The Beginning of American Civilization

By the time of the 1400s, the native Americans were divided into tribes which not only differed in location, but had grown to differ in physical characteristics, as well as culture.  The Southern Indians were darker skinned while the Northern Indians were of lighter skin.  Some were squat and muscular, while others were tall and slender.  There were nomads that followed the herds.  There were those that lived in villages, dwellings of mud or animal hides.  There were warriors and there were peace lovers. 

About this time the Indians themselves began to refer to themselves by names, used to group like Indians into groups called tribes:

* Abnakis, Penobscots, Timucuas -- from Maine to Florida along the seaboard.  Peaceful hunters and fishermen.

* Five Star Nations of Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca -- New York State, Iroquois League.  Northern coastal and interior, expert farmers, housed in apartment type buildings called longhouses.  (later the Five Star Nation became the Six Star Nation with the addition of the Tuscaroras)

* Erie, Miami, Shawnee --  Ohio Valley.  Farmers, traders and hunters.

* Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw -- Southeast.  Villages of 100 with plastered buildings around a village square, Celebrated religious and social holidays. 

Next time...Across the Mississippi
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Today in Pioneer History:  On July 17, 1889, Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of crime-solving attorney Perry Mason, is born on this day in Madlen, Massachusetts.