First Peoples In Canada Notes
First Peoples in Canada
The People of the Atlantic:
Time Span: 6000-1000 BCE
Lifestyle:
In pursuit of Caribou, the First Peoples reached the East Coast of Present Day Canada.
Depended on the Harp Seal to supply them with food.
The abundance of the seal allowed them to maintain a way of life for at least 6000 years.
Diet relied on the sea (variety of fish, walrus, seals, sea birds)
In winter, they moved inland to follow other sources of food (caribou)
The archaeological find at L’Anse Amour gives us great insight into the culture of these people.
The site contains the oldest burial mound found in North America to this day
The burial site discovered houses the body of an adolescent.
The elaborate grave raises questions about the spirituality of these people.
The people of the Atlantic later developed into the cultures of the Innu, Beothuk, Mi’kmaq and Abenaki.
The Peoples of the Arctic
Time Span: 2000-0 BCE
There are two main groups of people that are believed to have migrated across the Bering Strait
1. Paleo-Eskimo
2. Dorset People
I: Paleo-Eskimos:
Lived in a broad area stretching from Alaska to Greenland, and north to Ellesmere Island.
Introduced the bow and arrow to North America. Contact with the people of the Atlantic allowed this technology to spread throughout North America.
Did not have any marine technology (i.e. boats)
Lived in small mobile groups, constantly in search of food.
Dorset People:
Emerged in Siberia and Alaska between 800 and 500 BCE.
As they moved eastward, the either absorbed, or drove-out the Paleo-Eskimo peoples.
Lived in larger communities than the Paleo-Eskimo
Had more tools than the Paleo-Eskimo
Invented ivory sled shoes
Developed the kayak
Spiritually, the Dorsets believed in the supernatural and shamanistic ceremonies.
A shaman is a ‘go-between’ between the physical and spiritual
The People of the Atlantic:
Time Span: 6000-1000 BCE
Lifestyle:
In pursuit of Caribou, the First Peoples reached the East Coast of Present Day Canada.
Depended on the Harp Seal to supply them with food.
The abundance of the seal allowed them to maintain a way of life for at least 6000 years.
Diet relied on the sea (variety of fish, walrus, seals, sea birds)
In winter, they moved inland to follow other sources of food (caribou)
The archaeological find at L’Anse Amour gives us great insight into the culture of these people.
The site contains the oldest burial mound found in North America to this day
The burial site discovered houses the body of an adolescent.
The elaborate grave raises questions about the spirituality of these people.
The people of the Atlantic later developed into the cultures of the Innu, Beothuk, Mi’kmaq and Abenaki.
The Peoples of the Arctic
Time Span: 2000-0 BCE
There are two main groups of people that are believed to have migrated across the Bering Strait
1. Paleo-Eskimo
2. Dorset People
I: Paleo-Eskimos:
Lived in a broad area stretching from Alaska to Greenland, and north to Ellesmere Island.
Introduced the bow and arrow to North America. Contact with the people of the Atlantic allowed this technology to spread throughout North America.
Did not have any marine technology (i.e. boats)
Lived in small mobile groups, constantly in search of food.
Dorset People:
Emerged in Siberia and Alaska between 800 and 500 BCE.
As they moved eastward, the either absorbed, or drove-out the Paleo-Eskimo peoples.
Lived in larger communities than the Paleo-Eskimo
Had more tools than the Paleo-Eskimo
Invented ivory sled shoes
Developed the kayak
Spiritually, the Dorsets believed in the supernatural and shamanistic ceremonies.
A shaman is a ‘go-between’ between the physical and spiritual