NL Studies 2205 Ready? Let’s go!

Roots Of Our Culture Chapter Two

Peopling the Land Beringia Land Bridge Siberia to Alaska Gone Facilitated population distribution Old World vs New World

Population Distribution 15th century Americas = 40 – 60 million people World Population Clock Mexico & Peru (Agrarian) Aztec Canada/US = hunter gatherer societies

Europe 80 – 100 million people (16th Century) Rural & Agrarian Population expanded greatly Began to look elsewhere for resources Asia = largest & grandest cities (Peking)

Who Was In “This Place” Paleo-Americans Paleo-Eskimos Thule Norse

Paleo-Americans Descendents of the Beringia The one site in North America outside of ancient Beringia commonly cited as having the best-dated evidence for human occupation in Pleistocene America is Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania. The available data here suggest that small groups of generalized foragers occupied midcontinental North America before 14,000 years ago

Medowcroft Rockshelter

Paleo-Eskimos The term "Palaeo-Eskimo" (palaeo=old) is used to refer to the peoples of the Arctic In Newfoundland and Labrador, many archaeologists divide Palaeo-Eskimo prehistory into two major phases: the "Early Palaeo-Eskimo" phase, lasting from about 3800 years BP (Before Present) to about 2200 BP, and the "Late Palaeo-Eskimo" phase, running from about 2500 BP to sometime between 1000 BP and 500 BP.

The Thule The Thule are the prehistoric ancestors of the Inuit who now live in northern Labrador. Many archaeologists believe that around 1000 years ago, as the climate of the earth warmed, leads opened up in the ice of the Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf allowing these north Alaskan people to follow bowhead whales eastward in the summer. The Thule culture, as archaeologists would call it, rapidly spread out across the Canadian Arctic and eventually to Greenland and Labrador.

The Thule Take 2 Members of the Thule culture developed a remarkable technology to deal with the Arctic. In a region where Europeans and their descendants have never been able to live without outside assistance, the Thule people flourished. They were able to use the bones, teeth and skins of the animals they killed in order to hunt those same animals!

Reindeer Antler Goggles Harpoon Blade from Bone Ulu Knife When hunting or travelling, the Thule built snow houses, popularly called "igloos".

Prehistoric Technologies Maritime Archaic Toggling Harpoon Maritime Archaic Needles Dorset Soapstone Pots

Toggling Harpoons

Let’s look at how they made the pots on Page 98 Soapstone Pots Let’s look at how they made the pots on Page 98