Did you know there was an empire that ruled North America before the Europeans arrived? For many of us, early North American history (before the arrival of Christopher Columbus) begins with the first European explorers, but the truth is much deeper and older than that. Prior to European colonization, North America was inhabited by a diverse array of indigenous cultures, some of which formed advanced societies and empires.
The first Europeans to visit the southernmost tip of South America marveled at the people they met there. They were so tall, one version of the story goes, that a six-foot-tall Spaniard only came up to the chest of one of the natives. These indigenous peoples had complex societies, sophisticated art, and intricate trade networks long before Europeans set foot on their shores.
To say that Christopher Columbus is somewhat controversial is kind of like saying the planet Jupiter is somewhat large. While Columbus is often credited with "discovering" America, it is crucial to recognize that he was not the first to arrive on the continent. Indigenous peoples had been living in North America for thousands of years prior to Columbus' arrival.
People travelled by boat to North America some 30,000 years ago, at a time when giant animals still roamed the continent and long before it was divided by modern national borders. These early inhabitants, often referred to as Paleo-Indians, had a deep connection to the land and a rich cultural heritage that continues to influence modern indigenous communities.
The miracle of modern genetics has revolutionized the story anthropologists tell about how humans spread out across the Earth. Through DNA analysis, researchers have been able to trace the migration patterns of ancient peoples and uncover the complex web of relationships between different indigenous groups.
Indigenous knowledge and Western science have written a new tale about when horses most recently arrived in North America. Contrary to previous beliefs, it is now known that horses were reintroduced to the continent by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, after being extinct for thousands of years.
An international study, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation, found that horses have been present on the Great Plains of North America for over a thousand years. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the history of horse domestication in the region and highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research in understanding the past.
Native Americans spread the animals across the West before Europeans arrived in the region, archaeological evidence and Indigenous knowledge suggest. Horses played a crucial role in indigenous cultures, transforming the way of life for many tribes and enabling new forms of trade and communication.
They dominated far longer than they were dominated, and, a new book contends, shaped the United States in profound ways. The legacy of indigenous peoples in North America is vast and enduring, and their contributions to American history and culture cannot be understated.
