The Pre-Columbian history of North America

North America is usually considered as the northernmost part of the American continent which comprises the modern countries of USA, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Greenland and the Caribbean countries. The name America is taken from Amerigo Vespucci the Italian navigator and explorer who was the first to explore the continent of America. While discussing the history of North America scholars often overlook the history of North America before its discovery by Christopher Columbus in the late 15^th century. Though Europe, Asia, and Africa were marked by the rise and fall of empires and civilizations this was not the case with America. Before the arrival of European powers, significant civilizations and indigenous American cultures existed in North America. In this article, we will be discussing the Pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations of the North American countries.

The continents of North and South America began to take its current form millions of years ago separated from Eurasia and Africa by thousands of kilometers of the ocean except for a tiny stretch of shallow water, the Bering Strait. The Bering Strait connected Alaska (northwestern North America) to Siberia in the Pleistocene era (last ice age). As the ice receded in the last ice age it allowed the movement of early humans. Between 15000 and 13000 years ago the ice cap began to retreat opening an ice-free north-south corridor eventually opening the way from Alaska to the interior of northwestern North America. However, the exact movement of peoples and the pattern of migration is the subject of much debate among archaeologists. The first humans to inhabit North America was known as the Paleo Indians. They lived by hunting and fishing and they hunted mammoths, Mastodon, giant sloths, and horses to extinction. This period was known as the Archaic period and it lasted roughly from 8000BCE to 1000BCE. Numerous archaeological cultures and sites have been identified such as the Clovis culture, Dorset culture, Woodland period, Adena culture, Olmec civilization, Mississippian culture. In the Arctic region of Canada, the indigenous tribes of North America were the Aleut, Inuit and Yupik peoples. The Pueblo peoples, Mandan, Hidatsa and other Pre-Columbian cultures formed large settlements, even cities such as Cahokia in what is now Illinois.

In Canada, the indigenous peoples are known as Aboriginal peoples including First Nations and Inuit whereas in the USA the indigenous peoples are known as Native Americans or American Indians and Alaska natives. The earliest humans in North America which are known through archaeological investigations indicate that they developed complex societal hierarchies, chiefdoms and they were organized in tribes. The Paleo Indians spread out through modern Canada and the USA and their dispersal is confirmed by archaeological finds. The Hopewell tradition, the Inuit, Yupik, Iroquois, the Mississippian cultures, Oasis America, and Adena culture in Canada and the USA are the main archaeological sites related to Paleo Indians. These pre-Columbian cultures and indigenous peoples of North America were discovered by the Vikings (Norse) in their expedition led by Leif Erikson in the year 1000AD.However, the greater part of Europe was unaware of these indigenous civilizations until the voyages of Christopher Columbus.

When the Europeans arrived in the late 15^th century many natives of North America were organized into tribes or confederations. Also, extensive Pre-Columbian sedentary societies existed in what is now the USA. In Mexico and Latin America, the Pre Columbian civilizations were the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, Mixtec, Huastec, Pure Pecha, Toltecs, and Aztecs. The early inhabitants of the Americas practiced agriculture and cultivated corn, potatoes, avocado, and pumpkins. They had extensive trade contacts in the case of Mexico but in the case of Canada and USA the natives built earthen mounds and developed large ceremonial centers. These mounds have been discovered archaeologically such as at Louisiana in USA(3700BCE-3100BCE).From the Europeans perspective American civilizations at the time of European contact were advanced in astronomy and mathematics and had well-populated cities.In Mexico and Cuba, the Taino, Ciboney, Maya, and Aztec civilizations were the most advanced cultures and civilizations and historians agree that the Mayans and Aztecs built large cities, had trade contacts, and possessed an advanced calendar and astronomical knowledge unrivaled by any other civilization. The architecture of the Mayans and Aztecs in Mexico is proof of their accomplishment in architecture.

By the time of the conquest of North America by the Europeans in the late 15^th and 16^th century by Britain, France, and Spain many of these cultures and civilizations had long faded into obscurity and many were forcibly assimilated by the Europeans. In the centuries of conquest by the Europeans, many of these native tribes, kingdoms and civilizations came to an end due to diseases introduced by the Europeans to which they had no immunity like smallpox and measles.