Picture how North America looked over 500 years ago. Take away the towns and cities. Take away the buildings, highways, and roads. Now let’s meet the first Americans, the American Indians. When people from Europe first arrived, perhaps millions of American Indians lived in North America.
American Indians lived in environments across North America – forests, deserts, plains. Indian groups, or tribes, adapted to their environment. Over time, they developed ways to live on the land. This often created a shared culture, or way of life, among the people in a region. Culture groups ate many of the same kinds of foods. They used similar materials to make clothing and tools and to build shelters, or homes. Many culture groups also spoke similar languages, the set of sounds and words used to communicate.
Take a look at two culture groups in North America.
