Early People
Who lived in North America before the arrival of Christopher Columbus?
Goal:
Goal:
North America is the northern continent in the western hemisphere. The three largest countries that make up North America are Canada to the north, Mexico to the south, and the United States in the middle.
Europeans explored North America in the 15th century.
However, the Europeans weren’t the first people to settle the land. There were many civilizations already living in North America when they arrived. These Native Americans lived during what is known as the pre-Columbian era, which was before Christopher Columbus and the European explorers came to America in 1492.
Learn about these early civilizations in the tabs below.
Paleo-Indians
Native Americans
Mesoamerican Civilizations
Paleo-Indians are considered to be the first people to inhabit the Americas. They lived here over 13,000 years ago.
Native American groups, like the Inuit, Iroquois, Cherokee, Seminole, and Navajo, are just a few of the many native tribes that settled in different regions throughout North America.
Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Aztec and Mayan cultures, lived in central Mexico over 3,000 years before Columbus came to America.
In this lesson, you will learn more about where these civilizations lived, how they lived, and what happened to them.
