Native American Warriors E-Book

Martin J Dougherty

• Herausgeber: Amber Books Ltd
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 281

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Native American Warriors examines the fighting techniques of the various tribes that fought both among themselves and the European settlers across what would become the USA and Canada. Not one society, but many different tribes with different ways of life, the book explores the weaponry, equipment, armour and how the Native Americans understood warfare very differently from the European settlers. Experienced in skirmishing, guerrilla warfare and in using stealth, Native Americans saw their forms of warfare change drastically with the introduction from Europe of the horse, gunpowder and firearms. Arranged by broad tribal areas from Apache to Tlingit, the book highlights the differences in the tribes’ approaches to warfare. Also addressed are their spiritual beliefs, social structures, and major battles both among the tribes and against the Spanish, French, British and the United States from the first conquistadores in the early 16th century to the final battles in the 1890s. Beautifully presented with 200 colour and black-&-white photographs and artworks, Native American Warriors is the essential guide for any enthusiast of the military history of North America.

Leseprobe

NATIVE AMERICAN WARRIORS

NATIVE AMERICAN WARRIORS

THE LEGENDARY TRIBES, THEIR WEAPONS AND FIGHTING TECHNIQUES

MARTIN J. DOUGHERTY

Copyright © 2018 Amber Books Ltd

Published by Amber Books Ltd

United House

London N7 9DP

United Kingdom

www.amberbooks.co.uk

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All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details.

ISBN 978-1-78274-669-0

Project Editor: Michael Spilling

Designer: Zoë Mellors

Picture Researcher: Terry Forshaw

Contents

INTRODUCTION

1. EAST COAST TRIBES

2. NORTHERN TRIBES

3. TRIBES OF THE GREAT PLAINS

4. TRIBES OF THE SOUTHWEST

5. TRIBES OF THE WEST

APPENDIX: TRIBAL AREAS

INDEX

PICTURE CREDITS

Introduction

The Native American people have been characterized in many ways – as great hunters, as a deeply spiritual people and of course as legendary warriors. Warfare and conflict were an essential part of their society long before Europeans arrived in the Americas, but did not define the culture of the Native American people.

Hunting a large animal such as a mastodon with stone-tipped spears required a combination of agility, courage and trust in other members of the hunting party.

Their many societies were diverse, complex and highly evolved, and although there were shared characteristics there was no single ‘Native American way of life’ and few of the common stereotypes really apply. Like most people, the average Native American just wanted to live their life and all but a few viewed conflict as at best a necessary evil. But when the necessity arose they could and would fight very well indeed.

The first encounter Europeans had with Native American warriors was when Norsemen from Greenland attempted to establish a colony in what they called ‘Vinland’ (now thought to be Newfoundland) around 1000 CE. Vinland had been discovered by Leif Eriksson, whose crew wintered there before sailing back to their homes in Greenland. Eriksson’s brother Thorvald next attempted to found a colony on the site of the winter camp.

This might have gone well had the Norsemen treated the local population fairly. However, they viewed the Stone Age indigenous people with contempt, referring to them as Skraelings (wretches) and routinely cheating them in trade. Conflict broke out, and at first the Norsemen were confident in their fortified camp, not least since they possessed the best weapons and armour early medieval Europe could produce.

However, possession of state-of-the-art military equipment did not save Thorvald’s expedition. The Norsemen found themselves under virtual siege in their camp by people who were skilled in the hunt and knew the land well. The result was inevitable and in due course the Norsemen returned to Greenland. No further incursions took place for several centuries, although naturally there was conflict between different groups of Native Americans. By the time the next Europeans arrived, both societies were far more advanced than they were in 1000 CE.

ORIGINS OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLE

At the height of the Last Ice Age, our world was a very different place. The Last Glacial Maximum occurred around 26,000–27,000 years ago, with considerable amounts of water locked up in the glaciers and ice sheets. This had the effect of lowering sea levels and making large areas of land completely uninhabitable. Around the fringes of the great ice sheets were regions of tundra and other barely habitable terrain, with the surviving human populations forced into warmer areas where food was available. Even here, life was hard. Rainfall was less than in modern times, reducing the ability of the land to support plant and animal life.

This was only part of a larger cycle. Several Ice Ages have occurred during the existence of our planet, and within each there have been warmer periods when the glaciers retreated followed by a return of extensive glaciation. There is little evidence of what sort of societies existed before the beginning of the Ice Age or within the warmer interglacial periods. However, it is known that the people of the Last Glacial Maximum were both anatomically and behaviourally modern humans. Anatomically modern humans appeared around 200,000–300,000 years ago, with behaviourally modern people emerging around 40,000 years ago during the last glaciation. ‘Behaviourally modern’ in this case refers to the existence of language and abstract thought conveyed by art, among other indicators. These people evolved during the glaciation – and quite possibly because of it – and began to spread out when the ice sheets finally began to retreat.

The people who drove the Norsemen from the Americas may have been Inuit; the Norse colonists called them by the same name that they used for the Greenland Inuit.

The people of the Clovis era lived in a time when the retreating ice was causing major climatic changes. A nomadic lifestyle was necessary to follow game and other food sources.

Glaciation did not end quickly or suddenly. Gradual warming led to some melting of the ice sheets, but this was a process requiring thousands of years. Conditions varied from one region to another, with the result that modern scientists typically refer to conditions in a particular region rather than worldwide. Thus in the North American continent this period is known as the Wisconsin Glaciation. Its maximum extent of ice coverage occurred around 21,000–26,000 years ago. One consequence of the glacial maximum was the creation of Beringia, a land bridge between the North American and Asian continents where the modern Bering Strait is located.

Although lying at a very northerly latitude, low snowfall meant that Beringia was not covered in ice and remained habitable, with a similarly ice-free region around each end of the land bridge.

It was through this ice-free zone that humans and many animal species crossed from Asia into the Americas. The first humans to make the crossing would not have realized that they were moving from one continent to another; they were simply following the game available in this relatively welcoming land.

Once in the Americas, the new arrivals found their way was blocked by ice sheets, initially channelling expansion into a few narrow corridors. As the ice sheets retreated, new lands opened up along with the ability to reach other ice-free areas, thus allowing the human population to begin spreading throughout the continent.

The warming of the climate and melting of the ice sheets caused sea levels to rise, eventually inundating most of Beringia and cutting off the land bridge. This ensured there was no further migration into the Americas. The population already established there represented the whole available gene pool and, without further arrivals, would diverge from other human populations over the next few thousand years.

The warming of the climate caused freshwater lakes to form within the ice sheets, which were for the most part trapped by ice dams. When these finally melted, the effect was an outrush of water that ran to the sea and in many cases affected ocean currents. One consequence was a sudden drop in average temperature in the northern hemisphere as the flow of warmer water from the equator was disrupted. The early human population in the Americas was affected by these climate changes as well as dramatic local events caused by the breaking of ice dams, but survived and continued to spread. The climate began to warm once more after around 11,700 years ago, opening up new lands and permitting the spread of humans to the east coast and into the far north and south.

EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT

There is much debate about whether the American continent was settled by a single large influx of people, possibly two or more such migrations, or perhaps a flow of smaller groups across the Beringia land bridge before it finally closed. Likewise, it is unclear exactly when the first humans arrived in the Americas. New archaeological finds have suggested various dates and cast doubt upon others, but of course the earliest known presence is simply the earliest evidence found – it does not mean that humans were not previously present in numbers too small to make evidence likely to survive. The rise in sea levels accompanying the melting of the ice sheets may have obliterated many early sites.

Archaeological evidence suggests that what is now Maryland may have been inhabited 16,000 or more years ago as humans spread into the region from the southwest.

It is possible that human migration into the American continent began as early as 20,000 years ago, although more recent dates are supported by much of the available evidence. What is known was that these humans only had access to Stone-Age technology, and that their lifestyle was that of the hunter-gatherer. Although primitive by many standards, these people were smart and resourceful, and were skilled at making stone tools adapted to their specific requirements. In this they differed from earlier humans who had produced rather basic tools.

This era is generally referred to as the Upper Palaeolithic; essentially the last part of the ‘Stone Age’. Craftspeople were capable of producing quite sophisticated tools and weapons designed for hunting and the treatment of hides and meat obtained from prey animals. Hunter-gatherers also possessed a wealth of knowledge about what food was available when and where. Barring sudden changes in local weather and climate conditions, this knowledge allowed hunters to be in the right place to hunt deer, to take advantage of fish moving upriver to spawn and to find suitable fruit, berries and other plant materials to fit their needs.

Although often described as ‘mammoth hunters’, the Clovis-era people would have taken whatever game presented itself. A mammoth represented a great deal of food gained only at grave risk.

Although theirs was a harsh existence, these early Americans knew how to live off the land well enough that despite changing conditions their population gradually grew. As the ice receded and corridors opened up to new lands, these were colonized and their new opportunities exploited. It is known that by around 13,000 years ago humans had reached what is now New Mexico. Archaeological finds around Clovis in New Mexico dating from this time were for several decades thought to be the earliest indication of human activity in the Americas, although there is now some evidence that may point to earlier – possibly much earlier – habitation.

There was nothing primitive about Clovis spear-points, other than the materials from which they were fashioned. Designs were optimized for the game they were intended to be used on.

“Although theirs was a harsh existence, these early Americans knew how to live off the land well enough…”

The Clovis people would obviously have required some time to spread down from Beringia, and this is unlikely to have taken the form of a direct march as soon as the ice sheets melted sufficiently to permit it. Thus, if there were people in the Clovis region around 13,000 years ago, then it seems likely that humans were present in North America for centuries before that. It may never be proven conclusively whether much older cultures existed, but it is known that at the time of the Clovis people humans were using sophisticated hunting tools.

The spears used by Clovis-era humans had a distinctive tip, known as a Clovis point. Painstakingly chipped from flint and similar materials, the Clovis spearpoint could be up to 20cm (7.9in) long, and was attached to a wooden haft to make a deadly weapon. Spearpoints from other eras or regions often differ in size and shape from the Clovis designs; it is clear that these people had a specific design that suited their purposes and was probably the result of long experience and practical experimentation.

“There is considerable evidence that the Clovis-era Native Americans were capable of hunting and killing megafauna such as the mammoth.”

There is considerable evidence that the Clovis-era Native Americans were capable of hunting and killing megafauna such as the mammoth, and that this took place on a more or less routine basis. Even with technological assistance such as high-quality stone-tipped spears and mammoth traps in the form of concealed spiked pits, to the modern imagination there can be little ‘routine’ about puny humans hunting something as huge and dangerous as a mammoth, but it does seem that the Clovis people did so. Indeed, they may have hunted the mammoth to extinction.

Mammoths and other megafauna were under pressure as a result of the changing climate, and it may have been the activities of early hunters that pushed them over the edge. Analysis using software developed to study the impact of human hunting on elephant populations produced results that suggest that human predation – even on the limited scale possible in such primitive conditions – may have been a factor in depleting the North American mammoth population beyond the point where it could recover. There is evidence that the mammoth did not become entirely extinct during the Clovis era but it may well have been driven into a few small survivor populations.

Butchered mammoth remains and Clovis-style stone tools have been found together, suggesting that the people of this era ate the meat of megafauna they had hunted and killed, although in all likelihood they would take easier game when it was available. People capable of sufficient organization, and possessing good enough weaponry, to take a mammoth would be capable of hunting almost any land creature, and of course if they fought one another the same tools and skills would stand them in good stead.

THE PALEO-INDIAN PERIOD

Whether the Clovis people were the first human inhabitants of North America or, as recent evidence suggests, settlement took place earlier than previously thought, there were definitely humans in the Americas around 13,000 years ago. If they had reached New Mexico in sufficient numbers to leave the traces that we can find today, it seems likely that humans had been expanding across the continent for hundreds of years at least.

Much of a hunter’s work went into preparing his weapons, which could be accompanied by socialising with his family and the rest of the tribe.

This expansion was long believed to have taken place through an ice-free corridor between the Cordilleran ice sheet surrounding the Rocky Mountains and the larger Laurentide ice sheet covering the east of the continent. This theory retains widespread acceptance, but dating of archaeological sites and new estimates of the timing of ice sheet melting have cast doubt upon overland migration as the means by which Clovis-era humans reached the New Mexico region.

It is possible that movement into the Americas took place along the coasts, either as well as overland or as a sole means of expansion. This theory fits with the discovery of pre-Clovis remains to the south of the Clovis sites, although the dating of some of these is controversial. Whatever the means, humans spread out across the continent to create an initially very dispersed population.

Alternative Theories

There are other theories about the spread of humans into the Americas. Some might be politely described as ‘wacky’ but others are based on scientific evidence – albeit disputed in some cases – and attempt to explain genetic or technological traits observed in early human remains.

It is possible that humans got into the Americas by other routes than a land crossing through Beringia. One theory holds that people might have traversed the southern edge of the Atlantic ice sheet in small boats, going ashore on the ice to hunt or fish. Other theories do not offer a clear-cut explanation of how people arrived there, but suggest that remains found in Central and South America could date from as early as 50,000 years ago.

New evidence will continue to come to light over the years, but it is quite possible that we may never know exactly when humans entered the Americas or how they spread out over time. Some evidence is hotly disputed, with claims that certain sites could date from anything between 10,000 to 50,000 years ago backed up by at least some evidence.

What does seem certain is that humans were present in the Americas 10,000–15,000 years ago and possibly earlier, and that they developed separately from populations in Europe and Africa, although there may have been some contact with East Asian people until rising sea levels made this impossible.

Children learned the skills of the hunt from an early age, and would not be permitted to join a hunting party until they were highly competent.

The lifestyle of these people would be broadly similar across most of the continent – they were hunter-gatherers capable of making stone tools and using them in inventive ways. There would not be room for much cultural variance at first, but as the groups spread out and became isolated from one another the experiences they had and the conditions they lived in would begin to shape their mindset and beliefs.

This period of settlement and migration followed by establishment of populations in general areas of the American continent is known as the Paleo-Indian era. It came to an end around 9000 years ago, although this is a very general figure and subject to local variations. Sea levels had been rapidly rising as the melting of ice sheets dumped large amounts of water into the oceans, and it may be that as this process tailed off climatic conditions improved sufficiently to permit population expansion and a reduction in the number of potentially catastrophic setbacks encountered by a given regional population.

Bone, wood and stone were the primary materials used by Native Americans until the arrival of Europeans, and remained in more limited use afterward.

“…as the groups spread out and became isolated from one another the experiences they had … would begin to shape their mindset and beliefs.”

Rainfall increased in many areas too, and the levels of dust in the atmosphere were reduced at the same time. The effects seem to have been worldwide, as at around the time the Paleo-Indian era ended in the Americas the cultivation of wheat was beginning in Mesopotamia. A direct connection is rather unlikely; it is more probable that societies worldwide responded to the stabilizing of their environment.

The relatively rapid inundation of low-lying areas and consequent changes in terrain would have made life difficult for a hunter-gatherer culture and may have forced movement out of a previously fruitful area. As this process slowed, the early tribes would have been able to establish a territory and to depend on the availability of game at predictable times and places. Migration would still have occurred but it was less likely to be dictated by changing conditions.

Petroglyphs have been found in several parts of the North American continent, some dating from prehistoric times and others carved after the arrival of Europeans.

A sudden decrease in temperatures worldwide, known as the 8.2 kiloyear event, took place 8200 years ago – hence its name. This was probably caused by the final collapse of the Laurentide ice sheet, whose remnants contained large meltwater lakes that rushed to the sea once released. The immediate effects would have been serious in the North American continent, and the climatic changes had effects that were felt worldwide.

The people of North America weathered these difficult times and came to dominate the whole continent. Populations began to specialize based on their home area, creating the beginnings of distinct cultures. These populations were not isolated, however; there is evidence of trade between regions and cultural exchange must have taken place. The very different conditions in widely separated parts of the continent was undoubtedly a factor in the development of distinct tribal identities.

THE MESO-INDIAN PERIOD

The Meso-Indian Period is considered to have begun around 8000 years before the present day. Tools were still made of stone, but advances in tool-making created chipped rather than flaked stone tools. Similarly, a variety of hunting techniques and equipment emerged, including the use of nets and fish-hooks. The area a particular group ranged over gradually shrank as a result of improved hunting technique, creating a trend towards a more settled lifestyle.

A nomadic existence was still the norm, but whereas earlier populations might wander over a huge area and never return to the same place twice, the Meso-Indian hunter group would have preferred locations to find game or other food at different times of the year, and having already found a good campsite in that area they would be unlikely to choose not to use it again.

“Groups were on the whole small, but there is evidence that sometimes multiple groups would merge for a time, or at least live and hunt together.”

Groups were on the whole small, but there is evidence that sometimes multiple groups would merge for a time or at least live and hunt together. This would allow ideas to be exchanged and intermarriage to take place between the different groups. Primitive societies worldwide seem to be aware of the dangers of inbreeding and typically avoid it where possible by exchanging tribe members with other groups when they were encountered.

The early Native Americans were inventive, using natural materials to solve problems such as how to efficiently catch fish.

These nomadic populations left relatively little trace of their existence other than pits used to dispose of bones, shell-middens and similar domestic refuse deposits that modern scientists use to determine population numbers, diet and seasonal movement habits. The North American continent had plenty of useable land and suitable game, and with a small starting population there was no real need for competition over resources.

That is not to say that conflict did not occur – humans have fought one another for the whole of their existence, not always out of necessity. However, for the most part the low population density and ability for a threatened group to find an equally good hunting ground elsewhere meant that conflict and competition was much less than in Europe.

One implication of this dispersed population was reduced pressure to innovate. Technology advanced far more rapidly in Europe than in the Americas, with cities appearing around 6500 years ago. The construction of towns and conurbations depended upon a move from hunting to a farming-based society, and required the solution of various technological problems that further spurred progress among Native Americans.

The Painted Rock petroglyph site is the largest of over 40 sites near Gila Bend, Arizona. It contains around 800 separate images.

There was simply no need to adopt this new way of life in the Americas, so while farming was eventually adopted by some cultures there was no powerful incentive to do so. In Europe, the city-building, farming-based societies could support a larger population base than their nomadic neighbours, enabling them to drive off the less developed people from their borders. In short, in Europe and the Middle East the city-builders won the war for resources; in the Americas the war never happened.

Organized states did arise in both Europe and the Americas, in the sense that a large tribe with a cultural identity and willingness to help its members at times of need can be considered a state even if it has no grand capital or walled cities. The tribes and tribal confederations of the Americas developed a sophisticated social system to rival anything seen in Europe, but there was no need for this to happen quickly.

Some American societies built permanent structures even though their lifestyle was not sedentary. The earliest known example is Watson Brake in Louisiana. This was a ‘mound city’, composed of a ring of earth mounds connected by a ridge or bank of earth. Construction began around 5500 years ago, although the site is known to have been in use for centuries before that.

Nomadic hunter-gatherers lived in simple shelters constructed from materials they could carry or rely on obtaining wherever they stopped. Over time, distinct shelter designs appeared.

“The tribes and tribal confederations of the Americas developed a sophisticated social system to rival anything seen in Europe.”

The Watson Brake site is unusual in that it appears to have been built by nomadic people who did not settle down once construction was completed. Other later mound-cities were inhabited on a permanent basis. However, while mound constructions can only take so many forms and therefore tend to be similar, it does appear that mound cities were built for a variety of purposes by different groups, and that not all were designed for habitation.

The construction of these early mound cities presented a significant challenge to a hunter-gatherer culture. Bringing enough people together and supporting them while they worked was not an easy task for the agrarian societies of Europe and the Middle East. For semi-nomadic hunters it represents an incredible achievement. However, little is known about the culture of this era as no written records as such were left behind. Even big questions such as why the mounds were built remain, for the most part, unanswered. Other aspects of life in this era are better understood.

The stone-tipped spears of the Clovis era were designed for jabbing or throwing over a short distance. While quite capable of taking down a large animal such as a mammoth, this required getting very close and inflicting multiple wounds before the beast was weakened enough to collapse. Even with a team of experienced hunters, some of whom would distract and confuse the prey while others closed in from the flanks to make their attack, taking on large prey was dangerous and smaller animals might escape before the hunters could cast their weapons.

Petroglyphs at Sand Island in Utah depict, among other creatures, mammoth and bison. This confirms the theory that humans and mammoths co-existed at least for a time.

The spear of the Meso-Indian era was shorter, with a variety of head designs. It could be thrown with the assistance of an atlatl, a stick with a hook at one end upon which the base of the spear rested. The atlatl increased the velocity of a spear cast, thereby extending range, accuracy and the chance of bringing down prey.

THE NEO-INDIAN PERIOD

The construction of mound complexes ceased for a time, resuming around 3500 years before the present. Best known of the mound structures of this period is Poverty Point, which was constructed over a period of centuries for unknown purposes. It has been postulated that its earthworks may have had religious significance, or that it may have been a settlement and trading centre.

A replica Hopewell-era dwelling on display at the Fort Ancient archaeological part in Ohio. The Hopewell culture existed until around 500 CE.

Archaeologists have named the society that built this structure the Poverty Point culture. Many other mound complexes were built by the same people who lived around the Mississippi but maintained a system of trade over a much wider area. The Poverty Point culture lasted until about 2700 years before the present day, and was just one of the groupings to arise in the Neo-Indian Period.

“It has been postulated that its earthworks may have had religious significance, or that it may have been a settlement and trading centre.”

The next society known to have arisen in the same area is the Tchefuncte. While less widespread in terms of trade links, the Tchefuncte people were able to make pottery that permitted improved storage and transportation of food. Preparation of meals was also enhanced, as fired-clay vessels could be used to make stews and other relatively complex dishes. The Tchefuncte people were still hunter-gatherers, building temporary homes wherever they stopped.

Cultural and social development continued. The Tchefuncte culture came to an end around 1800 years ago at a time when the Roman Empire was at its height. The Tchefuncte society was replaced by what modern historians call the Marksville culture after its primary archaeological site in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. The Marksville people practised ritual burial, constructing elaborate mound tombs for high-status individuals.

Contemporary with the Marksville culture was the Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture, which is known to have been able to work copper. To the north, in what is now Ohio and the surrounding area, dispersed populations were linked by an extensive trade network known as the Hopewell culture. This was not a tribe as such; it is better considered as a set of characteristics or social norms exhibited by dispersed groups.

The Chillicothe site in Ohio was constructed by the Hopewell culture as a burial site. Other mound complexes in the area may have had different functions.

The development of pottery was a major step forward for the Native American peoples, allowing new ways of preparing and storing food to be developed.

The Hopewell culture was characterized by short-term habitation in an area, using shelters constructed for the purpose, followed by relocation when the need arose. Trade generally followed the rivers, radiating out from settlements that acted as commerce hubs. Goods flowed between these and were then dispersed among the smaller settlements. In this way necessary or desirable items were traded all the way from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

The most prominent remains of the Hopewell culture are at Chillicothe in Ohio. This is a burial mound complex that was apparently not used as a settlement, whereas other sites were inhabited as well as serving a burial function. It may be that the most important people in the Hopewell culture were interred there, implying that a complex hierarchy existed. This is borne out by other evidence indicating social development beyond the informal organization of typical hunter-gatherer societies.

The Hopewell culture is thought to have developed from the preceding Adena culture, whose people built hundreds or perhaps thousands of mounds in the period from around 3000 years ago to 2200 years before the present day. Large numbers of art objects have been discovered from these cultures, many of which seem to be associated with spiritualism or shamanism. This, along with the large-scale construction of burial mounds, indicates that the Adena and Hopewell cultures were sufficiently stable and prosperous to devote considerable resources to religion. Their people clearly cared about their spiritual well-being and were able to translate that into the creation of material items.

“…art objects have been discovered from these cultures, many of which seem to be associated with spiritualism or shamanism.”

Periods in North American History

The history and prehistory of the North American continent can be grouped into general eras based on observed characteristics. Precise dates for when one era faded into the next are impossible to determine as there are few indicators and no written records. Regional variations also occurred, and differing systems are used to define eras depending on the purpose of the observer.

Paleo-Indian Period: From the first arrival of humans on the continent to around 10,000 years ago. The transition to the Archaic period was triggered by climatic change, and was thus both gradual and uneven. The transition from this era to the next is widely considered to have been on-going until 6000 years before the present day in some areas.

Meso-Indian Period: From the end of the Paleo-Indian period to around 3000 years ago. Alternatively, some observers use the term Archaic Period, which is sometimes considered to have spanned the era from the end of the Paleo-Indian period to around 4000–5000 years before the present day.

Neo-Indian Period: From the end of the Meso-Indian Period to the arrival of Europeans in the Americas around 500 years ago. This period is often subdivided into shorter eras based upon local conditions, and is also referred to as the Formative Period or the Woodland Period. This era is characterized by the development of pottery, the construction of burial mounds and the deliberate cultivation of food plants.

Hunter-Gatherer vs Farmer

There is a natural tendency to assume that a settled, farming-based economy is superior, and that hunter-gatherers were too primitive to embrace this advantage. This is not the case. It takes considerable intellect and resourcefulness to thrive in a nomadic environment, and those who practised this lifestyle were anything but dim-witted.

The hunter-gatherer needed to understand the land and the signs it gave that food (and danger) might be present. Armed with a good working knowledge of animal habits, ‘primitive’ hunters moved to where game animals would appear at that time of year then positioned themselves to ambush their prey. They knew how best to hunt different types of animal and where to gather plants for food.

The hunter-gatherer had a much shorter ‘working day’ than an early farmer. Much of his work involved waiting in the right place, which might sometimes mean lounging around exchanging tall tales with fellow hunters while waiting for a herd to move into the area. Farmers, on the other hand, toiled constantly.

The main advantages of a settled lifestyle were in terms of dealing with hard times. If the game failed to appear, the hunters went hungry. A farmer might be able to rely on stored food for a time, and was settled enough to be able to preserve some of his produce. Nomadic cultures did practise food preservation to some extent but there was a limit to what a nomadic group could carry around with them. Farming-based societies were thus a little more resilient in times of shortage.

Overall, becoming a farmer was not all that attractive to hunter-gatherers. It was hard work and deprived them of their traditional freedom. It did offer advantages in terms of stability and the aptitude to build larger communities, which in turn progressed technologically. However, the lack of this technology in no way suggests that hunter cultures were ‘backward’ or lacking in intellect. Their people were smart and tough, and very skilled in the techniques they needed.

Butchering a large animal such as a mastodon was a complex task requiring a great deal of finesse to ensure that little was wasted.