|
|
Article: Pre-Columbian North America was no eden. (human impact on land used by indigenous peoples before Christopher Columbus came to America)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- August 1, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
The popular image of pre-Columbian North America is of a pristine paradise. However, when Europeans first arrived in North America, they found anything but a primeval landscape. Instead, they encountered a land significantly altered by humans through the use of fire, sophisticated agricultural techniques, mining, and road and mound building, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison geographer William Gartner.
From fire-maintained prairies and altered forests to earthworks and settlements, the American landscape by the time of European contact already had endured thousands of years of modification by large Native American populations. The pristine view, ...