Good morning, we are going to continue our exploration into 1491 and the First Nations before the arrival of Columbus. I am slowly accepting that I am going to be doing this series out of order. This time we are going to explore how the First Nations mastered their environment. The run time for this episode is 47:15.
The First Nations would have created significant changes to their environment when they settled in the Americas. The majority of the First Nations lived in cities and towns. They used a variety of tools to shape their environment. They built canals, used fire, and built terraces to help support their growing population. They did their construction projects carefully with respect for their environment. The first region discussed in this episode is the Amazonia Region. It holds 10% of the world’s birds, animals, and insects. It also had a native population that numbered in the millions. What you see today would have been a vastly different landscape. Two percent of the land lies within the Amazon flood plain and the soil is fertile. The majority of the soil is too acidic for extensive agricultural use. The first nations found a way around this and created their own soil. It was created out of pottery shards, plant waste, fish bones, and charcoal. Agricultural knowledge generation after generation. This soil has been found throughout the Amazonia region. Developing this soil was crucial for the survival of the first nations. This soil was rich and could be cultivated for many years to come. Villages were situated in rings and on the outside of the ring was where the plant wastes could be tossed. They cultivated and tamed the plants around them. The discovery of this soil creation was an accident and would have been developed over generations. The Ancient Amazonia had engineered soil that could help their people. Water Travel was important to the First Nations of North America. People knew how to travel and would rely on the water to get to places. The rivers of North America were a dependable highway for the First Nations. The canoe was the preferred method of transportation for the First Nations. The First Nations were excellent canoe makers and knew what to use to make canoes. There were different canoes for different purposes. There were canoes for travel, fishing, gathering food, and for making war. Inland travel required a different boat: these canoes were smaller and lighter to accommodate lake and river travel. They were tough enough to travel over the rivers and light enough to carry on their backs. The next culture discussed is the Mound builders. The mound builders lived on the Mississippi River and their largest city was called Cahokia. It took a lot of people to build the mounds. The mounds were places for the bones of the dead and had a ceremonial place. The mounds were gathering places for people to make their offerings and bury their leaders. There were indications that the people had realized that their area could no longer support a large number of people so they went their separate ways. It is here that the documentary explores mound builders and their places across cultures throughout history. Then the documentary focuses on the Andes and the terraces that were built for agriculture. The Andes Mountains would have been the least likely place for farming, however, the First Nations made it happen. The Inka would build terraces to farm. Terraces became larger and more structured. They were built from stone, sand, and soil. These terraces were designed to keep nutrients in the soil, and gravity-driven water, provide drainage, and keep the crops warm in the ground. In some places, the terrace system is still in use. So how else did the First Nations manipulate their environment to support their populations? Tune into the rest of this episode to find out. As I watched this documentary I had the strongest feeling that this could potentially be shown in a geography class. There were different regions discussed and how the First Nations used their environment to support the population. Additionally, I could see the application in an agricultural class for the same reason. This series is getting better and better with each episode, and I hope I am not saying that too early. Particularly after being disappointed in the Nations at War series, fingers crossed that this documentary series continues to get better.
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The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |