Jeff Scudder
AP US History
Summer Assignment
Essay #1 "Discuss how geographic and climatic features affected the development of cultures in each of North America's regions."

	Early North America had several regions that people migrated to thousands of years ago. The early humans migrated from a land bridge in the current North West of North America in the last Ice Age. They moved and spread all throughout the Americas, to different regions. Due to the nature of the Americas, the different regions had very different climates and land attributes, and the humans needed to adapt to those in order to live there. These features greatly influenced the development of different cultures in North America's regions.
	The North West, Arctic, and Sub arctic regions were all very much alike in how the land's features and the climate affected the cultures of it's people. The North West, Arctic, and Sub arctic were still a colder region, and so the Native Americans had to travel in larger groups and hunted big game. They needed to depend on one another to stay warm and stay alive. It was difficult to farm in this region due to the cold climate, so this was strictly a hunting culture, that did not only use animals to eat, but to make crafts as well. The North West eventually adopted much of the desert culture of the Great Basin.
	In California to the Great Basin, deserts formed after the ice glaciers melted away and caused a warming effect. This resulted in an extremely dry climate. It consisted of bands of desert foragers who migrated repeatedly within a small range. They were gatherers collecting seeds, fiber, berries, nuts, and other plants. They also caught fish, which required skill in handicrafts. This culture lived in caves and rock shelters, and they were often called "Diggers" because they gathered and ate edible roots. This culture began in the Great Basin, but slowly began to spread east and west. In Mexico, farming developed due to the decent amounts of moisture. The people grew several types of corn, and maize. This eventually led to cultures completely reliant on farming, and people who build irrigation channels to help get water to their fields.
	The Great Plains, and much of the inner North East and Southern regions held many hunting traditions due to the vastness of the land. Hunters on the Great Plains followed American bison, or buffalo around and hunted their herds for food. They used special "Folsom" points, which were types of spears used to kill the herds. This technology was known as "Plano". The hunters often stampeded herds and trapped them on cliffs or hillsides. Because the people were not always promised meat on a regular basis, they developed ways to dry the meat and make jerky, and they also gathered berries and fruits.
	East of the Mississippi in the South and North East regions, there were vast woodlands and forests the people needed to adapt to. These "Archaic" forest communities had a comfortable and secure life due to their intensive knowledge of the areas resources. They hunted small game, and gathered seeds, nuts and berries, fished, and even practiced controlled burning of the forests to cause more berries to grow. The cultures east of the Mississippi were well adapted to their geography and climate.
	The geographic and climatic features of all the regions of North America greatly affected the way that the native people and migrants lived their lives. People needed to adapt and either develop lifestyles based on large, or small communities, farming, hunting, gathering, or a mixture of everything. Each culture brought it's own traditions to North America that lasted for hundreds of years, and are still apparent in festivals and the people from those regions today.