'The ancient New York City of Canada': Archaeologists unearth 'cosmopolitan' 1500s settlement ......

[Judi Lynn]

'The ancient New York City of Canada': Archaeologists unearth 'cosmopolitan' 1500s settlement near Lake Ontario which was the size of Manhattan

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED:11:06 EST, 13 July 2012 | UPDATED:16:05 EST, 13 July 2012



Scientists have unearthed evidence of a 500-year-old settlement near Lake Ontario so cosmopolitan it has been branded the 'ancient New York City of Canada'.

The recently-discovered 'Mantle site' is thought to have had almost 2,000 inhabitants in a 'cosmopolitan' area in 1500 A.D. which was the size of Manhattan.

Archaeologists say pottery and art found at the site shows how inhabitants had 'unprecedented' trade with the Iroquois - the nations and tribes of indigenous North America.

But amazingly, the same groups also acquired European goods a full century before the first European explorers arrived in that region.

More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2172652/Archaeologists-unearth-cosmopolitan-1500s-settlement-near-Lake-Ontario-size-Manhattan.html#ixzz20co0QCzC

[xchrom]

1. the north eastern nations were amazing.

we hear less about them -- but the sophistication is pretty remarkable.

[Vincardog]

2. Did they show any Chinese goods?

[knitter4democracy]

3. The Portuguese and Vikings had been trading here for hundreds of years.

The idea that there was no contact between Europe and North American is laughable given the evidence.

[harmonicon]

7. Did vikings trade with native Americans?

I know that they came to North America, but that's about it.

Mark Kurlansky suggests (not that he was the first) that Basque fisherman had been in North America for at least decades, if not longer, by the 16th century. Apparently, Basques were seen sailing west of Iceland and would return to Europe with loads of cod, and there was a native/Basque patois being spoken on the Atlantic coast when Hudson and his ilk came to the area.

I think the entire idea of "discovery" goes along with the concept of the nation-state. It must seem less formal or something to just say things like, "people have been going places and interacting with other people forever" than to say, "Spain financed a mission which discovered the Americas."

[knitter4democracy]

9. They had settlements, and there's evidence of trade.

Items found far away that probably came from the Viking settlements, etc.

That's an interesting thought: that it's about the theory of nations and nation-states in history rather than a more sociological point of view. I'm going to have to think about that for a bit.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Just amazing

[malthaussen]

5. Wonder if they were wiped out in the Iroquois War Against Everybody

Interesting site. Real fluff article.

-- Mal

[pscot]

6. European disease devastated the native populations

along the Eastern seaboard very early on. At least thats the thesis that Charles C. Mann sets out in 1491. It's a fascinating book about pre-Columbian America.

[dipsydoodle]

8. Sad but likely true I guess.

[mikekohr]

10. "These plagues rank as perhaps the most seminal events in the recorded history of mankind"

-clip-
The European plagues that decimated Native populations came in wave after wave, with some plagues individually, and others collectively having mortality rates of up to 95%. These diseases were for the most part introduced incidentally, though at times with purposeful deliberation, but nearly always noted with celebration or observed with dispassion and distance.
The stunning death rates of Native Americans to European pathogens was due in part to lack of exposure, but also due to genetic traits that limited Native Peoples ability to deal with these unseen killers. Native People are free of many genetic diseases but have a relatively narrow genetic range. Four mitochondrial haplogroups, named A, B, C, and D, 76).account for 96.9% of all Native Americans. More than 90% of Native People of North American and nearly 100% of Native South Americans have type O blood. Europeans are relatively evenly split between types A and O. More importantly American Indians have only about 17 Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA's) classes as opposed to Europeans having on average about 35 HLA classes. HLA's are one of the human body's two main lines of defense against sickness. In addition Native Americans HLA profiles are dominated by a small number of types. There is evidence that the other line of defense in humans against disease, Helper T cells, are in the case of Native Americans oriented predominately against parasites but not as focused on bacteria and virus' as are the immune systems of Europeans.
No where in recorded human history has such a catastrophic depopulation of people as befell the Native People of the Western Hemisphere ever been recorded. These plagues rank as perhaps the most seminal events in the recorded history of mankind. 75). -end of clip-

http://www.brotherhooddays.com/interestingfacts.html