Interesting article about the myth of pristine wilderness

[WinkOsmosis]

It's a reading assignment for my Parks and Protected Areas (geography) class.

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~alcoze/for398/class/pristinemyth.html

Abstract. The myth persists that in 1492 the Americas were a sparsely populated wilderness, -a world of barely perceptible human disturbance.- There is substantial evidence, however, that the Native American landscape of the early sixteenth century was a humanized landscape almost everywhere. Populations were large. Forest composition had been modified, grasslands had been created, wildlife disrupted, and erosion was severe in places. Earthworks, roads, fields, and settlements were ubiquitous. With Indian depopulation in the wake of Old World disease, the environment recovered in many areas. A good argument can be made that the human presence was less visible in 1750 than it was in 1492.

I'm a little skeptical of the claimed environmental impact of the Native Americans. There were only 3.8 million people in the USA and Canada in 1492. But I haven't really studied this topic.

Very interesting indeed. Maybe I should minor in Archaeology/Anthropology (Geography is my major).

 

[GoingUp]

Thats a prof from my college

The geography dept is in Science Hall, a national landmark

 

[Yossarian451]

True, south american indians exemplified the matter too, the had extensive roads and huge manmade lakes. There were many guess that the very ancient and uninhabuited (in 1942) ruins were because civilizations had grown too large and natural resources had been depleted, so the lost tribes scattered.

 

[EyeMWing]

Makes sense to me.

 

[grrl]

Yeah, the idea that Native Americans were some sort of proto-environmentalists is a modern day myth.

 

[Yossarian451]

The major saving grace for the enviroment with most of the now U.S was the nomadic culture many tribes had. It allowed nature time to heal. Indians used to also start fires in woods to dsrive out deer and other game so they would be easier to hunt.

 

[C'DaleRider]

As an interesting aside, it was well known prior to the settlement by white men that the now-known LA Basin was an area that would harbor smoke from campfires and create "smog." There are accounts from indigenous tribes that campfire smoke, from the LA Basin being heavily populated, grew so heavy and thick sometimes that breathing became difficult....much like today's problems in the same area with exhaust pollution.