The European Impact on Native American Technology

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The European Impact on Native American Technology

When European exploration led to the populating of the Americas, it was described as the event with one of the greatest ecological impacts in history. The force behind this impact was the mass movement of people and their behavior's toward their "New World". It only stands to reason that a clash would occur with the natives of these lands. One of the areas with the greatest conflict was the field of technology.

Scientifically, when the cultures of 15th century Europe and the natives in the Americas are concerned, the two are fairly alike. In Europe,a great deal of work was done in astronomy. Of course this was because it was a necessity for navigation. From the studies of the heavens, the Europeans were also able to have calenders and a reliable way to keep time. Perhaps the best instrument was the astrolabe(a flat model of the night skies). (McGovern ,61). Despite these achievements, tables used for planetary positions were still very inaccurate. At the time of Columbus, the Earth was still the center of the universe and the planets revolved around it. It would be another 40 years before the Copernican system of the sun being the center of the universe was even suggested(McGovern, 66).

The Indians of South and Central America also had calenders and time pieces based on the stars and movements of the planets. The Indians had a much better understanding of the actions of the universe than did the Europeans. This could be considered odd when you think that the Indians did little or no oceanic navigation for any great lenghts, but nature was the foundation of the Indian religion.

In the 1490's in Europe, the human body was still a mystery. Christian religious beliefs...

... middle of paper ...

...eadily when traditional concepts are breaking down. The acceptance of these technologies has other effects on the society.(Rogers,56) Such was the case when the Indians began accepting European technology. The Europeans took it as a sign from God that what they were doing was right. The Indians took a feeling of inferiority as they watched their society crumble. The destruction of native life would have made it difficult for many aboriginal groups to maintain their traditional methods even if they wanted to.(Rogers,49) The American Indian had no powerful incentive to dream up new technologies to assist human survival.(Sale,322)

The postcontact Indian was a far different creature than the pre-contact Indian, and the aberrations of those later societies can be laid to the effects of decimating diseases, and the pressures of war, alcohol, and technology.(Sale,321)

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