z7+Southwest

The Southwest Region of Indians lived mostly in Arizona, New Mexico, Southern Utah, and Colorado. It was normally very dry in this area, so they had to collect and store rain in the dry times. They became less culture oriented in 1300 when there was a drought. The only time it wasn't very dry was when there was thunderstorms in late July and August. It was extremely hard to try and gather the water with very little rain. -Natalie & Hailey The homes were made of sun-dried brick. The homes were in natural caves to keep away from attack. This region was very nomadic, but then became sedentary. Nomadic means they moved around, and sedentary means they stayed mostly in the same area. They also built very large houses to keep safe from attack. Their stable towns lasted for hundreds of years. -Natalie & Hailey The people in this region were hunters, gahterers, and farmers. They often farmed maize, melons, corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and fruit. They often hunted mammaths until they happened to be extinct. They also hunted buffalos. -Natalie & Hailey The babies would spend their first years of life strapped to their mothers. When they got older girls practiced sewing, basket weaving, pottery making, and preparing food. Boys would make tools and weapons and learned to hunt. Once adolescent, girls went with the women, and boys had to pass a test of courage. -Natalie The Southwest Native Americans had shrines and temples. They also had a spirit called the Almighty who was the spirit of life. He did not have a form, but was in the universe instead of the sky. The sun was a symbol for the Almighty, so the people prayed to him through the sun. They assumed that when people died, they went to a different world and they lived their life over and over again in that world. -Hailey The many tribes in the Southwest Region wore many different things. Since they lived in a warm climate, they wore flowers, paint, and feather headdresses. The Navajo women wore velvet dresses. The Hopi women that were unmarried wore a style of hair called the Butterfly style. The Apache men wore ammunition belts and boots. Apache women wore ribbonsand tails on white buckskin clothes. Those are just some of the many clothes worn by Southwest tribes. -Natalie & Hailey The Southwest Native Americans made pottery for very practical reasons. They used the pottery they made for bathing, storage, cooking, and religious ceremonies. They carved and painted their pottery to tell a story. They also made baskets with patterns and colors, and they were the most skilled in basket making. -Natalie



Sources: [] [] [] [] [] [] [] Prentice Hall America History of Our Nation - pg.12h