Arctic ice, boreal forest, vast plains, and great lakes—lifeways shaped by season and distance.
Mesoamerica
Includes the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Mexica/Aztec.
The Andes
Includes the Chavín, Moche, Nazca, Wari, Tiwanaku, and Inca.
South America
Includes the Chimor, Mochehe and Inca civilization in the Andes.
The Caribbean
Includes the Taíno, Carib, and the Arawak from the Eastern and Western Caribbean Islands
Northern North America
Indigenous tribes in regions north of the Rio Grande include: the Coahuiltecan, the Lipan Apache and Comanche, the Hopewell Culture and Mississippi Culture, and the Iroquois Confederacy: Comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later the Tuscarora nations.
Amazonia
Includes the Yanomamo, Kayapo, Marajoara, and the Tapajó.
Southern North America
Indigenous tribes in regions south of the Rio Grande include: The Coahuiltecan, Lipan Apache, Tonkawa, Karankawa, and the Jumano.
Quick Facts
- Major cultures: Inuit/Yupik, Athabaskan groups, Plains and Eastern Woodlands traditions (incl. Adena–Hopewell antecedents)
- Timeframes: deep prehistory – contact
- Notable customs & beverages: seasonal feasts, herbal infusions, maple sap; hidework and bone/ivory carving
- Languages/scripts: Algonquian, Athabaskan, Inuit-Yupik-Unangan, others; oral traditions
Timeline of the Ancestors
- 2000 BCE–present — Arctic traditions — Marine hunting technologies; snowhouses, kayaks, parkas.
- 1000 BCE–500 CE — Adena–Hopewell horizons — Mound building and long-distance exchange in woodlands.
- 1000–1500 CE — Plains bison economies — Communal hunts and trade networks.
Peoples & Cultures
- Inuit/Yupik — Sea-mammal hunting, sophisticated cold-weather tech.
- Woodlands groups — Mounds, copper use, shell ornaments.
- Plains nations — Mobile lifeways; later horse integration.
Sites & Landscapes
- Great Lakes — Copper-working sites.
- Ohio Valley — Mound complexes.
- Arctic coasts — Winter villages and hunting camps.
Customs & Beverages
- Rituals: seasonal gatherings; ancestor remembrance.
- Daily life: foraging, fishing, hunting; birch/canoe craft.
- Beverages: herbal teas; maple sap; regional ferments.
Artifacts & Iconography
- Ivory/bone carvings, copper tools, mound artifacts.
Language & Scripts
- Languages: multiple families across the north; oral transmission.
- Writing: none attested pre-contact.
Further Reading & Sources
- Add 3–6 reputable sources or museum pages here.
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