Native Americans at 1492

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Native Americans at 1492
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Native American Origins

• Ancestors of Native Americans probably started to
  emigrate from Asia 20,000 years ago
• Paleo-Indians emigrated by 9,000 BCE hunters of
  Siberian ancestry
• Athapaskan speaking peoples crossed from
  north-eastern Asia
• Eskimos and Aleuts emigrated from Siberia about
  5,000 years ago
• Berengia land bridge between Asia and America

Clovis points used for spears
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Major Tribes Became Stable Societies

• Archaic peoples (8,500 1,500 years ago) after
  ice age mostly became agricultural and used many
  tools
• Pueblo people developed from Anasazi ancestors
  (Taos Pueblo)
• In Colorado, Arapaho lived on plains, Utes lived
  in foothills and mountains
• Iroquois lived in eastern woodlands, and formed
  powerful League before coming of Europeans
• Hopewell lived in Mississippi river area, basing
  communities around mounds
• By 1492, about 7-10 million Native Americans
  lived in North America

Images of the Iroquois
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Land Use, Agriculture, Economy

• Most tribes developed domesticated economies,
  whereas others were partially nomadic
• men typically hunted
• women typically worked agriculture and raised
  children
• Food depended on locally occurring plants and
  animals, with some sharing of domesticated plants
  between tribes
• Native Americans had few domesticated animals,
  and so knew few diseases
• Turkey in North America
• Guinea pig, llamas, and alpacas in South America

Anasazi cliff dwellings with kiva
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Land Use, Agriculture, Economy

• Corn, squash, bison, fish, acorns, pine nuts
• In most societies, no private land ownership, but
  respect for land despite mans use of it
• Complex trade routes and specialized products,
  such as pottery
• Trade increased sharing of ideas, commonalities
  of culture, and bonds between tribes

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Spanish Conquistadores
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Diamond Guns, Germs, Steel

• Europeans dominated peoples of other continents
  because Europeans
• Developed with Big 5 animals and major grains
  (wheat, oats, barley)
• Animals passed disease to Europeans, who
  developed immunities
• High food production allowed specialization of
  labor jobs like metallurgy, soldiers, ships,
  guns, etc.
• Native Americans had few domesticable animals,
  grains, or high-nutrition foods

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Conclusions

• When Europeans arrived, Native Americans were
  highly vulnerable to disease and mechanized
  warfare
• Native Americans philosophy of land use did not
  cause them to defend themselves immediately
  against Europeans (Later, some Native Americans
  did resist Europeans expansion)
• Lack of domesticated animals left Native
  Americans with no disease immunities
• Lack of highest-quality cultivated grains (wheat,
  rye, barley) made highly specialized economies
  difficult