In taking a glimpse of the vast terrain that makes up North America, we find that this continent is not readily defined in terms of its climate, land forms, flora or fauna. Neither are the inhabitants of this part of the world. There are more families of languages here than anywhere else in the world. Alongside that, related peoples settled in geographically-diverse regions of the continent, and the cultures they developed owed as much to the climate and resources of the places they inhabit as to the doings of their neighbors, and their own past history.

Simply for the ease of discussion, inhabitants of North America (which is generally considered to include Greenland, as well) can be roughly divided into ten geographical regions or "culture areas", some of which are represented by the site neighborhoods. In some cases, one larger neighborhood will encompass a small number of regions. It must be noted that in the south and southwest, there was not necessarily any strict demarcation of North America from Meso America. Natchez art and customs, for example, owe something to the Mayan and Aztec realms.

This is the region of the continent that is known for potlatch celebrations and totem poles. Food here is bountiful, and many are the gifts of the sea. Two major language groups live here: those that speak the relatively recent Na-Dene, and those that speak Penutian tongues. This region extends southwards from the lower panhandle of Alaska through Oregon.

The Indians of the California region also were coastal in resource. The region extends down south into Baja California. It is a highly-populated region, as food is plentiful. People here mostly speak Hokan, Penutian, and Uto-Aztecan languages, although there are some others.

The Plateau region is just east of the Northwest Coast region. The main river drainage system is the Columbia and the Fraser rivers. Sustinance is on salmon, trout, sturgeon - all river fish. They also ate a variety of uncultivated roots. Penutian languages were common in the south, and in the north, variants of Salish held sway.

Westwards of most of the California region lies the Great Basin, covering the eastern edges of California, essentially all of Nevada and Utah, and extending northwards into Oregon, Idaho and Montana. There are segments of this region that touch on Wyoming and Colorado. Climate is dry and temperatures can get brutal. These Indians are nearly all speakers of Uto-Aztecan tongues.

The keynote of the southwest is low rainfall. This promoted two types of lifestyle: nomadic or farming. Often the nomads would raid the settled farmers. Again, several language groups can be found. Archaeology shows us earlier settlements than those that developed later; it is likely that the Hopi and others descended from the Anasazi, that the Mogollon gave rise to the Zuni, that the Hohokam became the Pima and the Papago, and that the Yuma are the children of the Patayan. The Navaho are a distinct people, and they are traditionally nomadic.

The Great Plains covers a large swath of the western side of the continent, with the Mississippi River more or less its eastern border for a good portion of the way. Mostly grassland, as rainfall is limited. Settlements were in river valleys, where Indians fished and farmed. The only non-farming and truly nomadic tribes appear to be the northern Blackfeet and the Comanches of the south. Agrarians might move settlements when soil become depleted.

Most of the southeast was wooded and temperate, although there are coastal saltwater marshes, and distinct locales such as the Everglades. The southern Appalacian mountains added their own mix to the geography. Inhabitants farm and hunt, and where the waters permitted, they fished. Many language families can be found here.

The Northeast tribes are comprised of hunters and gatherers, fishers and farmers. They are, as most other peoples in the Americas, very adept at trade. While mostly Algonquian, this region also held a sizeable number of Iroquoian-speaking Indians. Both formed Confederacies: the Iroquois had the Haudenosaunee, and the Algonquians the Abnaki Confederacy and the Powhatan Confederacy.

Think of a swatch of territory ranging eastwards from Alaska to Newfoundland. In the west, dominantly the Athapascan languages are spoken; to the east are Algonquian-speakers. Nomadic migrations follow food sources.

The Arctic culture region is considered to extend from eastern Siberia over northern Alaska and Canada, and into the mis-named Greenland. This is the home of the late-arriving Inuits and Aleuts, who survive mostly by hunting caribou and sea mammals.

Waldman, C. Atlas of the North American Indian. 1985. ISBN 0-87196-850-9.
Thomas, D. H. Exploring Ancient Native America. 1999. ISBN 0-415-92359-X.

Main image under license from Jupiter Images.