1.2: Native American Societies
1.2: Explain how and why various native populations in the period before European contact interacted with the natural environment in North America.
Welcome to the first lesson in AP United States History! Now, as I’m sure you all know, the Americas were not a barren uninhabitated land before the Europeans arrived. They were inhabited by people too who created thriving civilizations and as such, we will be going over these different groups of Native American peoples that were present before there was a United States and before Europeans ever started coming from across the Atlantic Ocean.
Although some believe that the natives of the past were just nomadic hunter-gatherers living in teepees, this is not at all true for the entire continent and the Native Americans were incredibly diverse groups of people. The Americas had hundreds of tribes, cities, and societies. For example, some lived in fishing villages while others were nomadic hunters and others lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Some built massive cities and empires while others farmed. Essentially, before European arrival, a diverse group of people had already been living across North and South America.
So let’s go over the regions of this continent and what the major groups that inhabited them were like!
Central and South America
There were three key major civilizations that emerged in this area, all with large urban centers, complex political systems, thriving economies, and unique religions. Firstly, let’s start with the Aztecs. The Aztecs, or Mexica, lived in Central America and had a large capital city called Tenochtitlan that was home to roughly 300,000 people. They developed a written language, employed complex systems of irrigation, a religion led by priests that practiced human sacrifice, and floating gardens called chinampas.
Also in this region were the Mayans, living on the Yucatan Peninsula in Central America. They also developed large cities, built giant stone temples and pyramids, and had complex irrigation and water storage systems. They believed that their rulers were descended from the gods and also developed the Mayan Calendar.
In South America, the Incas built their civilization in the Andes Mountains along the western coast bordering the Pacific Ocean, mainly in what is now Peru. At its height, it ruled 16 million people and covered 350,000 square miles. They thrived due to their use of fertile mountain valleys where they grew crops such as potatoes. Additionally, like the other empires, they had elaborate irrigation systems. They had a mit’a system (which was a labor tax for the people of the empire where instead of paying taxes in money, they would pay taxes with labor and service), governed their empire by dividing it into four provinces, and a roadway system called Carpa Nan stretching all across the empire for trade and messengers.
All three of these empires were also similar in that they cultivated maize. Maize was a crop that was highly nutritious and easy to grow. This allowed for these empires to grow in size and population. Because there were now more people, people could diversify and specialize in different jobs such as mining and weaving because not everybody needed to farm anymore.
North America
Over in the North, there was also a large diversity of natives.
In the Southwest, the Pueblo, Apache, and Navajo people in present-day New Mexico and Arizona farmed mostly maize alongside other crops. They built homes out in the open and into the side of cliffs, such as the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings.
In the Great Plains and Great Basin, this region's large amounts of land allowed for nomadic hunter-gatherer groups to thrive. These groups mostly hunted elk, deer, and buffalo. Some examples include the Ute and Shoshone. The Shoshone built cone-shaped huts and hunted a variety of animals from rabbits to snakes to birds and insects. They also collected nuts and wore fur and made baskets.
In the Pacific Northwest, the people in this area lived by the sea. As a result, they mostly lived in fishing villages and hunted elk in the forests. The Chinook people who lived in this area built large plank houses to house multiple families using all the trees around them. They and other similar groups wore clothes made from animal skin, built totem poles, and also hunted whales and sea mammals. Another example of a group in this region is the Tlingit.
In present-day California, the Chumash people were still hunters and gatherers but also constructed permanent settlements in areas that could support their lifestyle.
In the Mississippi River Valley, similar to Central and South America, there were large and complex societies. This is because the rivers allowed them to stay in one place and farm. For example, the Hopewell people lived in towns in this area. They traded with regions as far away as Florida and the Rocky Mountains. Also in this area, the Cahokia people had settlements housing 10 to 30 thousand people. They had centralized governments led by powerful chieftains and traded with areas ranging from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
In the Northeast, the Iroquois lived in villages made up of several hundred people. They grew maize, squash, and beans. They lived in longhouses that could house dozens of family members. They also built burial mounds for their dead and hunted deer.
In the Plateau region, the Nez Perce people built teepees and rounded homes of wood. They mostly ate salmon and wore deerskin clothing or rabbit skin robes.
In the Arctic and Subarctic (Canada and Greenland), the Inuit and Cree often lived in igloos, hunted and fished, and wore waterproof clothing and blankets along with tools made from bone and teeth.
