Southwest American Indians belonged to the Pueblo tribe.

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​Native Americans of the Southwest

The Southwest Region has a very dry climate. Most of the region is desert and dry grassland. Instead of wood, the Pueblo buildings were made of adobe, which is a material made of clay, straw, and water. Some villages were built agains cliffs.

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Fill in the Blanks

What did the American Indians of the Southwest use to build their homes?

Pueblo Indians grew corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash. Due to the dry climate, they planted crops near rivers. In some places, they dug ditches to bring river water to their crops.

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Multiple Select

What crops did the Indians of the Southwest region grow? mark all correct answers

• corn

• apples

• pumpkins

• beans

• peanuts