Ancient North Americans

It is best estimated that the initial North American inhabitants migrated from Asia.
During the last ice age, probably between 30 thousand and 11 thousands years
before the common era a land bridge formed through the Bering Strait between
Russia and Alaska. In all likelihood they were hunters and gatherers and they were
following large game.
So they walked where an ocean will be in pursuit of mammoth and bison and
horses. Eventually, though, that food source all vanished. Around 5 thousand
years before the common era the ancient Americans began cultivating maize, or
corn. This led to an initially stronger population South of the modern-day Texas
because of a more advantageous climate. It was still too cold North of the Rio
Grande.
Because agriculture was unreliable because of the chilled climate, the ancient
Americans had to generally rely upon two of the three food sources: hunting,
gathering and whatever they could consistently control with agriculture. Because
the climate was warmer, the first sedentary people settled in the American
Southwest. This was first recognized with the Hohokam and Anasazi cultures.
Around 1500 in the Common Era the Spanish identified people in the Southwest
they referred to as Pueblo because of their ‘pit houses’ and cliff dwellings. With
these they constructed planned villages that involved multi-storied buildings with
terraces and many rooms. These served defensive purposes as well as civic
development. By the time the Spanish arrived they had developed irrigation
techniques and were also skilled with ceramics and weaving.
Gradually the ice retreated and the rest of the North America would become
populated as the ability to sustain with agriculture changed many cultures. The
three most prevalent would be the Adena, Hopewell and Mississippi cultures. All
of these would be structured around farming and emphasized religious practices.
European settlers would be blown away by the mounds and earthworks that they
had constructed for religious purposes. These were so complex the Europeans
believed that they had to have been set up by a non-native civilization. They
thought that the Native Americans were too primitive to have constructed them.
The Adena were noted for their respect for the dead, which they had demonstrated
throughout their mounds and earthworks. The most famous of these was the Great
Serpent Mound. In Ohio alone there were more than 10 thousand mounds
constructed. Archaeologists suspect that these were constructed to help the dead in
the afterlife. These conclusions were made based off of such items as pipes having
been left in them. Some of these may have merely been for defensive purposes,
though. One of these was a 3 and a half mile wall that enclosed about 100 acres.
This would be big enough to protect about 50 city blocks, or 2 and a half square
miles.
There was also evidence that the Adena were part of a complex trading network.
This would be advanced further by the Hopewell. They left evidence of elevated
structures, which seems to suggest that they had greater population density. They
also left more advanced mounds that provided evidence that their trade network
was continental.
Within the mounds they had left obsidian from the Rocky Mountains. There was
also copper from as far away as Lake Michigan. Some also had conch from
Florida. Within their urban settlements they had mastered pottery and developed
copper tools.
Their disappearance was a curiosity, though. It seems as if they had suffered some
agricultural disturbances that made it impossible to have the same dense
population. By about 600 in the Common Era a final Hopewell capital was built in
Cahokia (modern-day East St. Louis). Cahokia may have housed 20 thousand
people and served as a hub for many surrounding villages. There is also evidence
that it was part of a trade network that spanned as far North as Wisconsin, as far
south as Louisiana, as far east as Tennessee and as far west as Oklahoma.
Finally, the most recent culture was the Mississippian. Their evidence suggests
they were completely reliant upon agriculture developing maize and beans.
Archaeologists believe that they may have a direct relationship to those who
eventually would settle in Mesoamerica. Much of that is guesswork, though. By
the time Europeans arrived in the 17th century most Cahokia had been completely
abandoned, and the only people who were left had no idea what had happened to
the original occupants.

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It is best estimated that the initial North American inhabitants migrated from Asia.

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