3000 - 1001 B.C.
INDIAN HISTORY 1000 B.C. - 999 A.D.
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The buffalo or Bison was central to the Plains People's
culture at this time.
It is believed the bow and arrow was developed about this time.
3,000 B.C.
A great warming trend is developing in Northern Canada. Native people are living at the Garneau homestead that would later be incorporated into the city of Edmonton, Alberta. The Plateau people between the coastal mountains and the Stony Mountains have evolved to a stable culture. The plain's people drive buffalo over cliffs for food and some wear large circular wooden plugs, called labrets, in their lower lips and skewers in their noses.
South western United States experienced a cooler period and moister climate from 3,000 to 800 B.C., it was called a sub-boreal period.
This is a modern version of the tipi that is believed to be in continuous use
from 3,000 B.C. to modern times. Earlier models used animal skins and some
used the bark of trees.
Saskatchewan, southwestern Manitoba and Alberta are the home of the Oxbow people who are believed to have come from the Southwest. The Oxbow-trading network stretched from the Pacific Coast to the Great Lakes and south into the Dakota's. The creation of the 600,000 known medicine wheels or tipi rings in Alberta began about this time. Of the medicine wheels, no two are identical. Only sixty or seventy are considered true medicine wheels requiring much labor to assemble and are mostly located in Canada. One Medicine Hat wheel core cairn is about 100 tonnes and the rim is 26 meters in diameter. The larger wheels are believed by some to be built over many generations, even centuries. The design using the Neolithic yard, 2.72 feet and the intersecting arcs is of the same design as the European Celtic megalithic stone circles. The people walked in a circle to affirm that all people are equal, there are no leaders and no followers. The wheel itself is the Way of Life, the Old Way of the People. It represents the universe, as does the sun dance circle; it is also the symbol of each individual human life. Each person may add his own stone to the wheel to affirm his belief. A stone to the north is for wisdom and generosity, to the west to obtain the quality of knowing oneself, to the south trust and innocence, to the east far-sightedness and perception.
In the Great Lakes area of central Canada, women are wearing short leather skirts over bare legs, while men go for leggings. Both sexes however sport decorative capes and moccasins. Copper is being manufactured into lance tips, bracelets and rings. Early trading developed as a socializing exercise with elaborate rituals. At this time some Copper forest people migrated to Red River and Lake Winnipeg. Some believe they followed the Saskatchewan into Alberta to Castor Creek.
The oldest known pictographs in Canada are located at the mud portage in the Lake of the Woods. Some suggest they date to an earlier period, 5,000 B.C
The Blackfoot and other Nations of the People have an oral tradition that the Red Man immigrated to Europe and that they assumed the returning white men are their long lost brothers. Red Paint peoples at port Au Choix, or as some peoples call them Norinbaga, Maritime Archaic, contained one hundred burial sites including fire making kits of flint stone and pyrite. Some believe these People are the ancestors of the Beothuks. This is an early indication that the rightful property of the deceased is interned with him, as in life, but does not imply a belief that they are needed in the after life. This so-called advanced culture existed in Labrador and Newfoundland between 3,000 B.C. and 500 A.D. They are known to be a sea going peoples who traveled 1,500 miles up and down the east coast of America and Greenland. Some speculate they are the ancestors of the European Pict, who later, the Romans named, the paint people, who painted themselves during tribal wars. If this proves true in support of Native tradition then it would imply a return trip to Europe. The Viking exploration of the Prairies could be the basis of this tradition in an attempt to better understand their existence. Some doubt the Viking reached the Prairies.
Some have concluded that Kyushu, Japanese (Ainu) sailors are shipwrecked near Valdivia, Ecuador based on Jomon pottery similarities that shared twenty decorative and design elements. This pottery took a thousand years to evolve in Japan and sprung into being over night in Mexico (not considered very likely). Some believe the pottery dates to 3,550 B.C. Pottery at Valdivia, Ecuador dates to the Joman period in Japan or so claims Betty Meggers. The Ainu are indigenous to Japan, they are light skinned and their language is unrelated to any other language. Cotton is being cultivated in Mexico and this crop is native to Africa lending support to the Asian contact theory.
By 3,000 B.C. the inhabitants are farming tubers and grains at nearly 13,000 feet above sea level in the Andes that stretch 4,700 miles along the western edge of south America. Ecuador is cultivating maze.
The Book of Mormon suggests the Jaredites came to America about this time. No proof has been provided however to support this hypothesis.
A giant meteor hit Arizona creating a crater four fifths of a mile across and 550 feet deep and a rim 150 feet high. Everything is scorched to cinders within a hundred-mile radius.
Archeological evidence suggests that Paleo Eskimos may have begun the slow domination of the Canadian Arctic. Others suggest they are not firmly established until about 1,000 B.C. The reality is the weather is turning colder and by 2,500 most Northern Archaic People retreated south along with the forests. This created a vacuum for the Inuit. There is likely trade between the two cultures and their absence would be noticed.
Between 3,000 to 2,000 B.C. some believe the use of Red Ochre in Maine and Labrador as well as Scandianavian countries suggests a cultural exchange.
2,900 B.C.
An Archaic People occupied the Grand Canyon from 2,900 B.C. to 1250 B.C. They know this because 500 split-twig figurines were discovered in inaccessible niches carbon dated to this period. No traces of corn or use of bow and arrow have been discovered. It's possible the canyon was only used for spiritual purposes or for seasonal use. Later peoples would summer in the canyon and winter on the rim.
2,800 B.C.
Burial rituals in Peru changed about this time from using black manganese to red ocher. The faces of the mummies are still painted black. It is noteworthy to remember that the red paint tradition started in Canada.
2,627 B.C.
Carol, Peru 125 miles north of Lima had a large complex of industrious farmers, craftsmen and fishermen. The site is 12 miles from the present ocean coastline. The built pyramids, irrigation canals and apartment like buildings.
2,500 B.C.
The canoe is in wide use by the more
northern peoples and proved to be a significant technological breakthrough
to facilitate rapid travel, exploration and trade over long distances. The
early canoe was covered with animal skins but later models used birch bark.
It is believed the Peoples of the western plains used decoy ducks to lure wild
ducks within hunting range.
The pre-Dorset peoples had migrated from Alaska to Greenland and dominated most of the Arctic. The Arctic microblade are no longer found along the British Columbia coast likely indicating a break of trade with the northern peoples due to the cooler weather.
The McKean people penetrate the Great Prairies coming from the South. They appear to peacefully coexisting with the Oxbow people. Pumpkins and gourds are being cultivated along the Mississippi River valley.
It is believed this time or earlier that the native Peoples of America are using the willow bark to alleviate toothache. It was found to reduce headaches, provide relief from fevers, aches and smaller pains of the body. It recently is used to avoid strokes and heart attacks. In the 1840's the drug salicylic found in willows was made synthetically, called acetylsalicylic acid and is the most used synthetic drug ever created, In 1899 the Bayer Company created the brand name Aspirin.
2,500 B.C. Alberta is considered the core area for
Medicine Wheels and likely started about this time. One Medicine Wheel was
however located in Wyoming.
2,200 B.C.
Bache Peninsula on the south and central coast of Ellesmere Island is occupied by a Paleoeskimo (Inuit) People believed to have come from Alaska.
The Oxbow people migrated from Saskatchewan to Alberta and are credited with adding the medicine wheel to our landscape. Others suggest the medicine wheel dates to 3,000 B.C. Some also suggest the Oxbow people invented pemmican.
2,100 B.C.
The oldest known gold artifact in the Americas was found at Jiskairumoko in the southern Peruvian highlands of the Lake Titicaca basin.
2,000 B.C.
Ramah Bay, Northern Labrador quartzite is being quarried by Maritime Archaic People and is trading to New England. They are living in long houses some being 100 meters in length. Extensive trading networks from the Gulf of Mexico to Southern Ontario and eastern Canada are traced through trade in Marine shells. The Arctic Small Tool Tradition in the High and Eastern Arctic called the Paleo-Eskimos are thought not to be of Inuit origin. They are believed related to the Aleuts of southern Alaska who occupied that area from 6,500 B.C. They are related to the Siberian Arctic Mongoloids such as Chukchi and Kamchadel. They had skin covered boats, the bow and arrow and advanced harpoons. They would reach Greenland by 1,700 B.C. The Early Paleo-eskimos expanded southward to occupy Newfoundland and this culture disappeared by 200 B.C.
Brooman Point on Bathurst Island in the High Arctic is a Paleoeskimo village and appears to be occupied until 1 AD.
The pre-Dorset people had migrated from Alaska to northeastern Greenland about this time. These ingenious tenacious People tamed one of the harshest climates on Earth.
Mediterranean and Greek genes arrived central America.
Some believe the Maya culture dates to about this time. Their Classic era is however from 250 A.D. to 900 A.D.
A necklace discovered in Lake Titicaca Basin in southern Peru shows the use of gold much earlier than previously thought.
1,800 B.C.
Maritime Archaic Peoples use Port
au Choix, Newfoundland as a burial site. They buried tools, weapons
and jewelry. Other sites are in Labrador and Maine. Some believe
this is about the time that the Algonkian people differentiated into the
Maritime Archaic, Proto Ojibwa, Proto Blackfoot and Proto Cree. Some
believe the Olmecs (Rubber People) culture began along the Pacific coast
of Guatemala and El Salvador and migrated later north to Mexico.
It is believed the Cherokee and Iroquoian language separated about
this time in the Virginia and North Carolina region.
The people of Peru are using cotton cloth that is dated to this time
period.
Egypt is growing corn according to biblical references. Either the word corn refers to some other agricultural product, the corn was imported from America or the biblical reference was added after corn was known.
1,700 B.C.
It is believed the Maya culture began about this time with well-established agricultural villages. Their language, traditions and beliefs are still in practice to this day in central America. Some believe the dog is first domesticated in the North this year and eventually in central America. Others contend it arrived with the first people to America 50,000 B.C.. Also see 6,500 B.C.
Translation of marks on the Peterborough Stone (Peterborough, Ontario) are claimed to be Scandinavian runes. Woden Lithi a copper trader from Ringerike, Norway is believed to have traveled up the Saint Lawrence River and established a trading post near Peterborough, Ontario. A 40 foot by 70 foot limestone slab covered with ancient inscriptions in the old Norse Language is discovered.
1,600 B.C.
Baked clay vessels are uncovered in California but is not popular as the people preferred baskets as containers.
Analysis of pig DNA suggests they arrived Hawaii about this time with the Polynesian peoples called the Lapita Culture.
The Tiahuanaco culture (1,600 B.C. to 1000 A.D.) centered at Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru managed 1/2 of Bolivia, the southern part of Peru, sections of Argentina and 1/2 of Chile. They were a technologically advanced culture, cutting, polishing and moving stones over 150 tons. The Tiahuanaco are described as fair-skinned, experts in agriculture, who wore white long robes and some suggest these were the proto-Inca.
1,550 B.C.
Artifacts from this period suggest religion was organized in Peru with images of God.
1,530 B.C.
The Ojibwa Sugwaudugahwininewug (Men of the Thick Firewood) or Bois Forts (Hardwoods) is believed established about this time.
1,500 B.C.
The Maritime Archaic People appear to have abandoned Labrador and are assumed to have moved south. These seafaring people seem to have just disappeared with their technology. They could have become the Glacial Kame culture?
The Maritime Archaic People appear to have moved to Newfoundland and may have evolved into the Beothuk Peoples?.
Pipes for smoking made of stone appeared in the Illinois Region indicating the arrival of the Tabacco culture. By 500 B.C. it would become widespread. It is noteworthy that tobacco is native to South America, as is squash and gourds. Some believe that the northern migration of maze into Canada likely occurred about this time. The Lato-Aztecan speaking people likely introduced this crop.
The Glacial Kame Culture that occupied the Southern Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana region got their name from their burial practice. These people interned their dead on top of hills of glacial gravel. The burial sites included ornaments of copper and marine shells. Extensive trade networks existed at this time.
It is ironic that the land of Indiana which means the land of Indians has no State or Federally recognized native lands. The Peoples were driven out of Indiana.
The Chiripa culture (pre 1,500 B.C.-200 A.D.) occupied a temple near Lake Titicaca (1,500-1,000 B.C.) in the high Andes of Bolivia. Evidence suggests extensive trading with the low lands. They are farmers raising quinoea, potatoes, fava beans and grains. The Andes high lands are believed settled about 9,000 B.C. after the last ice age. The descendents of the Chiripa are called the Aymara being a mixture of Chiripa and Tiwanaku cultures still occupy the region.
Some believe the inhabitants of Mexico made a complete shift to agriculture about this time because the climate turned drier.
The use of pottery became more widespread.
Between 1,500 to 500 B.C. the Shield People (Anishinaabe) from the Lake of the Woods expanded into Manitoba and are believed to be the ancestors of the Ojibwa and Cree. They made pemmican as a winter food supply. They also fished and gathered wild rice. The women preserved fruit and berries. Gardening included pumpkins, squash and corn.
1,300 B.C.
The Oxbow and McKean Prairie people appear to be displaced or absorbed by the Pelican Lake people coming from the SouthEast. The Pelican people are more similar to the Mummy Cave people. The Pelican people reopened the Head-Smashed-In buffalo jump that is not used by either the Oxbow or McKean people. They are believed to have originated the tradition of the communal annual fall buffalo hunt. They also did not appear to use the medicine wheels. They traded from the Pacific and Gulf coast as well as the eastern woodlands. A culture similar to the Oxbow however still remained on the prairies. An unnamed people from Minnesota, Illinois (meaning men) and Ohio (meaning beautiful) region also occupied the plains.
The Olmec culture in Mexico is believed to have begun building massive pyramids, large cities and established formal government.
1,250 B.C.
The initial Olmec nation (1250-1150 B.C.) of central America is famous for its colossal heads and multi-ton stone altars. They were quarried 40 miles away and dragged or shipped to San Lorenzo. Objects manufactured at San Lorenzo are found hundreds of miles away.
Sunflower seed is added to the Illinois agriculture environment.
1,200 B.C.
Some believe the Olmecs (Rubber People) culture began south of the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico and lasted until 400 to 100 B.C. Their principle city La Venta is abandoned in 400 B.C. This culture eventually occupied Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala. It is believed to have been the basis of the Maya (1,000 B.C.- 1521 A.D.), Teotihuacan (1650 A.D.), Totonac, Zapotec (500 B.C.-1000 A.D.) and later the Toltec (950-1150), Mixtec (metalworkers) (900-1521), Huastec (1200-1521) and Aztec (1200-1521). They engaged in pyramid building, moved carved heads over long distances some as heavy as 20 tons. They had glyph writing; a calendar, concave mirrors, pottery and they used slash and burn agriculture and organized into city-states. They had the technology to move 20-ton blocks of stone over long distances. They traded throughout Mexico as far away as El Salvador. Some believe the Olmecs migrated south to become the Mayas. The Aztec referred to these people as the Rubber People for the rubber balls found among their ruins that they used in their games.
1,150 B.C.
The early Olmec nation (1150-1000 B.C.) in middle America at sites like Canton Corralito contain thousands of samples of figurines, jade axes, pottery, iron-ore mirrors and worked stone.
1,100 B.C.
Excavations in southwest and central America uncovered jade, stone and pottery artifacts attributed to the Olmec People (1,200 to 300 B.C.) but the artifacts contained writings traced to the Shang Dynasty (1,600 to 1,100 B.C.). Writing was not noted among the Olemcs until about 600 B.C.
1,001 B.C.
Some believe that about this time or earlier the Peoples culture went through a transition period with the spread of agriculture northward, some settled village life, houses, domestication of animals, pottery, weaving, the bow and arrow, and ceremonies and beliefs. This is a fairly simplistic and generalized opinion but helps put things in perspective. Invention or major cultural change is usually driven by need rather than timing. As an example the bow and arrow is believed to have originated in Canada then worked its way south. Its possible the first bow and arrow is associated with the 'Prairie archaic', a type of arrow head, used 3,000 B.C. to 500 B.C. When the transition from atlatl or throwing stick to bow is not known. The bow and arrow is in North Dakota 100 A.D., along the Missouri 400 A.D., Iowa 500 A.D., and along the Mississippi 1,000 A.D. Others suggest the atlati or throwing stick was developed in the south and found its way north.
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