| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| | '''American Indians''' are the descendants of the inhabitants of [[North America|North]] and [[South America]] before the coming of [[Europe]]ans in 1492. | | '''American Indians''' are the descendants of the inhabitants of [[North America|North]] and [[South America]] before the coming of [[Europe]]ans in 1492. |
| − |
| |
| − | They are believed to have descended from [[Asia|Asians]] who crossed the [[Bering Strait|Bering Straitland bridge]] during the last [[Ice Age]]. According to archaeologists, this took place as early as 20,000 years ago.<ref name="who">TIME - Who Were The First Americans?, By MICHAEL D. LEMONICK, ANDREA DORFMAN, Sunday, Mar. 05, 2006 [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1169905,00.html]</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Those who are only partly descended from those early inhabitants are still considered American Indians if they maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. However, each Indian tribe or band has its own definitions regarding membership, some based on historical tradition, others based on rules (like blood quanta) imposed by the US Government.
| |
| | | | |
| | A few American Indians prefer to be called [[Native American]]s in order to distinguish themselves from the people of [[India]], and to emphasize their North America ancestry. | | A few American Indians prefer to be called [[Native American]]s in order to distinguish themselves from the people of [[India]], and to emphasize their North America ancestry. |
| Line 15: |
Line 11: |
| | == Origins == | | == Origins == |
| | | | |
| − | The much-taught theory that American Indians are descendants of migrants from Asia is almost certainly false. Their blood types and other characteristics are very different. | + | The widely taught theory that American Indians are descendants of migrants from [[Asia]], who crossed the [[Bering Strait|Bering Straitland bridge]] during an [[Ice Age]], is almost certainly false. [[Liberal]] archaeologists long insisted that this took place as early as 20,000 years ago.<ref name="who">TIME - Who Were The First Americans?, By MICHAEL D. LEMONICK, ANDREA DORFMAN, Sunday, Mar. 05, 2006 [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1169905,00.html]</ref> But the facts are that American Indians have very different characteristics from Asians, ranging from blood types to DNA, making claims of such ancestry virtually absurd. |
| | + | |
| | + | People today who are only partly descended from those early American Indians are still considered to be American Indians if they maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. However, each Indian tribe or band has its own definitions regarding membership, some based on historical tradition, others based on rules (like blood quanta) imposed by the US Government. |
| | | | |
| | In 1996 there was a discovery of fragments of a skeleton called the [[Kennewick Man]]. But serious doubts about the authenticity of these remains have resulted in litigation and criticism. Some claimed that [[radiocarbon dating]] supported an age of more than 9000 years.<ref>http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/kennewickman.html</ref> The morphology of the Kennewick Man remains is said to differ from that of present day Native Americans, suggesting a different ancestry<ref>http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/kennewick.html</ref> but there remains significant controversy about that.<ref name="who" /> | | In 1996 there was a discovery of fragments of a skeleton called the [[Kennewick Man]]. But serious doubts about the authenticity of these remains have resulted in litigation and criticism. Some claimed that [[radiocarbon dating]] supported an age of more than 9000 years.<ref>http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/kennewickman.html</ref> The morphology of the Kennewick Man remains is said to differ from that of present day Native Americans, suggesting a different ancestry<ref>http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/kennewick.html</ref> but there remains significant controversy about that.<ref name="who" /> |