Introduction to US History/America Before Columbus

Resource type: this resource contains a lecture or lecture notes.

INTRODUCTION TO UNITED STATES HISTORY I
AMERICA BEFORE COLUMBUS
AUTHORS:GEOFFREY D. PLOURDE, JASON OLIPHANT
LECTURER:GEOFFREY D. PLOURDE

Course Page / Next Lecture
Welcome to everyone reading this lecture. Before I get down to business, there are some preliminaries I would like to handle. I want to reiterate that you don't need prior historical knowledge to learn US History. Everyone had to start somewhere. In fact, due to the poor instruction of our primary schools (in the US), it is probably better that you don't know anything. The big key is that you need to approach this course with an open mind. Some of the information may shock you. Well folks, welcome to US History.

The first bit of shocking information is that Christopher Columbus is not the beginning of America. Regardless of what some texts say, there was civilization in America. Before you think I am bashing Europeans, there is something you need to know about perspective. Humans have a funny way of seeing things. What one may see is not what may actually be the truth. To a European, the civilizations in America were heathen and not civilized. Imagine what the early Americans thought about the Europeans?

The real beginning of civilization in America occurred between 50 to 30 thousand years ago. At that time, Asia and America were still attached by a land bridge in the Bering Strait. The first humans to arrive were hunter-gatherers. These individuals followed animal herds for food. Therefore when animals started to explore America, hunter gatherers followed the animals around America, eventually colonizing from the top to bottom. Over time the group dynamics of these tribal groups evolved based on the area they ended up in. Similarities can still be seen today in their customs, which is an indicator of a common origin.

These hunter-gatherers are not the only people who arrived. The Polynesians are believed by some scholars to have sailed to the mainland of America. If this is true, these people would have had an additional influence. A minority of historians believe that the cultures of the Ancient Mediterranean also may have visited America. There is no evidence to support this at this point in time, but that may change as new archaelogical discoveries are made.

As time went on, people settled down. Instead of hunting, they started to domesticate animals and farm. Three important crops to remember are corn, beans, and squash. Corn was the mainstay of American agriculture. While many tribes remained primitive in agricultural techniques, some rose above the pack. Irrigation systems were set up in South America. Customs were developed by observations that ensured a good harvest. Crop rotation was practiced to conserve the soil. All these techniques show that the natives were not as primitive as Europeans thought.

Not all cultures settled down. Some tribes continued to be hunter-gatherers. An example would be the Lakota of the United States. However these tribes did not waste like Europeans. Moderation was evident in many societies. The first people were environmentalists before there was such a term. This allowed people to live in smaller areas with less of an impact.

Some revisionists like to claim that the first people were peaceful until Europeans brought conflict and slavery. This is not true. Some of the most advanced cultures had slaves and engaged in war frequently. The Aztecs butchered slaves as sacrifices to their gods. They were not kind people who spent their time smoking the peace pipe. This doesn't mean that America is as it was before Columbus. America was a different area. Large scale mining only appeared with the Europeans. Also, horses came with Europeans. Before Columbus, warfare was fought on foot, and game was hunted from the ground.

This all shows that there was civilization before Columbus. These civilizations were very diverse and some civilizations were highly advanced. Despite their advances, they still suffered from warfare, inhumanity, and slavery because that is human nature.

This topic will not be highly important on the AP test. Most intro courses start with the colonies. The test focuses very little on this topic, if at all. It is still important to learn about because it is a fundamental basis of the America of today. So much of what we idolize comes from subjugating those who came before. This concludes Lecture 1. If you have any questions, I am reachable through my talk page or the course talk page. Please remember to do the assignment, I look forward to this section of United We Stand.