The majority of Paleoindian dwellings were modest, circular buildings. They were fashioned of tipi-style poles that slanted in at the top. The poles were wrapped with bush, which was then covered in mud or animal skins. The entryway was presumably also covered with animal skins. Inside, the walls would have been roughly plastered with a mixture of clay and grass seeds.
Paleoindians made use of whatever materials they could find on their land. So while some shelters were made out of wood, others were constructed from stone or even shell. Some houses were even buried under several feet of dirt!
Archeologists call this area "the Great Plains" because it was here that they found most of the prehistoric ruins and artifacts. Parts of this region has been used as farmland for thousands of years, so you won't find any relics left behind from ancient civilizations like those in Mexico or Peru. Instead, you'll see evidence of early Americans: Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Neanderthals went extinct about 4000 years ago, but scientists still know a lot about them because they've found many skeletons still wearing clothes and tools made from rock and bone. Homo sapiens (modern humans) appeared about 200000 years ago and replaced Neanderthals as the dominant species in Europe and Asia.
The rare Paleoindian sites where evidence of dwellings has remained appear to be tiny, conical "lodges" made of poles coated with brush and daub (mud) or maybe animal skins. Large stones were sometimes utilized to support the posts, both within and outside the construction. The occupants would have slept under large tents-or-hammocks made of skin or cloth.
Paleoindians lived in this way throughout most of North America until about 14,000 years ago when some groups began to build more permanent shelters. They did this by choosing areas near lakes, rivers, or other bodies of water where they could find trees suitable for making tools. These people were called "lake dwellers" because they lived near lakes or other bodies of water.
In general, Paleoindians were nomadic hunters who moved around from place to place looking for food. However, some groups settled in one location for several seasons at a time before moving on. Others may have spent months traveling across open country but had built small camps near streams or other sources of water where they could find fish.
The first settlers in what is now the United States were not Paleoindians but rather ancestors of the first Americans. These people came from Asia and entered what is now known as North America via a land bridge that connected what are now the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean.
They were historically nomadic hunters who followed their food supplies, building earthen dwellings with a top dome constructed of sealskin or animal skins set over a timber frame. The women made clothing out of walrus skin and the men used bone tools to hunt marine animals. They also harvested fish from the rivers where they lived.
The Yupiks originally came from northeast Asia and migrated west across the Siberian land bridge about 500 years ago. They settled in the islands south of Alaska where they developed a unique language called Yupik. Today, most Yupiks are mixed race with some Indian features but they are mostly white like their ancestors thousands of years ago. The tribe has 20,000 members spread over several villages in southwest Alaska.
Their lifestyle was very different from that of the Alaskan Indians who preceded them. The Yupiks were expert hunters who relied on the ocean for food. They didn't grow any crops and had no idea how to build anything other than small camps where they could shelter themselves from the elements. However, despite not having much knowledge of farming, they did find use for various plants by eating them or making clothes out of them.
The Subarctic Zone People utilized many types of dwellings, but they were all tiny, easy to build up and take down, and move from one location to another. The majority of Dene people lived in plains-style tipis (skin tents supported by whalebones) or brush lean-tos. Other groups included the Gros Ventre, Salish, and Kutenai, who built fishtrap canoes for transportation.
Plains-style tipis were usually made from buffalo skin or heavy cloth that was stripped off the body before it was killed. The hide was then cut into strips about 4 feet long and sewn together with sinew or rawhide to form a cylinder about 6 feet high and 10 feet in diameter. The open end of the tent was left on the ground as an entrance. Wooden pegs fixed into the ground around the perimeter held the tent in place while someone inside cooked food over a fire within the tent.
In addition to skins, some Dene people also used wood for their homes. They would carve out spaces in the trunk of a large tree using only a knife and their hands. There were no roofs on these houses; instead, the trees were covered in earth or stones to make them weatherproof. Ojibwa people also used the trunks of smaller trees as posts for their campsites and for marking boundaries.
The Paleo Indians, like many other groups, are thought to have been nomadic hunters and gatherers. They traveled in tribes of 20 to 50 individuals, carrying their possessions on their backs. They frequently took refuge in caves, but they also constructed primitive shelters out of brush and animal hide on occasion.
In conclusion, the Paleo Indians were a mobile society that traveled with their tents and weapons looking for food and shelter. They did not live in one place for prolonged periods of time.
The Sioux tribe lived in tent-like structures known as tepees. The tepee was made of wooden poles wrapped with tough animal skins such as buffalo hides. The tops were often covered with silk blankets and the sides were usually painted white to reflect sunlight away from inside the tent. There was always one main entrance, called the "doorway," where visitors entered the tepee.
There was only one room in a Sioux tepee, but several tepees might be put up for protection or storage if the Sioux tribe was living on land they didn't own. A small section of the interior space could be fenced off to keep animals out.
A tipi can be moved if the Sioux need more room to farm or hunt. They would pack up their tents and travel to another location.
Some tribes had more elaborate tepees. The Crow tribe in Montana had woven wire frames instead of wood poles in their tepees. The Zuni tribe in New Mexico built their tepees with almost no straight lines, instead choosing curves and angles in design.
Inside most Sioux tepees you would find a sleeping platform made of thick mats spread across some sticks. A fire pit might be located in the center of the tepee for cooking and warmth during cold nights.
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