Explore the History of Native Americans,
Africans, and Europeans Before
THE NEW WORLD
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The New World is considered to be the Americas and the Carribean Islands.
It was called the new world because it had never been explored before by people of the Old World,
Europe, Africa, and Asia. The first people in the new world were known as Paleo-Indians,
paleo means "old." The paleo-Indians entered the new world by crossing the Isthmus Beringia, from
africa and Asia. Sadly, the paleo-Indians were wiped out by the time 8000 B.C., and they had no system of
writing to identify them when they were gone. Also by 8000 B.C., today's Native Americans or Indians, came
along.
THE NATIVE AMERICANS
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Types of Native Americans
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North America Woodland Cultures
Eastern Woodlands- Algonkian & Iroquois
similar cultures but traditional enemies; very complex cultures
Mississippi Woodlands- Choctaw, Cherokee, Caddo
Cahokia- the first city in today's U.S.; located near St. Louis
Plains- Commanche, Sioux, Inchas
nomadic
Commanches migrated from the Great Basin
3 types of Sioux: Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota
Arctic- Eskimos
Northwest- Coastal
originated and popularized the totem pole
Northwest- Plateau
"samon" people
more materialistic than the other tribes
California
lived mostly off the land and natural resources
unwar-like, laid back
Great Basin (Desert)
Southwest- Navajo & Apache
Navajo- sedentary: stayed in one place
Apache- war-like and nomadic
Pueblo- Zuni & Hopi
sedentary
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·farming- Native Americans grew 80 kinds of food such as corn, squash, tomatoes,
potatoes, chocolate, greens, peanuts, avocado, tobacco, grains,peppers, and maple syrup.
The Aztec women made 40 types of tamales for eating and trading.
·hunting/fishing- They used spears and bows & arrows to catch their prey.
The Europeans did not understand why the women were farmers; they rejected that idea of the Native Americans.
Religion
The Native Americans believed in more than one God. The Europeans rejected their religion, because the
Europeans believed in one god-monotheism. The shaman was the religious leader/healer for the Native
Americans. The older women of the tribe were usaully the shaman or strongly considered first.
The Dakota Sioux Indians practiced a religious ritual called the Sun Dance. A man is hung in a upright vertical
position, by hooks attached to ropes in his chest, from a tree or pole. The male was to endure the pain for as long as possible, and to embrace the pain with a laugh or smile.
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This ceremony was performed to prove the four male virtues:
(1) Bravery (2) Generosity (3) Strength and (4) Intergrity. The Europeans later outlawed the Sun
Dance because they thought it was too grewsome.
Tribe Life
There were no justice systems like jails, courts, laws, etc. Instead the troublemaker was ostrasized, or kicked out of the tribe.
Tribes were very important to the Native Americans. It was their source of family and unity. No one was really an individual in the
tribe; it was like one big family. People made decisions based on what was best for the village, and not based upon what was good for
themselves. A type of motto that they had was, " Think for yourself, but act for the community"
Role of Women in the Family
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Male dominance was blurred in Native American culture. Most of the time families were matrilineal: every aspect of family defined
by the woman's family line. The women were able to choose their own husbands, as opposed to arranged marriages. That allowance enabled the
women to marry for love intsead of money or land. Native Americans were also open about experimenting with sex before marriage. They did not
condone adultery, sex with outher people while married, but as long as you were single it was accepted. This also aided in finding a compatible mate.
A Native American woman was eligible for marriage when she began menstruating. This was special because it meant that she was ready to have children.
The women were isolated from the rest of the tribe during menstruation. They were given their own tent/hut to live in for the duration so that they
had some time to themselves. More than one woman was assigned to the same place if they were menstruating at the same time. The Native Americans also practiced polygny: a man having more than one wife; and polyandry: a woman having more than one husband.
Since family was so important to them, there was sometime a need for extra help in supporting the family.
Vulnerability to Europeans
A major downfall of the Native Americans was vulnerabilty to the Europeans. To Europeans, land defined how powerful and/or prosperous you were.
The Natives didn't paticularly care about how much land they owned, they just used used the resources to the best of their abilities; this left them open
for manipulation of their land by the Europeans. The Europeans' good ability to trade goods for the land they wanted; the Natives also wanted the whiskey,
guns, and technology such as the wheel and iron tools, that the Europeans possessed. Another great misfortune was the disease brought to America from Europe.
The Native Americans were not immune to diseases such as measle and smallpox, which resulted in eighty percent of Indians dead within the first one-hundred years
of the European arrival.
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Prehistory
Africa was basically divided into two main regions: North Africa and Sub-Sahara.
North Africa had a long history of contact with the Europeans.
· Egypt in 3200 B.C. was one of the oldest and wealthiest civilizations in the world.
Until 2500 B.C., the Sahara Desert was green and fertile. When the Sahara began to grow very hot and
sandy, the people who lived there migrated both North and South to seek a new place to live. The immigration
from the Sahara added a great deal to the population.
· In 950 B.C. the Berbers, an African people, controlled "Upper"Egypt, and in 600 B.C. the Ethiopians,
another African people, took control of "Lower"Egypt.
· In 650 A.D. Moslems conquered Egypt, and totally changed religion and language. The new religion was Islamic and the
new language was Arabic. The bedoins:missionairies were nomadic people who spread the Islamic religion throughout
Africa.
Sub-Sahara: South of the Sahara Desert
Pigmies
average height four feet, nine inches
came from the Congo rain forest
known for "drum language"
nomadic
weavers and carvers
Bushmen- Khoi-Khoi & San Hottentott
small; nomadic
known for cavewall paintings
Hamitic- Zulu, Watusi, and Masai
tall, thin, lean
herders
Sudanic- Ibo, Ashanté, Mandingo, Yoruba
Kingdoms and Cultures
There were two major tribes kingdoms in Africa, Ghana and Mali.
Ghana Kingdom- This kingdom covered the Sahara Desert to the Atlantic Ocean. It reached its
peak around the Eleventh Century.
known for art, architecture, and trading
they traded gold, salt, timber, ivory, slaves
salt was most valuable because it preserved the meat; there were no refrigerators
· In 1052 A.D. the Berbers attacked Ghana, and the kingdom declined.
Mali Kingdom- This kingdom took over when the Ghana Kingdom declined. It reached its
peak around the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Century.
known for trade and agriculture
Mansa Musa- the ruler of Mali 1312-1337 A.D.
Common Traits Among Kingdoms
divine king
appointed by God
complicated government
(legal and political systems) laws, courts, etc.
village chiefs
relative equality for men & women in work and religion
they practiced polygny
family also very important
they generally had very large families
kinship: who your family is, defines who you are
Economics and Religion
· Trade made the Kingdom. It was the main source income.
The African men made the goods, and the women marketed them.
· African religion was quite similar to the Native Americans'.
They were close to nature and believed in many gods. A diviner was a
spiritual leader and healer in West African religion.
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Slavery
The existance of slavery was old in Europe, Africa, and Asia. It was not
until 1600s, with the arrival of Europeans in the New World, that slavery had a
racial connotation. They were used as chattel slaves- they were property of another person.
Outside the New World slaves were wageless labor; they worked
off their debts or for food if they were poor, and then they were set free. Most of the slaves
for the New World came from the Western Coast of the Sub-Sahara region.
THE EUROPEANS
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· The Europeans were very fond of exploration for various reasons.
·new information for making maps
·trade
·conquering new land
·spreading their culture and religion
Europeans were war-like, and self-sufficient. They figured they could get what they wanted for themselves, and if not then they would
take it. And if anyone/people stood in their way, they would try their best
to do away with that person/people.
Midieval Period/Dark Ages- forced exploration for Europeans. They wanted to
get away from Europe's depression and disease. The 100 Years War was a turning point for
Europe. Warfare changed; the use of cannons began. There was also the Spanish Inquisition:
the destruction of non-Christians who did not want to conform to Christianity. Europeans were
grave about religion. They didn't like anyone to speak out against their Christian religion, but they also
rejected all other religions.
In the Fourteenth Century, the Bubonic Plague was a terrible disease, spread by fleas, that killed
approximately one-third of Europe's population. This was said to be one of the worst plagues of all time.
The Renaissance
·The Renaissance or "rebirth" of Europe brought about vast changes. It first made it possible
for exploration again; people finally came out of their slump of the Dark Ages.
·Stable monarchies became of the Renaissance. King and queen rule was again popular. There was
capitalism: making a profit, and that helped out the kingdoms' economies.
·Scholarship and artistic development also blossomed during this period. Education became abundant, and scholars
were now questioning things; thus came the emergence of Science in Europe. Painting, music, drama, and dance
were also more closely studied now too, bearing a brood of Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century abstract painters and artists.
·Technology began to advance slowly. Men began building ships which led to better and longer explorations.
The printing press was soon invented. This invention allowed access to knowledge; books, newspapers, etc. were made
in plenty for everyone's use.
Family Life
·The men were farmers, herders, and had industrial jobs. Women (11) spent the majority of their time at home, unless they were
needed to help harvest the crops.
·Women married fairly young, as did the Native Americans and Africans. They had
arranged marriages, by the age of twelve, and lost all rights and property once married.
·In the European Society women were very obsessed with physical beauty. They wore the low-cut cleavage
dresses with the corsets to make their figures look more pleasurable. High heels were invented to keep their long,
flowing gowns off of the ground. With this obsession increasing, the number of children decreased. European men and
women generally did not have more than two or three children.
DIVERSITY AND UNITY?
Although all three cultures are very alike in some ways, especially the native Americans
and the Africans, their cultures were very different. Maybe that's why people clashed so much
in the "New World". Or maybe it was because the Europeans thought they were
superior to everyone. One of their mottos was: "Live life intensely."