The Paleo Indian Era

The Hunting - Gathering lifestyle became less and less rewarding over the years. Another factor, resulting in the lifestyles being less rewarding, was that plant domestication was becoming more rewarding. A third factor was the development of technologies on which food production would eventually end up depending on. A fourth factor was the link between the rise of human population density and the rise in food production.

History in The Making After reading chapter 4 of Beyond 1492 by James Axtell, one can infer that Axtell’s central argument is that the Natives were “virtually absent a century ago whereas today they are at the center of attention” (Axtell 97). At fine point, what Axtell is saying at the time that he wrote this book, is that over a century ago (1892) the Native Americans were practically nonexistent in the history of Columbus and his discovery of America. Compared to today (1992) where Indians are now being “rediscovered” thanks in part to a series of movements arising in the late 1960s. (Axtell 97). The Natives were “allegedly inarticulate,” unable to express themselves clearly, and supposing left little traces in written records.

Mann first describes going on a trip with his colleagues to Brazil to learn more about the culture there and explore the land on which the Indians lived. He states that his colleagues, Erickson and Balée, have radically challenged conventional notions of what the America’s were like before Columbus. He explains that when he went to school in the 70s’, he learned that the Indians had come across the Bering Strait roughly thirteen

Notable too was the fact that there were significant changes in the land. People started seeing animals, pants and ground as commodities,

The Archaic Indians were the Indians that roamed the United States after the Ice Age. Archaic culture, any of the ancient cultures of North and South America that developed by Paleo- Indian traditions and led to the adoption and agriculture. Archaic cultures are defined by a group of common characteristics rather than a particular time period or location; Mesoamerica, Archaic cultures that existed from approximately 8,000-2,000BC. The primary characteristic of Archaic cultures is a change in substance and lifestyle; their paleo-indians pressures more highly nomadic, specialized hunters and gatherers who relied on few species of wild plants and game, but Archaic peoples lived in larger groups, were sedentary for part of the year, and partook

In the Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican time period in history, there were many groups of Native Americans that had diverse cultures and societies. The technological and intellectual advancements in these societies, depended on where they were located in Mesoamerica. The Native Americans discovered many things that could help them live an advanced and satisfying life. Each tribe had different necessities and objects that they needed in order to survive. The Native American cultures in these areas had various developments that the different European cultures could use to make themselves more powerful and become strong enough to annihilate many of the Native American cultures.

In the mid-seventeenth century the Meherrin Indians were living in North Carolina on the north side of the Meherrin River. The Meherrin Indians were affiliated with the Iroquois Indian Tribe. They spoke Iroquoian and were related to the Tuscarora and Nottoway. They also shared a government, language, and culture with the Tuscarora.

The development of agriculture and the rise of industrialization generated new cultures and innovations in the new world. Native people in early America developed cultural distinct , men were in charge of the fishing, hunting, jobs that were more exposed to violence, and the women stayed closed to the village, farming, and child bearing. The way of life possessed by natives Americans did not compel them to conquer and transform new land. As opposed to European colonizers, Native Americans subscribed to a more “animistic” understanding of nature. In which they believed that plants and animals are not commodities, they are something to be respected rather than used.

1. Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians are described as the initial Americans, those who set forth the preliminaries of Native American culture. They trekked in bands of around fifteen to fifty individuals, around definite hunting terrains, establishing traditional gender roles of hunter-gatherers. It is agreed that such Paleo-Indians began inhabiting America after the final Ice Age, and that by 1300 B.C.E. human communities had expanded to the point of residing in multiple parts of North America. As these early Native Americans spread out, their sites ranged anywhere from northern Canada to Monte Verde, Chile.

When comparing the Southwest indians to the Eastern Woodlands indians I found there were some differences, in their homes, the indians in the Southwest had hut like homes made of stone or adobe while indians in the Eastern Woodlands had lodge like homes made from wood. Farming and hunting seemed to be big for the Eastern Woodlands, but most of the Southwest people were just gatherers and hunters when they could be, although there were some successful farmers. Both areas had hostile groups of people, but the two groups in the Southwest later became more settled and peaceful. The Eastern Woodlands and the Great Plains had a few differences, again their homes being one of them.

The Iroquois creation story is a renowned Native American myth written by a Tuscarora historian, David Cusick. He is also the author of David Cusick’s Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations, which is known to be the first Indian-written history printed in the English language (Radus). The Iroquois creation myth exists in twenty-five other versions. It describes how the world was created from the Native American perspective. It begins with a sky woman who falls down into the dark world.

Before the Spanish ship that changed it all, which arrived in the “New World” in 1492, thriving organized communities of native people had centuries of history on the land. That ship, skippered by Christopher Columbus, altered the course of both Native American and European history. 1492 sparked the fire of cultural diffusion in the New World which profoundly impacted the Native American peoples and the European settlers. Prior to European contact, Native Americans lived as hunter-gatherers, living and traveling in groups of typically less than 300 people. These Native Americans spoke over 400 languages and practiced a myriad of different religions (The American Pageant).

“Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress”, chapter one of “A People’s History of the United States”, written by professor and historian Howard Zinn, concentrates on a different perspective of major events in American history. It begins with the native Bahamian tribe of Arawaks welcoming the Spanish to their shores with gifts and kindness, only then for the reader to be disturbed by a log from Columbus himself – “They willingly traded everything they owned… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” (Zinn pg.1) In the work, Zinn continues explaining the unnecessary evils Columbus and his men committed unto the unsuspecting natives.

Introduction The study of the interaction between Mesoamerica and the North American indigenous populations has been conducted by archaeologists for generations now. Recent research expands upon the movements of the North American populations in the Mesoamerican territories back to the Archaic Period (Huckell). This research also expands understanding and realigning previous beliefs held by proceeding archaeologists concerning the origins of Mesoamerican artifacts excavated in the American Southwest. Archaeological evidence indicates that, with the exception the traditions of the maritime northwest, and Artic, the flow of movement within the entire North American population reinforces that concept that no one culture is left in an isolated

New agricultural technology changed the early middle ages for the better. The agricultural revolution of the middle ages meant a technical advance in farming which makes lives of those involved