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A Continent of Villages, to 1500 
  
Web Links on Early Americans 

The Web is full of information about Early American History. Below are some interesting sites related to pre-colonial civilizations. As you link to the sites, compare and contrast the information on the site with what you have learned in class, from the textbook and from other sources you have read.

  • Smithsonian Institution Research Information System

    • A serious research tool for finding books and documents in the Smithsonian Institution collections. Type "s=Indians of North America" for Native American resources.
     
  • Human Evolution

    • An experimental software package demonstrating how humans evolved. Requires Netscape browser version 2.0 or higher, and Macromedia Shockwave plug-in.
     
  • The West: Time Line, to 1500

    • Part of the site to the PBS series "The West" first shown Sept. 1996.
     
  • THE WEST ÷ Episode One "The People (to 1806)"

    • Brief summary of episode one of the PBS series, including pictures, text, and quotations.
     
  • Native vs. White American Values

    • Text only, but brief and to-the-point. Opinionated, but thoughtful.
     
  • Mesoamerican Culture

    • Two dozen photos of pre-Columbian Mexican ruins. Text in Spanish.
     
  • Mayan Culture: Past & Present

    • Comprehensive coverage of an ancient Mesoamerican culture, mostly text but well-rounded.
     
  • Oneida Indian Nation Exhibits (Northeast)

    • Wampum, bead work, and other artistic forms on exhibit at the Oneida Nation's Cultural Center in New York State. The Oneida are one of the five great tribes that formed the famous Iroquois Confederacy
     
  • Native American Indians (Southeast) ÷ Pow-Wow information

    • Includes pictures from a Cherokee Pow-Wow, etiquette, and other information.
     
  • The Hopewell Culture (Mississippian)

    • Brief but informative text about this mound-building culture, with a photo of a mound and a useful short bibliography.
     
  • North Georgia Indians ÷ Moundbuilders (Mississippian)

    • The ancestors of the Creek tribe were mound-builders in what is now northern Georgia. A brief but interesting description of mound-building culture that persisted until the arrival of Europeans.
     
  • Cahokia

    • The largest mound-builder city-state in what became the U.S. and Canada.
     
  • Story Robes: Pictograph Robes of the Plains First Nations

    • Among Plains tribes, drawings on hides were made by the tribe's historian to serve as textbooks. They recorded stories of battles, horse raids, and other notable events. This site provides photographs of these "robes."
     
  • Traditional Native Maple Sugar: Great Lakes Ojibwe/Chippewa Tribe

    • Illustrated history, myth, and methods of sugar production, and how essential natural maple sugar was to the Ojibwe diet.
     
  • Lakota Star Knowledge 2, Constellations, Names, Maps

    • Lakota / Sioux tribe stargazing folklore. This links to a larger site dealing with Native astronomy.
     
  • Anasazi and Native Cultures in the Southwest

    • Large site with plenty of text information and some very nice photos of Anasazi ruins, but be prepared to wait awhile to get them!
     
  • Anasazi Cliff Palace Tour

    • Part of the Mesa Verde National Park official website. Take the tour by clicking on every colored link you see on each page (except for the CD-ROM advertisement!).
     
  • Anasazi "Great Kiva" 3-D Model

    • Take a virtual tour through a reconstructed Kiva, the central religious and social building in an Anasazi pueblo town. Works best with QuickTime and QT-VR browser plug-ins, but a still-photo version can be viewed without them.