Indian Culures In America

Cultures in America

When the Europeans were starting to explore the new world of America they encountered many different indigenous cultures that had already been inhabitating the land for many, many years. These cultures consisted mostly of what Europeans called Native Americans. When Columbus landed in what he thought was Asia in 1492 he gave the people who where already living there the name of Indians because he thought he was near the Indies.

As the Europeans explored the new territory they found that the Native Americans had numerous cultural differences then their own. The most obvious was that of religion. Europeans considered the Native Americans to be uncivilized and barbaric. The Aztec culture made sacrifices of there own kind to the sun god for good harvest the next year. The Europeans could not believe this and tried to show the Native Americans the way of Christianity. Most of the men in the tribes where anxious to convert to Christianity because they where eager to trade with the Europeans, not because they where interested in the religion.

Another big culture difference in the New American people was the language barrier between the two. None of the Native Americans knew English; they had never even heard such sounds. The Mayan culture had a written language which consisted of hieroglyphic writing to record royal lineages and events, such as wars. The language barrier became a huge complication because they could not communicate with each other, and it became very frustrating. The Native Americans thought the Europeans where insulting them by not trying to learn the native language. This was the beginning of many wars yet to come.

Early Native Americans converted from nomadic hunting and started large cities or villages. The Anasazi culture developed well built villages in the step cliffs of Chaco Canyon that could house over one thousand people. The villages had over four