Native American DNA
Native Americans were the first people to live on the continental United States. In order to trace their roots and origins, there's a need to go back to the origins of the human race. According to Charles Darwin, humans evolved to their current form in Africa, Asia, and Europe. This implied that Native Americans migrated to the Americas, but it's hard to determine the exact locations of their origins .
The oldest-documented Native American tribe is the Sandia, dating back to 15000 BC. Most scientists believe they might have migrated from Eurasia by crossing a land bridge that used to exist between Asia and North America. Once they migrated, they were fairly isolated. It explained why many Native Americans succumbed to diseases brought by early European settlers.
The first people to have colonized the Americas were known as Paleo-Indians, and they lived in what was known as the Paleo-Indian period. Originally, they lived in groups of 25 to 75 people and were very nomadic, traveling all around the continent. They would pack up their entire village and move with their food sources, always on the brink of total starvation. The period after this one was known as the Archaic Period. The Paleo-Indians spread out all across the Americas, going North and South, eventually giving birth to the Mayan and Incan people. Due to the difference in climates and resources in different regions, the tribes began to form and develop their own customs and survival strategies.
After the Archaic period, the Formative period began sometime between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago. It was a time when things started to pick up and true Native American tribes started to form. As the Native Americans actually settled in one place and became familiar with the land around them, smaller settlements grew larger, and they figured out how to use their resources more effectively. These settlements formed their own cultures and languages, giving birth to hundreds of Native American tribes in different regions.
From their early roots, Native Americans explored and colonized the Americas. Upon settling down, they developed a fascinating array of cultures that are still very much alive today.
