I agree. I live in north Florida and so actually, education on indigenous peoples, and the Spanish (and French) colonization was actually decently covered, at least l for an elementary education. That being said, in middle and high school it basically was dropped from the curriculum. So while I was exposed to these concepts and interested in them at a young age, this is the first opportunity I’ve ever had to hear them discussed in an “adult”/academic sense. Thank you, Ancient Americas.

His Hohokam episode hit the same for me as an PHX local!! Such important work

ABQ local, and it surprises me that chaco canyon isn't better well known in the country. Barely anyone in new Mexico itself talks about it, let alone knows it even exists.

Thank you!

There's a reason theyre not taught in school, especially much of their modern history. It makes people uncomfortable.

Forgotten fires by Omer C Stewart is a fantastic starting point

@@NCRonradthanks for this. Added to my list

You and me both. I've had that episode on my list for years. It'll get made someday!

OMG! How did I not know about this book!? Thank you!

@@AncientAmericas it was purposely suppressed by his advisor, and has only found light again in the last 20 years due to M Kat Anderson and other archeologists further removed from the insanity of the 20th and 19th century. It’s a fantastic book! Great introduction short of actually learning from fire knowledge holders and communities themselves

Fear not, it will still be here tomorrow.

@@AncientAmericas yeah but it was worth staying up for

Big bison bros

Bison gang, Ancient Americas gang

Thank you! I hope they enjoy it!

Thank you! I'm very jealous that you got to grow up so close to bison. Must have been pretty cool to have them as a regular sight.

@@AncientAmericas oh hell yeah you bet. I know local historians and local tribal historians that I am related too. Used to hear stories and legends about the ice age and different time periods.

Googling "spirit bison" and from context, the closest thing I can figure is it means they have white fur?

@@pauldickman4379 You wouldn't get it Mate.

@@bizhiwnamadabi3901 Why? Is it hard to explain? I wasnt trying to offend by asking, just curious…

I've been to Custer State Park in the Black Hills and it's a beautiful place to visit. There's bison all over the place!

There are Bidon Ranchers, developing in the plains. CROSS TIMBERS BISON is one ranch Dusty and Melissa Baker are owners and UKposts Creators.

Thanks! That means a lot. Good luck with your studies!

Great career choice! I wish you all the best!

@@guillervz thank you very much

Dude, unless your family is well off-*don’t do it* you’ll be poor. As a man you have to provide for your future family and you won’t be able to unless you strike the lottery or stumble upon a way to make it lucrative. Keep what you enjoy as a hobby and do what you can to make money.

@@hotmess9640 shut the hell up with your *as a man* shit. I’m gonna do what I want to as a career because the career market is short archaeologists in almost every sector. I know the pay isn’t good. I made it through my first year of college staring at wages. The fun part is. My wife is allowed to make more than me

There is a podcast called "Bear Grease" by Clay newcomb. In one of his audio books he says that Bison numbers probably exploded to unnaturally high levels after around 1500 when natives died off from European contact and diseases. This then probably made Bison go more into the east then they had prior.

Thank you!

Thank you! This was a really fun episode to make. If you want to read up in depth on Head-Smashed-In, there's a very good book on it written by archaeologist and bison expert Jack Brink. Highly recommend it.

100% agree.

it probably helped keep peace between tribes like potlatches do

Thank you!

You had much cooler field trips that I did growing up.

Agree, but Bison and Buffalo are the same. Buffalo is just how Europeans called them because of confusion with some french word (I think). Point is, bison = American buffalo

All animals were respected. There was no " most respected".

​@@doktortutankamazon31wrong. No other animal was as integral to the survival of Plains Natives as the bison. The bison is the most important aspect of Plains Natives lives, even as told by the people, themselves. Their folklore and lifestyles literally tell as much. Leave your white man's romanticism of my ancestors out of educated discussion.

@@SkunkApe407 Thank you, someone that gets it.

There are no Buffalo in America. Only Bison.

Thank you!

you probably should stop talking about an impact event until you find proof for it

@@taxirob2248 The Younger Dryas is a real fact of life, but the cause has been hotly debated. Personally I’m not a meteor impact supporter, but until more studies are done we really don’t know.

@@SuperDave-vj9en I did not deny the Younger Dryas, but citing an impact event is speculative. There is not enough evidence for an impactor, not even as a hypothesis.

It was humans, climate change certainly had an impact but megafauna in africa (which would have evolved side by side with humans and therefore adapted to us) did way better than any other continent.

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is the genetic record clear or is there inter-species mixing?

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I'm sure prehistoric peoples were also hunted by a select few extinct animals. He could make several videos of this in seperate time frames that would look totally different

Parrots used to inhabit far more of the North American continent. Both important obviously for ecology but also as part of society and cultural significance. Then the ecological destruction wrought by settler colonials depopulated the birds from Nebraska to New York, making their only habitats down south and coastal.

​@@NCRonrad my moms comanche ( we i mean, itsa taa numunu) and I heard stories of heirloom shields and pendants with man hair and parrot and quetzal feathers and abalone pieces that were almost definitely traded for or gathered on an expedition south. More than likely in a private collection somewhere now, this was before the Indian schools took over so it was probably stolen and traded. my gramma and great uncle were taken from their folks because they didn't speak English and sent to live with a white Christian family that were shitty then they were saved by a Korean missionary family of all people and were raised with love from those people.

That would be a cool video.

@@Fab-n-dabKev sad but also glad they were saved. Sounds like an incredible set of family items too. In the four corners, Zuni, Hopi, Navajo take note and remember the “rain birds” parrots and other birds who always fly ahead of rain clouds. In addition to the macaw feathers (this is the first I hear of the Quetzal feathers this far up! But not surprised other considering the chocolate found hundreds of miles away from the Yucatán)

Thank you!

Thank you!

I really hope I can see it someday!

@@AncientAmericas If you ever head to Alberta I also recommend Old Women’s Buffalo Jump and Dry Island Buffalo Jump. They don’t have museums like Head Smashed-In but they are still worth visiting.

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Thanks Portal!

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I've had that episode on my list for years. It'll get its turn someday.

Thank you!

Thanks! I've had that episode on my list for years. Someday it'll get made.

It’s not dissimilar to what some archaeologists think happened in copper age/Bronze Age Europe and Asia, interestingly enough! The short version as recounted by me( not a historian)is that basically though farming grain/plants and sedentary lifestyles were established first, after horses were domesticated it made herding large herds of animals like cattle much easier, and these new nomad pastoralist people could just move if they ran out of grass or water fort their animals while the farmers were stuck if their crops failed. So they think a lot of the early farmers just might’ve abandoned their villages and become nomad horse/camel/cattle/reindeer herders because it was a lot more return for less work compared to growing cereal crops. Not surprising that natives in the Americas would’ve ditched their old ways once they saw how well being a nomad on horseback was working for others!

@@Replicaatealthough native Americans never had a history of agriculture or crop raising. They naturally began as nomadic and stayed that way until their lifestyle was…. Deleted, to put it kindly.

I mean, why not?

​@@ekothesilent9456they most certainly had agriculture. The east coast native people taught the first pilgrims how to farm the new world crops. Corn was domesticated in central America and moved north all the way up to Canada. Most east coast native people were the equivalent of European neolithic farmers.

⁠@@ekothesilent9456you must be new to this channel if you think native Americans don’t have a history of agriculture. From Cahokia to Tenochtitlan to the Andes, you can find sophisticated agricultural systems lol.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Best comment!

Thank you! I don't see why not. They'll just have to wait their turn.

M Bison Vegus.

OF COURSE!

I actually grew up pretty close to there and never knew about it until I started doing research for this episode. The next time I'm back there, I'm hoping to go see it.

@@AncientAmericas The most reliable place is Kankakee sands off highway 41 by the red buildings, the nature conservancy headquarters. I see them there more often than at the overlook and there's a nice wide shoulder to pull over on. It's right by my favorite campground so I pass it a lot. I always stop to admire them if they're around. Midewin is really much more hit or miss.

Just wait until the next video! More people and more plains!

De nada!

Thank you!

Favorite animal = favorite video.

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Lewis and Clark have stories about that. Many early colonizers make note of the incredible ecology on display as they set the stage for destruction going west

Rivers so full of fish one could almost wall over them

I read several quotes from explorers that gave similar descriptions. It's incredible how many bison there once were on the plains.

Happy to help!

arte huh...

@@jeebusk ?

You're welcome!

Thanks! You are too kind.

That's a very good question and I wish I had a simple answer.

Thank you!

That's really cool. Definitely keep your distance though. I always cringe when I see people in national parks getting close to bison. Those things can wreck your day in the blink of an eye.

Thank you!

I'd love to visit it someday!

Interesting! Ive read lot of things here and there about how indigenous peoples in North America used fire and brush clearing and were pretty rigorous with their management of their hunting and gathering grounds- kinda changes your idea of precolonial America from a wilderness to more like a continent sized game park/timber farm.

We'll get there someday. I've had that topic on my list for years now.