American Indian

Table of Contents

Introduction
Northern America
- Early cultural development
- Archaic peoples
- Prehistoric agricultural peoples
- Colonization and conquest
Middle America
- Early cultural development
- Prehistoric civilizations
- Colonization and conquest
South America
- Early cultural development
- Prehistoric civilizations
- Colonization and conquest

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

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For Students

Native American dance

American Indian summary

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American Indian: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	aboriginal American • Indian • Native American • Amerindian • Amerind • Indigenous American

Photos and Videos

Native American dance

proboscidean size comparison

Desert Archaic culture split-twig figurines

Indian boarding school

airboat tours at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation

Olmec colossal head (8 feet [2.4 metres] high), basalt, c. 1st century bc; in Parque La Venta, Tabasco, Mex.

Mayan ruins at Tikal, with Temple of the Giant Jaguar (right), c. ad 300–900, in central Peten, Guat.

Learn about the efforts of the National Museum of the American Indian to preserve Native American culture, traditions, and beliefs

Study the kivas and cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans in the southwest of the United States

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Discover how European American settlers drove Native Americans and bison from the Midwest and transformed the land

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Topics

South American Indian Middle American Indian Carib Arawak pre-Columbian civilizations Native American art Native American religions Indigenous Peoples’ Day powwow Ancestral Pueblo culture Islamic world ancient Rome history of Europe ancient Greek civilization Czechoslovak history Aegean civilizations Indus civilization Stone Age history of Mesopotamia history of Latin America

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Quiz

Tecumseh. Battle of the Thames, Ontario, Canada, and the death of Tecumseh. Col. Richard M. Johnson with the Kentucky volunteers on left battle with Tecumseh and his Native troops. Native American Shawnee chief. North American indian. (See Notes)

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