As we know, the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492 implied a big change in the American Continent. But, during thousands of years preceding European contact, the Native American people developed inventive and creative cultures in the North and the South. These Native American persons are commonly called “American Indians” due to the fact that the word "Indian" was an invention of Christopher Columbus, who erroneously thought that he had arrived in the East Indies. In this essay, we are going to talk about the characteristics of the Indian people before the arrival of Europeans.
To start with, it is important to say that before the arrival of Columbus, the Indian population was large between 50 million to 100 million, the hemisphere contained cities, roads, irrigation systems, extensive trade network, and large structures; also, there were different kinds of societies, religious beliefs, customs, gender relations, and they also spoke approximately 2000 different …show more content…
Traditionally, Indian gender roles were well defined, and men’s and women’s responsibilities were equally crucial to the functioning, even the survival, of their societies. Women did not just tend a small kitchen garden, they farmed-planting, hoeing, and harvesting the village crops of corn, squash, and beans. On the Plains, Indian women also collected firewood, took care of children, cooked, fetched water, and made clothing; it seemed like an enormous workload compared to the hunting that men did (plus clearing fields for planting, completing religious and spiritual ceremonies, and others). This is the reason why Europeans frequently criticized Indian men as lazy. Unlike Europeans, Indian women often owned whatever possessions the family had, they also had the right to demand a divorce. Most of the Indian societies were
To start with, it is important to say that before the arrival of Columbus, the Indian population was large between 50 million to 100 million, the hemisphere contained cities, roads, irrigation systems, extensive trade network, and large structures; also, there were different kinds of societies, religious beliefs, customs, gender relations, and they also spoke approximately 2000 different …show more content…
Traditionally, Indian gender roles were well defined, and men’s and women’s responsibilities were equally crucial to the functioning, even the survival, of their societies. Women did not just tend a small kitchen garden, they farmed-planting, hoeing, and harvesting the village crops of corn, squash, and beans. On the Plains, Indian women also collected firewood, took care of children, cooked, fetched water, and made clothing; it seemed like an enormous workload compared to the hunting that men did (plus clearing fields for planting, completing religious and spiritual ceremonies, and others). This is the reason why Europeans frequently criticized Indian men as lazy. Unlike Europeans, Indian women often owned whatever possessions the family had, they also had the right to demand a divorce. Most of the Indian societies were