Prehistorical Canada

Prehistorical Canada

The arrival of people in the Americas was a relatively late event in the scheme of events and probably occurred about 15,000 to 25,000 years ago. The spread of settlements through North and South America occurred slowly and the development of the various cultures was varied and suited to the environment of the area they inhabited.

As the people traveled, probably following various herds of animals, across the land bridges of the Alaska-Bering straits route, they slowly began to spread out into the inhabitable areas of Northwestern America. As the earth warmed up, the ice masses melted and receded. This opened up vast new areas for these aboriginal people to exploit and migrate into. As they slowly adapted and moved south and east, they developed intuitive, resourceful solutions to the challenges which faced them in each new and different environment. The North was cold and barren, but could provide a living to the hardy. The West Coast was rich and bountiful with salmon teeming in the rivers and streams and rich lush rainforests. The prairies supported huge herds of buffalo and endless stretches of grasslands. The Canadian shield contained hundreds of thousands of lakes and enough game and wildlife to support the hunter. South central Canada and the St Lawrence River valley offered forests, food and good land which could produce plentiful crops for those people who solved the mystery of irrigation. The east coast produced endless schools of fish along the Grand Banks and into the streams and lakes of the area. The land became rich and productive and the people who occupied it became diverse, different and culturally unique.

Source: www.canadahistory.com