What cultural similarities did native peoples of the Western Hemisphere share in the 1490s?

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Ancient American Weaving
This workbasket of a master weaver illustrates the technology of ancient American textile production. Found in a woman’s grave in the Andes dating from one thousand years ago, the workbasket contains tools and thread for every stage of textile production. Weaving — like cooking, hunting, and worship — depended on human knowledge that survived only when passed from an experienced person to a novice. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Charles H. White, 02.680.

ON THE EVE of European colonization in the 1490s, Native Americans lived throughout North and South America, but their total population is uncertain. Some experts claim that Native Americans inhabiting what is now the United States and Canada numbered 18 million to 20 million, while others place the population at no more than 1 million. A prudent estimate is about 4 million, or about the same as the number of people living on the small island nation of England at that time. The vastness of the territory meant that the overall population density of North America was low, just 60 people per 100 square miles, compared to more than 8,000 in England. Native Americans were spread thin across the land because of their survival strategies of hunting, gathering, and agriculture, but regional populations varied (Figure 1.2).

KEY FACTORS

In 1492, Native Americans populated all of North America:

  • – One-fifth lived along the Pacific coast.
  • – One-fourth lived in the Southwest.
  • – One-third lived east of the Mississippi.
  • – One-fourth lived in the regions of the Great Plains, the Great Basin, and the Arctic.

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FIGURE 1.2 Native American Population in North America about 1492 (Estimated)
Just before Europeans arrived, Native American population density varied widely, depending in large part on the availability of natural resources. The Pacific coast, with its rich marine resources, had the highest concentration of people. Overall, the population density of North America was less than 1 percent that of England, which helps explain why Europeans viewed North America as a relatively empty wilderness.

CHAPTER LOCATOR

When and why do historians rely on the work of archaeologists?

How and why did humans migrate into North America?

Why did Archaic Native Americans shift to foraging and hunting smaller animals?

How did agriculture influence Native American cultures?

What cultural similarities did native peoples of the Western Hemisphere share in the 1490s?

Why was tribute important in the Mexican empire?

Conclusion: How do we understand the worlds of ancient Americans?

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