Before and After European Contact
I am overwhelmed with the amount of information in this week’s assignments. In general I thought I knew what this class was going to be about but each and every week I realize that there is so much information. Things I had never heard of along with many things that I have heard of. So I thought that I would bring to the forefront some of the things that I learned that were the most interesting to me this week; like the before and after contact with Europeans.
I learned that trade was extremely important among Native Americans long before European contact. Some of the earliest evidence within North America comes from copper tools, ornaments, and utensils have been found at dig sites from the Great Plains to the Ohio Valley and even in New York. Evidence shows us that these artifacts were produced by Native Americans in the northern Great Lakes region between 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. The Indian Knoll site in Kentucky shell ornaments and copper items were found. This enhanced the belief that the Native Americans must have participated in an extensive trade system of some kind.
Trade networks had to far-reaching and linked nearly all parts of North America. Marine shells from the coast of southern California were traded from the southwestern Colorado and as far east as the Texas panhandle. I had to stop and think of who lived in these regions. The Mohave lived along the Colorado River in the Southwest. So I then looked up the Mohave Indians only to learn that they traded with the Angelino Indians in California. Now this stopped me in my tracks. Who are the Angelino Indians? So I read up on who they are and then continued on with my exploring in line with this week’s assignments. The Mohave also traded with the Hopi in Arizona for pottery and textiles. I found out the macaw was highly valued for its feathers. I had no idea that the macaws were transported from their Mexican habitat to Northern New Mexico and...