Main article: Pre-Columbian
The earliest known inhabitants of what is now the United States are thought to have arrived in Alaska by crossing the Bering land bridge, at least 14,000 30,000 years ago.[10] Some of these groups migrated south and east, and over time spread throughout the Americas. These were the ancestors to modern Native Americans in the United States and Alaskan Native peoples, as well as all indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Many indigenous peoples were semi-nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers; others were sedentary and agricultural civilizations. Many formed new tribes or confederations in response to European colonization. Well-known groups included the Huron, Apache Tribe, Cherokee, Sioux, Delaware, Algonquin, Choctaw, Mohegan, Iroquois (which included the Mohawk nation, Oneida tribe, Seneca nation, Cayuga nation, Onondaga and later the Tuscarora tribe) and Inuit. Though not as technologically advanced as the Mesoamerican civilizations further south, there were extensive pre-Columbian sedentary societies in what is now the US. The Iroquois had a politically advanced and unique social structure that was at the very least inspirational if not directly influential to the later development of the democratic United States government, a departure from the strong monarchies from which the Europeans came.[citation needed]
[edit] North America's Moundbuilder Culture A Mississippian priest, with a ceremonial flint mace. Artist Herb Roe, based on a repousse copper plate.Mound Builder is a general term referring to the American Indians who constructed various styles of earthen mounds for burial, residential and ceremonial purposes. These included Archaic, Woodland period (Adena and Hopewell cultures), and Mississippian period Pre-Columbian cultures dating from roughly 3000 BC to the 16th century AD, and living in the Great Lakes region, the Ohio River region, and the Mississippi River region.
Mound builder
References: ^ http://www.cyberwest.com/cw09/v9scwst1.html ^ http://www.nps.gov/bela/html/history.htm ^ Wilford, John Noble (2008-04-04). "Evidence Supports Earlier Date for People in North America". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/science/04fossil.html. ^ Jon Muller, Department of Anthropology (1996). "Cyrus Thomas, 19th Century Synthesis and Antithesis" (HTML). Southern Illinois University. http://www.siu.edu/~anthro/muller/Thomas/Thomas.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-07. ^ "Christopher Columbus".