Nature and the Environment in Pre-Columbian American Life

Stacy S. Kowtko

• Publisher: Greenwood
• Year: 2006
• Print ISBN:
  9780313334726
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780313086663
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Prehistoric North Americans lived on, in, and surrounded by nature. As a result, everything they were resulted from this co-existence. From interpersonal relations to supernatural beliefs, from housing size and function to the food they ate and clothing they wore, the life of Native Americans before the arrival of Europeans was intimately intertwined with the environment. What is known about these societies is often sketchy at best, having survived largely through archaeological remains and oral tradition. Scholars have tried to understand Native American history on its own terms, trying to understand who and what they were in reality - a complex, diverse multitude of populations that defined themselves entirely through what they saw, heard, and experienced everyday - their natural environment.

This accessible resource provides an excellent introduction for those needing a first step to researching the daily lives of Native Americans in the centuries before the arrival of Europeans.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Introduction
• Timeline of Native History in Precontact North America
• 1. The People and the Environment: Who Was Here before Columbus
• 2. Animal and Human Interaction: Natural Cooperation in the Environment
• 3. Agriculture: Cultivating a Living out of the Environment
• 4. Human Habitation in the Environment: Live and Let Live
• 5. Survival of the Most Resourceful: Hunting and Gathering
• 6. Spiritual Environment: Religious Beliefs and Practices
• 7. Movement in the Environment: Migration and Transportation
• 8. The Art of Fun and Games: Native American Leisure and the Environment
• 9. Two Halves of the Same Environment: Gender Roles in Native American Society
• Epilogue
• Annotated Bibliography
• Index