Cathy Mulligan, age 15, of Bridgeport, Conn., for her question:
HOW DID THE EARLY AMERICAN INDIANS LIVE?
Early Indians had no word for themselves that resembled the word Indian. Almost every Indian group had its own name. When Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic in 1492, he thought he had reached India although he actually landed in the West Indies. Because he thought he was in India, he called the people he met Indians. And the name has remained.
Early American Indians, who are now called Native Americans by many, were extremely family centered. Men and women had different tasks but they were all aimed to provide the necessities of life: food, clothing and shelter.
Men provided the food and women did most of the work around the home. Hunting and fishing provided most of the food although in what is now Arizona and New Mexico, farming provided the principal source of food.
Many Indians were married at early ages with the girls being between 12 and 15 and the boys between 15 and 20. Most families were small because many children died at birth or as babies.
Many newly married couples lived with the girl's family and the husband worked for her family. After the birth of their first child, the couple often established a new home.
Tanned deer hide, called buckskin, was a common material for clothing throughout North America. Indians also used buffalo hides, rabbit fur and bird feathers for clothing.
In Central and South America, tropical weather made it possible for some Indians to go without clothing. In many tribes, a man wore only a breechcloth, which was a narrow band of cloth that passed between the legs and looped over the front and rear of a belt.
Many Indians in colder climates wore leggings and robes. Moccasins protected their feet.
Many different kinds of homes were used, depending on the climate and the availability ofc building materials. The wigwam was a framework of poles covered with leaves and bark that was used by many Indians in the East. The Plains Indians built cone shaped teepees that were made of poles covered with animal skins. Cliff dwellers and Pueblo Indians used sun dried bricks of adobe to make apartment houses.
Early Indians did not have horses, oxen or other beasts of burden and as a result, they didn't develop the use of the wheel. They traveled by water, however, and made light canoes out of bark and heavier dugout boats out of logs that could hold as many as 60 men.
Almost all Indians played games. They enjoyed many different ball games.