Pre Columbian History
We all know that Christopher Columbus is credited for discovering Americas. However, it is important to add that Columbus was the first European to find Americas and he cannot be called the discoverer of the continents, as there were already many tribes and indigenous people living across North and South Americas. That is why knowing pre Columbian history will allow people to understand how life was before the European settlers came along. |
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Before Columbus made his first voyage to the New World, there were already many civilizations that had left their mark on the land. In fact, some of these civilizations were already dead and gone before the first European settlers came in the latter half of the 15th century. Nonetheless, there were civilizations that had settlements and practiced agriculture and hunting for subsistence. Many of these civilizations also had complex hierarchies in their societies, which the European settlers could not understand. Some civilizations had written texts to tell their future generations about their people and land, but unfortunately most these texts were destroyed by the settlers, as they viewed them as heretical.
It is believed that the Asian nomads made their way into the Americas using the Bering Strait and the Northwest coast; and as time went by, these Indians, known as Paleo Indians, migrated all over North as well as South America. The earliest records of civilizations show that the Clovis culture was one of the first to be established during the pre Columbian era, around 13,000 years ago. However, some archaeologists claim that there is evidence to show that there were cultures present in the New World 20,000 years ago. The Inuits came from Siberia into Alaska during the first millennium, but even before them, certain tribes reached the very tip of South America.
However, based on archaeological records, the first complex civilizations started in North America around 5000 BCE. These civilizations subsisted primarily on gathering and hunting and this way of surviving continued right until the 18th century. The credit of forming different tribes and nations goes to the Paleo Indians who migrated across North America in small groups and these groups were nomads moving from one place to another.
By 8000 BCE, the climate in North America stabilized and became similar to what is the current climatic condition in the region and this is when maximum migration took place. This is also the time when the nomadic tribes started cultivation and this led to an increase in their population. By this time, the different tribes had different languages, spiritual beliefs and ways of life. They passed on their history to their offsprings by word of mouth.
Even when the first Europeans made their way into North America, many of the tribes were still semi nomadic, but there were others that led a sedentary life and grew their own food. As the settlers began arriving, many new tribes were formed, such as Huron, Apache, Cherokee, Sioux and Choctaw.
Around 1000 BCE, the Woodland period started in pre Columbian North America. This was the period when the different tribes started making tools made from stones and bones, and resorted to leather working, manufacturing textiles, cultivating crops and constructing homes. Some of the tribes also used spears for hunting, but by the time this period came to an end, the tribes were using bows and arrows for hunting.
It is important to also note that the North American tribes during the pre Columbian era were not as technologically advanced as the Mesoamerican tribes inhabiting South America. These tribes consisted of the Mayans, Incas, Olmec, Aztecs, Teotihuacans and Mixtec amongst others. These highly advanced tribes were known to build temples shaped like pyramids, and they also knew mathematics, astronomy, medicine, agriculture, engineering and fine arts. The tribes also used gold, silver and copper for metalworking and they were responsible for inventing the wheel, which their children played with.
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Wikipedia: Pre-Columbian Era
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian_era
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When the European settlers came to the Americas, they looked down at the indigenous people, as they considered them primitive and heretical. However, some of these cultures and civilizations were quite advanced. While life during pre Columbian era was not easy, it was not that difficult either. 