AIS 120: INDIANS OF THE AMERICAS

I. Indigenous People of the Americas

This course was developed out of the need to take account of the totality of American Indian/Native American cultures from North America to South America. Most courses in the U.S. and Canada are limited to cultures of North America. This disparity is born out of non-Indian colonial biases rooted in competition for the spoils of the 'New World' (The Americas).  The English and Spanish debated among themselves in courts and political circles about 'The Doctrine of Discovery', 'Manifest Destiny' and Native American rights.  Age old disparity between the English and Spanish was based on Protestant vs. Catholic and continued into the present.  Indian and non-Indians still perceive a division between Native Americans/American Indians 'south of the border'. The US/Mexico border was not division among Native Americans. The division is more of a bias between Anglo and Hispanic American rivalry. Subsequently, text books in the United States and in English language consistently ignore Native Americans of Meso-America and South America.  This bias also ignores cultural connections and influences between North America and Meso/South America.  There are, in fact, many common cultural traits, such as, maize agriculture, tobacco, technology and  religious themes.  Such disparity fuels European American cultural bias by ignoring the so-called 'high civilizations' of Mexico and the Andes, which diminishes the achievements of North American Native American cultures.

Today, the names used to address or label people have changed. Most names commonly used are derived from outside invaders. In each culture's language there is a name that roughly translates as ‘the people’ or ‘the human beings’ reflecting all culture’s ethnocentric nature. Collective names varied, but the most common was American Indian. American is from the first name of the Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci. The word Indian is based on Columbus’ misperception of being in the Indies or India (derived from the Indus R.).  Some anthropologists created a contraction, ‘Amerindian’, a term not well received by anyone. Native American is a broader term used in the U.S. to include Inuit (Eskimo), Yupik,  Aleut, and American Indian. In Canada, Native American is replaced with ‘First Nations, First People’. Throughout much of Meso America and South America, American Indian carries such a negative bias that the term ‘Indigenous People of America’ is becoming a more accepted name. Indigenous People is probably more accurate since Native simply means that you were born there, while indigenous implies that you were the first to have occupied that place from ‘time immemorial’.

Also, there are various names for people of Native American and non-Native American or mixed heritage that are shown below. We will use the term Native American to refer to Inuit, Yupik, Aleut and American Indian even though legally, in the U.S., Native American does include Pacific Islanders, such as Samoan or Hawaiian.

     2.Course Content

Our course will cover the experiences of all Native Americans from the Arctic of North America to Tierra del Fuego of South America. These experiences include origins of people in the Americas, the development of traditional cultures, invasions by non-Native Americans, and the response of Native Americans. Survival and status of current American nation states concludes our course. We will use A. Josephy’s Indian Heritage of America and J. Weatherford’s, Indian Givers.

   3. Basic Concepts

When we examine Native American cultures, various academic fields or disciplines as well as indigenous perspectives are used. The concept of human culture, to include ideational (subjective) and material (objective) aspects is a basic foundation to our study.  Language phyla of the culture and cultural geographic regions are two ways to categorize these cultures. As environments change,  people and cultures change to adapt and survive. Human cultures are always in flux, but when you read about a culture it is easier to see the culture as static or unchanging. When resources are needed some human cultures expanded their spheres of influence via conquest, assimilation, rebellion and acculturation which can accelerate change for better or worse. This began in America as Native American cultures developed agriculturally based village subsistence that quickly expanded into empires. Some empires collapsed but others were in place when European invasion and colonization took place. When European, African and Asian groups (sometimes just referred to as non-Indian) came to the New World from the Old World Native American communities that survived disease and warfare went through more dramatic changes. In spite of a large decline in population          ( 90%) many Native American groups persisted into the modern era and developed various political and business organizations to maintain an identity and sovereignty.

      1. Geology and Geography of the Americas

Current geological theory of the earth’s history indicates cycles of shifting plates on the outer crust. This is referred to as plate tectonics. A single continent existed at 225 mya (million of years ago) that is called Pangea (Pangaea). Around 150 mya (Jurassic Period) Pangea broke into two super continents; Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. By 65 mya the North American Plate broke away from Laurasia and the South American Plate broke away from Gondwana. The North American Plate and South American Plate moved west and eventually connected around the Isthmus of Panama. This means that the geological rock strata of North America are similar to Eurasia and the geologic rock strata of South America are similar to Africa. This was noted by Charles Darwin on his voyage on the HMS Beagle around the world in 1831-1836. In North America the oldest mountains on the continent are the Black Hills of South Dakota which have rock strata that are more than 2 billion years old. The Appalachian Mountains are 200 million years old and the Rocky Mountains are 60-70 million years old, thus more jagged and higher. In South America the Brazilian Highlands are older, while the Andes are much younger. In Meso-America in the Valley of Mexico there are rather young volcanoes.

Climatic cycles also occurred during the last million years. These cycles are part of the Ice Ages that entailed temperatures rising and falling 20-40 degrees Fahrenheit worldwide. When the temperature dropped continental glaciers formed on the polar caps and alpine glaciers formed in the mountains. At the end of the last Ice Age (Pleistocene) at 10,000 years ago the climate basically became warmer producing today's norm. Glaciers receded and many of the world’s deserts formed, including those in the Americas.

These geological changes happened over long periods of time, but they affect the climate, flow of rivers, erosion and soil chemistry. As the American continents reached their hemispheric positions the world’s oceans  played a role in climatic conditions. Actually, our continents are still moving west, which is felt with continued earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Such geological activity produced the surface features of the Americas that are part of the descriptive science of geography. The surface features, climate, resources, and life forms are portrayed in geographic regions that are distinguished mainly by climate and plant communities. These geographic regions are also used by other scientists and scholars to describe differences in ancient human cultures and present human cultures. We have developed technologies that overcome environmental factors but with resent global warming and inequities in energy distribution, the environment still plays a greater role that we like to admit. Native Americans had there own problems but they tended to leave a lighter footprint and always perceived  themselves as part of 'nature' not at odds with nature.This becomes clear when a newscaster refers to hurricane as 'killer storm' or the 'wrath' of Hurricane Katrina.

So we are part of nature and the geography of America is the beginning to understanding Native America people and culture. The North American continent usually includes Northern Mexico, United States and Canada with the following geographic areas.

Meso America (Middle America includes Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama. Panama sometimes is included with S. America. Also, we will include the Caribbean in Meso America.

South America includes Venezuela, Columbia on the Marginal North Coast. Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile are dominated by the Andes. Brazil includes the Amazon Basin and the Brazilian Highlands. Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina include the Gran Chaco and Pampas. Tropical Suriname, Guyana, Fr. Guiana are Marginal NE Coast. The tip of Argentina and Chile are referred to as Tierra de Fuego (The Land of Fire).

     2. Life Forms and Environment

The combination of climate, altitude, earth latitude (north/south of equator)/ longitude (east/west) and finer details, such as, north facing/south facing slopes effect the plant communities and animals. Most environmental studies are based on native plant communities. In some areas those native plant communities may be deforested by human agriculture or concrete urban sprawl. The native plant communities are what animals and humans adapt to for food, shelter, and other resources. As humans expanded and increased their cultural impact they modified those traditional native plant communities. As Native Americans adapted to the continent they too increased their impact or ‘footprint’. In some cases Native Americans were more adept at being more in ‘tune’ to environment. In other cases the Native American cultures exploited the environment extensively enough such that an entire civilization collapsed.

The extreme northern and southern regions of the Americas were cold, treeless, environments where hunting and gathering (H&G) was the only subsistence possible. Some areas, like the Pacific Coast were rich areas for hunting, fishing and gathering so that farming was never needed. Most of the Americas developed a common triad of domestic plants, CBS (corn (maize), beans and squash). However, the CBS farming in the deserts of the Southwest and the Guatemalan rainforest were quite different. One surprise is that Indians of the Amazon rainforest were mostly farmers of root crops, such as, manioc and sweet potato; not just hunters. Also, many non-Indian North Americans are not aware that the Eastern Woodland American Indians were in fact village CBS agriculturalists. Scholars vary in their portrayal of traditional Native American cultures. Some scholars portray traditional Native American cultures as being primitive or inferior, imposing their own Western values. Other scholars put Native American cultures on a ‘pedestal’ as being in perfect harmony with nature.

Recently, some researchers have discovered that the Amazon jungle was more extensively modified and managed by Native Americans. It was once thought that the Amazon was once one of the largest ‘natural’ rainforests in the World. Also, early Europeans did not realize that the Eastern Woodlands was not a ‘virgin hardwood forest’, but was in fact highly modified parkland managed by thousands of years of burning to eliminate undergrowth to enhance deer populations. At the same time Woodland cultures practiced slash and burn agriculture in the  lowlands. Native Americans just left a much less destructive impact on some of the environments they adapted too. In other cases there was considerable deforestation with conversion to savanna, especially in Meso America.

Many of the plants and animals of the Americas evolved after separation of the continents and produced unique forms. However, during the Ice Age many animals migrated to and from the Americas. The horse evolved in the New World,  migrated to the Old World and later became domesticated in the Old World. The horse became extinct in the New World, but returned in domestic form via the Spanish.  Elephants were in the Americas in the form of mammoths and mastodons but became extinct at the end of  the last Ice Age. Recently, it has been discovered that mammoths survived up to 2, 000 years ago off of Alaska coast on Wrangell Island.  The bison survived the Ice Age but merely became smaller as it adapted to increased aridity. The Plains Bison (Bison bison) increased to over 60 million in number at the time of European contact. Certain animals are relatively unique to the Americas, such as the raccoon, tree sloth, hummingbird, etc. Some plants such as cotton seem to have traveled across the Oceans via currents or with the help of people on Trans-Atlantic voyages. Plants developed many parallel forms but humans pushed hybridized some unique plahnts such as tobacco, cacao, maize, potato and the peanut.  The chili pepper is unique to America but spread to much of the world and became so important that many people do not connect chili peppers to Native American cultures.

C. Cultural Origins and Changing Environments

    1. Paleo- Indian

North America: ancient bison, mammoth

South America: glyptodon, ground sloth

 Such evidence in big game kill sites was irrefutable. Some Native Americans  perceive that they were here since beginning of time and felt that Europeans  consistently downgrade their cultures and importance in the American landscape. Archaeological evidence is scant and archaeologists fought constantly about how to interpret the evidence. These early cultures became collectively known as Paleo Indian. Since there is no 'early man' remains (pre Homo sapiens) found in the New World, it is assumed that humans came from somewhere else (but when, how and from where?). Since only evidence of Homo sapiens exists in the New World it is assumed that Paleo-Indian must be after 50,000- 70,000 years ago since anything earlier would have to be an earlier form of hominid. Some archaeological evidence was lost first when huge expanses of land were covered by continental and alpine glaciers and later when glaciers melted land was covered along coastal areas.

During the last million years climatic changes marked by lower temperature periods are referred to as glacials periods or 'Ice Ages' that lasted 20-30,000 years. In between were warm periods and are called interglacials that lasted 20-30,000 years. Since 11,000 years ago, we have been in an interglacial period. As you can see in the chart below the entire earth 20,000 years ago experienced lower temperatures that was the last glacial.

As the last ice age began decline about 13,000 years ago some Paleo-Indian cultures began to develop more efficient weapons to kill Pleistocene megafauna and their 'kill sites' left more definitive evidence. The first these Big Game Hunting traditions is referred to as Clovis, named after a site near Clovis , NM, and is dated at around 13,000-11,500 years ago. These Native American hunters used a special spear thrower, called an atlatl, that had a large 6'' + fluted point designed to kill mainly mammoths and mastodons. This technology spread throughout the Americas rather quickly, but was short lived as the climate saw an increase of temperature and decrease in precipitation as the current inter-glacial period increased in effect. These changes brought about a global extinction of many mega fauna or reduction in size as in the case of the American bison.

Ancient bison: Bison antiquitus	Modern bison: Bison bison

Paleo-Indians cultures adapted to the changes and the Folsom tradition followed that used a smaller fluted point with an atlatl to kill ancient bison between 11, 500-10, 200 years ago. In the American Plains the last of the Big Game Hunting traditions called Plano used non-flute points to kill modern bison between  8,500- 6,000 years ago. in many areas of the Americas Paleo-Indian cultures made the transition to a smaller game hunting orientation and increased gathering of wild plants around 10,000- 8,000 years ago. This is referred to as the Archaic tradition.

2. Archaic

As the last Ice Age ended our current inter glacial began when temperatures rose and Pleistocene mega fauna became extinct or 'downsized' Native Americans and all human cultures adapted by hunting smaller game and gathering many more wild plants. This shift occurred in most areas of the Americas, except in the Plains areas of the Southwest and Plains of North America and the Pampas of South America. By 8,000 years ago Native Americans adapted to diverse ecosystems and refined the use of small seeds, roots, shellfish, fish and small game. Much of this management included controlled burning, selected gathering and selected hunting. In simple terms wild plant crops were not 100% harvested in a given area and game animals were hunted in the fall and for only 1- 2 seasons in a specific area. The increased aridity and scarceness of food required humans to further refine techniques which led to the domestication of plants and some animals. Initially, local seeds, nuts and root crops were semi domesticated. In some cases a local crop domestication spread with trade and exchange of technology. In semi arid mountain environments Native Americans began to cultivate certain crops that would influence all of the Americas. Around 7,000 years ago in the Tehuacan Valley of Puebla, Mexico  corn, beans and squash  (CBS) were cultivated. These became the American triad of cultigens and spread to all of the Americas. There were many other plants such as avocado, gourd, tobacco, cacao, guava, vanilla, chili, pineapple and yucca that came from Meso America. South American archaic cultures developed the peanut, potato, sweet potato, and tomato. In North America the sunflower, pecan, and strawberries were among the domestic plants. Initially, the domestication of plants allowed people to become small-scale farmers (horticulture) that meant a more sedentary existence. This led to increased fertility and populations that give rise to a shift from village life to urbanization. This shift occurred in the Archaic at different times in different regions between 7,000 to 3,000 years ago. In some cases it led to large civilizations with urban centers and empires of military and economic power.

These cultures are referred to as the Formative and develop fully around 4-3,000 years ago in certain centers of influence. In some 'marginal' areas Native Americans continued an Archaic hunting and gathering existence.

3. Formative

Meso America developed CBS first and is often seen as the origin area for Formative cultures in America.  The development of cultivated plants as horticulture or in simple gardens began in the semi arid mountain areas in Puebla, Mexico, and quickly spread to lowland areas. This pattern occurred throughout the world in the great agrarian centers in China, India, Africa and Mesopotamia. In America the cultivated plants, focusing on CBS spread from the Tehuacan and Tamalipan areas to the lowlands/ flood plains of the Vera Cruz coast which developed into the Pre Classic civilization known as the Olmec. Ceremonial centers emerged and Olmec people constructed pyramid mounds, possibly as a metaphor for the mountainous regions they left to come closer to divine help form their gods. Horticulture evolved into more intense agriculture some of which became controlled by the state. These early city-states were controlled by priest/rulers with a social system of hierarchies of nobles, merchants and farmers. Ceremonial centers functioned as trading centers. The Olmec invented writing, rubber and had a base 20 (vegesimal) mathematical system with zero. Their priests took powerful hallucinogenic potions (bufotine) derived from a toad to divine the powers of rain and fertility. The Olmec developed the Meso American ball game and are generally seen as the 'Grandmother' culture of the New World. Certainly their were other cultures developing with CBS, but the Olmec are one of the most influential early cultures in America.

Formative New World Cultures

Quetzalcoatl ( Feathered Serpent)

Tezcatlipoca(Smoking Mirror)