Response To America Before Columbus

“America Before Columbus” Written Response
By: Elaina Farris I myself, like many others, have never heard of the Cahokia Mounds, or the civilization that created them. After reading about the people and their way of life I was quite amazed. How interesting to think that the Cahokia leader, the Great Sun, would howl at the sun every morning on top of a 15-acre ceremonial mound. I was most surprised that such a civilized and developed group of group could be completely wiped out. As I read further they discussed the coming of Columbus to the American continent and the views of the Europeans about America. Some of their views include the belief that America, “had never been settled, much less civilized” and it was “inhabited only by wandering tribes who had np thought of profiting by the natural riches of the soil”. Not long after, these views would be proven as misconceptions. In reality the New World was filled with people, several million more than Europe. “More than 1,000 tribes still inhabited the northern forests, prairies, and mesa when whites arrived”. The Native Americans, even though seen as savages by the whites, were very civilized in aspects

Many voyages to American to retrieve goods, caused the trade of goods, animals, plants, and ideas. This movement is known as the Columbian Exchange. Although goods, animals, and such are harmless the most important thing that was brought to America was “Old World” diseases. Just like the redwood forest, that once stretched from the Rockies to the Pacific, and the once numerous bison, the Native Americans almost disappeared. When new diseases were introduced to the Natives, their bodies weren’t able to fight them off. Tribes such as California’s Chumash shrank from 70,000 to 15,000 and over time the tribe ceased to exist. Just as the people, their culture and heritage, if not protected, can have a similar fate, almost cease to