Perhaps the biggest myth about history in our culture is that history remains static, and historical myths tend to be believed by everyone, even if they aren't true. Like any other scientifically-based discipline, history constantly evolves to fit new evidence.
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For those studying Native American history, new finds are happening all the time that expand the history of these incredible people. Today, one of the best ways to learn about ancient Native Americans is through archeology. By studying the material objects left by people who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago, we can find all kinds of amazing facts about America's pre-Columbian inhabitants, from the foods they ate to the dwellings they lived in and the artwork they made.
Every once in a while, though, a find comes out that changes our understanding of particular cultures (or even an entire region or the world, for that matter) as a whole. In this article, you'll discover the top eight archaeological sites, discoveries, and other finds that have completely changed the academic community's understanding of Native American history.
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8 White Sands Fossil Footprints
This discovery pushed the settlement of the Americas 20,000 or more years ago
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No discovery in the Americas can compare to the 2009 discovery of the White Sands Fossil Footprints. Located in New Mexico, these human footprints left in the mud of an ancient lakebed initially stirred up controversy but have quickly become widely accepted due to subsequent research.
What could make a series of fossilized footprints so controversial? Their age! Initial radiocarbon dating suggested that the footprints were 21-23,000 years old. For those aware of the history of human settlement in the Americas, historians have long posited that humans didn't enter the Americas until around 15,000 years ago.
When these dates were published in 2021, they were met with skepticism. However, after another study got the same number, the archaeological community realized that the chronology had to be pushed back to accommodate these new dates. Now, it's widely accepted that humans entered the Americas more than 20,000 years ago. This incredible archaeological discovery could be another addition to the many incredible archeological discoveries that changed the world!
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Date discovered:
2009
Location:
White Sands National Park, New Mexico
Importance:
It showed to scientists that Native Americans have been in the Americas for at least 20,000 years
7 The Cahokia Mounds
Cahokia was Illinois' premier bustling metropolis long before Chicago was dreamed of
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For centuries, people thought the only big cities north of Mesoamerica came after European settlement. However, a discovery in Illinois completely turned this idea on its head. This discovery was the Cahokia Mounds, which remains one of the most significant archeological sites in the U.S.
In 1100 CE, Cahokia was one of the world's largest cities, boasting a population of up to 40,000 people. That's even bigger than the contemporary population of London! In its day, it would have had wattle-and-daub buildings, streets, ritual centers, courtyards, and a woodhenge. Cahokia was also a center for artisan activities, like metalworking, pottery-making, and textile production.
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Date discovered:
Known throughout the 1800s, but no archaeological work was done here until the 1960s
Location:
Illinois
Importance:
One of the largest cities in pre-Columbian North America
6 Chaco Canyon
Chaco Canyon was home to Ancestral Puebloans between
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First documented in 1823, Chaco Canyon is one of the Southwest's most important sites in American archaeology. From 850 to 1250 CE, this area was home to the Ancestral Puebloans, who managed the harsh environment of this landscape well enough to form a thriving culture.
The people who lived in Chaco Canyon studied the stars extensively, built impressive stone kiva structures, and processed turquoise. They even had extensive trade networks that may have extended to Mesoamerica; cacao has been found at the site, indicating these trade networks.
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Unfortunately, the Ancestral Puebloans of Chaco Canyon fell victim to a problem we're now facing today: climate change. A horrible drought between 1250 and 1450 CE caused them to relocate elsewhere.
Date discovered:
1823
Location:
New Mexico
Importance:
One of the most important Ancestral Puebloan sites in America showcases ancient Indigenous trade networks
5 Madison Buffalo Jump State Park
This site was where Indigenous people hunted buffalo before the horse came to America
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Madison Buffalo Jump State Park in Montana is one of the state's most historically important parks and is a vital site for understanding how Native Americans hunted before the introduction of the horse.
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For thousands of years, Native Americans like the Lakota, Dakota, and Nez Perce would use the towering cliffs of this region as part of an ingenious hunting strategy. They'd lure the herds of buffalo to the cliffside and then chase them off it. This way, they could take advantage of the many stampeding buffalo and gain lots of food for the upcoming year.
Around 1750 CE, the horse was introduced to Montana. This completely changed the way the indigenous peoples of this region hunted, leading to the cliffs no longer being used in this way.
This overlooked state park in Montana is another of the most worthy parks for anyone who hates wildlife!
Date discovered:
Before 1966
Location:
Montana
Importance:
Reveals ancient hunting methods used by the Indigenous peoples of Montana
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4 The Kennewick Man
This archaeological discovery was both important and controversial
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Few discoveries in the Americas have ever been as simultaneously impacting and controversial as the Kennewick Man. First uncovered in 1996, the Kennewick Man was discovered by college students participating in a hydroplane race on the Columbia River. After turning the human remains in to the local police, it was revealed that they were ancient.
Scientific analysis indicated that he was around 8,500 years old! Although this discovery told scientists much about prehistoric Native Americans (the Kennewick Man's diet and lifestyle could be determined by his bones), the local indigenous tribes of the Columbia Basin felt very upset by his disturbance. American law required any Native American bones found on federal land to be given back to their community.
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It was initially uncertain if the Kennewick Man would qualify under this law, as his bones were 8,500 years old. At the time of his discovery, the migration of people in the Americas was not as well known as it is today, leading to some confusion over whether he was related to modern Native Americans at all. Genetic studies in 2015 determined that he was related to local Native Americans by ancestry, and in 2016, his body was returned to the indigenous tribes of the Columbia Basin.
Date discovered:
1996
Location:
Washington
Importance:
One of the earliest complete skeletons found in North America
3 Ozette Indian Village Archaeological Site
This site in Washington has produced 55,000 artifacts, many made out of wood
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In terms of archaeological significance, few sites are as famous as Pompeii of the Ancient Romans, which was simultaneously destroyed and preserved by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. However, few know there are sites like Pompeii in the Americas in El Salvador, a Mayan volcano-buried settlement. One is the Ozette Indian Village Archaeological Site in Neah Bay, Washington.
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Around 1550 CE, a mudslide buried a Makah village along the coast. In the 1970s, this site garnered the attention of archaeologists when tidal erosion revealed wooden artifacts buried in the earth. Wooden artifacts rarely survive in a wet maritime environment, so archaeologists quickly studied the site. They discovered six longhouses and 55,000 artifacts, including baskets, boxes, bows and arrows, knives, games, and toys. This site gives us a picture of what life looked like during that time.
Date discovered:
1970
Location:
Neah Bay, Washington
Importance:
This site is a perfectly preserved Makah site from 1550 CE
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2 The Account Of Moncacht Ape
This incredible journey across the American West predates Lewis and Clark by 100 years
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Nearly every American has heard of the wondrous voyage of Lewis and Clark across the western United States. However, most don't know that a Native American explorer named Moncacht Ape made nearly the same voyage a century earlier!
Published by a Frenchman named Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz in 1753, Moncacht Ape's journey (undertaken in approximately 1700 CE) was one of anthropological discovery. After the deaths of his family, he sought to understand the origins of his people and thus traveled far and wide to figure out this historical question.
During his travels, he visited some of North America's greatest natural monuments, including Niagara Falls, the Great Divide, the Mississippi River, and the coastline of the Pacific Northwest.
This journey later inspired the more famous journey of Lewis and Clark in 1804. Meriwether Lewis carried a copy of Le Page's book with him on the journey!
Date discovered:
Le Page published the book in 1753 and it was translated into English in 1763
Location:
Trans-continental
Importance:
This trans-continental journey across the American West occurred 100 years before Lewis and Clark
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1 Maize
Most people learn that maize was important to the Native Americans, but do most people know that the indigenous peoples of the Americas invented maize?
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Today, millions of people around the globe eat maize as a primary part of their diet. This tasty vegetable/grain is found in some of the most delicious recipes, including tortillas, popcorn, cornbread, and arepas. People eat it by itself at festivals (corn on the cob, anyone?). We may even be eating maize way more than we think; high fructose corn syrup is in almost all processed foods nowadays.
Although many people know that maize originated in the Americas, science has discovered something even more incredible: that the Indigenous peoples of America invented maize! "How can ancient people invent a vegetable?" some might be asking. The answer is both simple and complex: through centuries of domestication.
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Maize didn't start like the amazing yellow cobs we know. It first started as a thin grass called teosinte that barely resembles what it looks like today. However, around 7000 BCE, indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica started domesticating this plant.
Indigenous Americans intentionally bred this plant for hundreds of years to resemble the delicious maize we know today. Maize was so thoroughly domesticated that human intervention was required to propagate it! This domestication wasn't theorized until the 1930s, making this theory of how maize was invented one of the most important discoveries about Native Americans.
Date discovered:
1931
Originator of the theory:
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov
Importance:
People all around the world eat maize every day
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