Primal- and Early history
Indians (in Canada called First Nations) settled North America at least 12.000 years ago, which marks the beginning of the paläoindindianische period. About 5000 years ago followed the Inuit. In the Bluefish-cave in north Yukon the oldest human traces of Canada were found. In the Charlie-Lake-Cave tools of the time 10.500 BC were found.
At about 8000 BC followed the archaic phase. Groups of the west arrived at 7500 BC the south Ontario. Urban areas were lower in the east of the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes and the coast of Labrador (L'Anse Amour site) at the 6th Millennium, the first major tombs emerged.
On the Great Plains new Weapons technology and extensive trade were made with Chalcedon (mineral of quartz) from Oregon. First later the huge cultural space got divided into two major areas. From 4800 BC there was a copper processing in Canada. This was already very advanced.
In the West, the traces were found at around 8000 BC. There is the culture of the Haida on Haida Gwaiiwhich is over 9,500 years until today. The trade with obsidian (volcanic glass) goes back over 10,000 years.
At 2500 BC there were settlements in the West, for signs of social differentiation.
As a major cultural change in the Plateau culture in the western back country of the transition is from vagrancy to half settled with winter villages and summer hiking cycles around 2000 BC, the Nuu-chah-nulth developed on Vancouver Iceland oceangoing canoes with which they (the first and only) went on whaling.
About 500 AD some villages , most exsisted with longhouses, were populated all year.
Until the central of Labrador the influence of the Adena-Culture was shown on the canadian label. Their typical Mounds (Orte) were also shown in the west Label-Culture, for example in south Ontario. Probably it came to the consequence from the the domestication from wild rice to many slices of landowners. The south of Ontario was in the long-distance trade...