Artifact #3-

Virtual Field Trip:

Pre-1492

Before the first Brittish Colonist came to reside and settle within American soil, the

Americas was home to hundreds of tribes and sub-tribes. According to a map created by Aaron

Carpella, there were well over +600 tribes located within the Americas, and if you multiply this

by the average number of people it takes to create a functional tribe, which is 150 according to

former independent paleoanthropologist Jonatan Peled, that is well over +9,0000 native people

who once resided within North and Central America. This includes the well-known tribes such a

Comanche, Cherokee, and Navajo as well as the lesser-known tribes like the Pomo, Creek, and

the Miami. But this also includes the many tribes who were lost and forgotten by history. During

their individual times of peace, the many traits that these tribes held in common were their need

to survive. Many Native American tribes lived the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, depending on the

lands natural resources. Others survived off of trade and bargain of goods with other neighboring

tribes.

The Natives traveled to the Americas many years ago during the last Ice Age,

approximately 10,000 years ago, by crossing the massive land bridge that once connected

Canada to Asia at a meeting point between Alaska and Russia. During this time the developing

tribes were beginning to practice their well-mastered skills and traditions. Fast forwarding the

clock to the early 14th century, the more developed nations such as Brittan, Spain, Russia,

France, etc. were aware of this entire “new world” and the potential resources it held to take

advantage of. Many explorers came to the Americas and settled trade back to the old country but

the first to colonize North America were the Brittish who established a small colony called
Jamestown in 1607. The Native American culture that Brittish settlers encounter had many great

influences on their own tactics on surviving the American Wilderness, but it is also reported that

the governed traditions of the Iroquois Confederacy are the true influence to the American

democracy which was referenced by Benjamin Franklin as he presented his Plan of Union at the

Albany Congress in 1754. This is according to Terri Hansen’s Article, “How the Iroquois Great

Law of Peace Shaped U.S. Democracy,” published on pbs.org.

Thought Questions:

Would the Native Culture of North America have the opportunity to become a modern developed

civilization if the Europeans never made contact?

If so, would they be an improvement of the advanced civilization of our time or would they also

run into the many issues that our nation faces today?