Introduction
The history of the development of Native American culture is estimated to be more than 12,000 years old. The main Native American cultural areas are the subarctic, arctic, Southeast, Northeast, Plateau, the Plains, and the Northwest Coast of North America (Table 55). The major Native American cultures are Adena, Coles Creek, Hokokam, Puebloan, and Iroquois among others (Wolfe 18). The essay describes the Native American culture from different perspectives.
History of the Development of Native American Culture
The Adena culture existed between 1000 BCE and 200 BCE. This culture consisted of related Native American communities that used primitive ceremonial systems (Coward 35). The Cole Creek culture was an indigenous development within the Mississippi valley and existed during the era of the Adena civilization. The Cole Creek era was characterized by the increased usage of flat-topped mounds, complex political institutions, and primitive agricultural activities (Talbot 28). The Hohokam culture was concentrated in the region of the American Southwest and consisted of a cluster of small villages spread across the Gila River banks (Kuprecht 41). Members of the Hohokam culture were active farmers who successfully raised squash, corn, and beans. The community developed the practice of dry farming. The Hohokam culture used primitive technologies such as pottery, architectural designs, and ceramic molding (Wolfe 11). The group also introduced the walled compound. Unlike their predecessors, members of the Hohokam culture traded in exotics and shells.
The Puebloan culture covered Southern Utah, Southwest Colorado, Northwestern New Mexico, and Northern Arizona. This culture developed from the Picosa era. Members of this civilization had small pit houses, cliff-sited dwellings, and grand pueblos (Schmidtke 15). The Puebloan had a complex community network that linked several clusters of small families. At present, the Taos Pueblo, Mesa Verde, and Chaco cultural parks are associated with the Puebloan era. On the other hand, the Mississippian culture expanded into North America (Table 48). The ruins of the town that existed during this period indicate that it was complex and constructed using sophisticated tools. The Mississippian cultural era was characterized by a well-organized political system consisting of Cahokia (tribal chiefdom) and an active trade network (Kuprecht 33). The use of complex tools to construct 10-story mounds is a suggestion of technological revolution accompanied by iconography and artifacts. This culture became powerful due to wide acceptance of maize agriculture, political organization, and expanded population density.
The Iroquois culture existed within the present-day New York state. The cultural era was characterized by a confederacy political philosophy that is associated with the development of modern governance methods in the US. The era had a federal political unit controlled by 50 sachem chiefs representing each cluster (Coward 27). Among the notable clans in this culture were the Cayuga, Oneida, Onondagas, and Seneca (Table 56). The political representation for each clan was based on its numerical strength. Upon the death of a clan chief, the most senior female member of that cluster was expected to endorse a new leader in liaison with other females in the community. Most of the decisions made during this era were through voting as democracy principles were grounded in the culture (Albers and Mazur 39).
Conclusion
The development of different progressive Native American cultures was propelled by innovation in leadership, tools, agriculture, and house construction. The Native American cultures have grown from primitive to complex and federal systems of human interaction.
Works Cited
Albers Michael J., and Mary B. Mazur, editors. Content and Complexity: Information Design in Technical Communication. Routledge, 2014.
Coward, John. Indians Illustrated: The Image of Native Americans in the Pictorial Press. University of Illinois Press, 2016.
Kuprecht, Karolina. Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural Property Claims: Repatriation and Beyond. Springer Science & Business Media, 2013.
Schmidtke, Carsten, editor. American Indian Workforce Education: Trends and Issues. Routledge, 2016.
Talbot, Steve. Native Nations of North America: An Indigenous Perspective. Pearson, 2014.
Wolfe, Patrick. The Settler Complex: Recuperating Binarism in Colonial Studies. UCLA American Indian Studies Center, 2016.