The Biggest Mystery in Pre-European North America (Episode 1 of "They Had Names")

5 days ago
103

Scattered across the North American continent is a mystery that no one has been able to solve.

When I say "Native American," what comes to mind? Indians on horseback chasing down buffalo? Birch bark canoes? Wigwams? Garden plots with corns, beans, and squash? Do call to mind the Pueblos of the American Southwest, and the peoples who roamed the area at Contact—Hopi, Navajo, Apache?
These images come to mind because these are the images that European settlers gave us from their initial encounters with Native Americans, or from interactions thereafter. The images are telling, more so for what they don’t say than for what they do. Missing from these images are depictions of scenes known only from archaeology.

Loading 5 comments...