50 – 12,000 BCE
| Bering land bridge allows humans to migrate to, throughout the Americas |
13000 BCE
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Evidence of first human settlement in the United States
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13 – 4000 BCE
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Rise of Paleo-Arctic tradition of hunting sea mammals with specialized tools
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17 – 8000 BCE
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Sophisticated blade technology discovered in Meadowcraft, Pennsylvania; small bands of 30 – 40 family members; elders make decisions; generally little gender differentiation
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11 – 7000 BCE
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Paleo-Indians are big game hunters; distinguished by projectile heads
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7000 BCE
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Three-fourths of big game animals hunted to extinction; massive climate changes
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7000 BCE
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Hunter-gatherers arose in Southwest making mats, nets, baskets, and rope
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7000 – 2000 BCE
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Agricultural villages in Eastern US, Mississippi Valley; life includes hunting, gathering; both patrilineal, matrilineal social structures indicated; gender roles begin to vary
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4000 BCE
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Permanent hunting encampments in Mid-West
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3000 BCE
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Long-distance trade in Eastern US dominated by tribal superiors; use of copper, mica for tools; agriculture intermixed with hunting, gathering (norm until 1500)
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3000 – 2000 BCE
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High social status evidenced by practice of burying dead with possessions; Eastern US, especially Ohio burial mounds; trade seems to have been to acquire wealth
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2200 – 100 BCE
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Boats developed in Arctic, Pacific Coast; permanent sea mammal hunting villages
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700 BCE –
200 CE
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Adena culture in Ohio Valley; long-distance trade; small villages with communal houses, single family homes; slash-burn agriculture, digging stick, hoe; weaving
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300 BCE
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Mogollon, Hohokam cultures in Arizona; farming, irrigation; corn, beans, cotton; long-distance trade with Mexico; ball-courts, art motifs similar to Mexican examples
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200 BCE –
600 CE
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Hopewell culture in Ohio: religious cults, artistic traditions, refined/intricate art, craftsmen, long distance trade, farming villages and city-states indicated; social stratification includes highest (priests including ruler), merchants, warriors
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600 CE
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Increase in food, land yields, population, newer technologies such as bow/arrow lead to competition, rivalry, in Mississippi, Ohio River valleys
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800 – 1500 CE
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Mississippian culture dominant in river basin and tributaries; city-states; farming with dispersed homesteads, ceremonial religious and government centers; trade throughout region; highly stratified society with priests at top, divine rulers, sacred lineages
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900 – 1500 CE
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Cahokia, Illinois: 35,000 people; fortified communities; rulers (Great Suns) live isolated; elite priests, living intermediaries between ancestors, gods; human sacrifice; sun calendar using math, astronomy. Powerful chiefs, sub-chiefs monopolize long-distance trade; strong evidence of contacts with Mexico both Mayan and Aztec, perhaps Toltec
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1000 – 1300 CE
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Anasazi culture; chieftain government, clan superiority, kinship lineages, religious structures, human sacrifice, long-distance trade, extensive roads, arts; religious theocracies rule government, set social norms, enforced by male holders of offices
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13th – 15th c. CE
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Mississippian culture spreads to Iroquois of New York, Cherokee of Georgia; warfare for personal glory, revenge, to seize property, protect hunting; wampum are mnemonic devices, money, contracts, treaties; matrilineal families, clans, and nations. Women have major and significant role including government, diplomacy
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1390 CE
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Five Nations of the Iroquois; permanent alliance to control New York, Eire area
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15th c. CE
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Caluscos of Florida; large, sea-going canoes trading throughout Caribbean; built capital in geometric design of temple mound cities, canals.
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15th c. CE
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Atlantic, West Coast Indians: permanent farming villages, agriculture intermixed with fishing, hunting, gathering, trade
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