History and Myth

Myths and their roles A “myth” is defined here as a fiction or a half-truth that forms part of the ideology of a society

Can you think of examples of myths you may have been taught?

A Few Myths: History in the Americas began with Europeans Native Americans are all the same: primitive Very few Native Americans lived in the Americas before the arrivals of Europeans

What do you think are some of the purposes of these kinds of myths?

Ancient peoples present in the Americas long before European colonization Ancient sites suggest the presence of people in various waves thousands of years ago in the Americas There are debates about origins and timing. One mainstream theory had been that people migrated from northeastern Asia across the Bering Land Bridge into Alaska, but that theory was first challenged by archaeological findings in places like Chile which suggest a more ancient presence of people Debates regarding Kennewick Man challenge single-theory explanations; multiple migrations may have come from other regions as well even as Kennewick man’s origins appear to be Asian. Analysis of 12,000 year-old “Naia”, found in a cave in Yucatan, also tells of ancient origins

Earliest peoples likely nomadic hunter-gatherers Climate changes forced humans to adapt and ultimately domesticate plants, probably between 9000-10,000 years ago The agricultural revolution created a settlement shift for many (from nomadic to sedentary), and created the foundations for civilization Yet, not all civilizations followed this pattern!

Diverse native populations over time “Cultural traditions are rooted in local environments, creating thousands of languages and dialects, hundreds of distinctive tribal traditions, and dozens of ways of making a living from the land.” -Neal Salisbury, The People

CARAL The oldest known city in the Americas Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization (MFAC) Located in South America, modern-day Peru Current Project - Peru

Tribal Diversity in the Americas Anasazi (modern day US Southwest) Mound Builders (modern day US Ohio Valley) Maya (modern day Mexico & Central America) Mexica (‘Aztec’) (modern day Mexico) Inca (modern day South America, Peru) Iroquois (modern day northeastern US)

Native Populations on the eve of contact The population of the Americas is estimated at over 70 million people at the time of contact with Europeans!