Assignment task: Very little is known about the earliest human inhabitants of the South, and what we do know is provided by the scientific research of archaeologist through the material they uncover from the soil. It is estimated that homo sapiens have been living in this region since 11,500 BCE, but that date has been challenged with even more recent discoveries placing the date back several thousand years more. Since that time several large trends of culture have been noted by archaeologists, who have noted these shifts as Paleo-Indian tradition, the Archaic tradition, the Woodland tradition, and the Mississippian tradition.
By the time Europeans arrived most Native American people were living in concentrated population centers, and they were practicing large scale agriculture. While these civilizations varied in degrees of technological sophistication and development, mirroring the Stone and Bronze Age civilizations of the Fertile Crescent, what proves apparent is that Native American civilizations were developing along trajectories similar to those of the rest of humanity in earlier periods. As Europeans came into contact with Native American people, who had not been exposed to diseases such as Smallpox, Malaria, and Yellow Fever, they brought with them diseases and invasive species that had an apocalyptic effect on indigenous populations and civilizations. It is estimated that in 1500 the Native American population of the South was near 2 million people, but by 1607, when the English settled Jamestown, their population was halved by epidemics and warfare.
This week you've read about the first encounters between what are considered the New World and the Old World, and what the South was like before and after these encounters. Based on your readings, answer the following prompts:
A.) What part of this week's readings interested you the most? Briefly explain why.
B.) How did indigenous societies and Anglo-European colonists interact with one another? What do you think most caused them to come into conflict and were such conflicts inevitable?
C.) Ask a question of one of your classmates about the reading or their answer for part B.