Hunting In America
It's evolution led to our evolution.
Thesis
Essential Questions
How did the evolution of hunting aid the evolution of humans?
How has hunting shaped our society today?
Is hunting still relevant today? (Duh)
Pre History
Early America
COLONIALS
The Colonial Americans relied on hunting for survival while gaining a foothold on the North American continent.
NATIVE AMERICANS
Natives would hunt bison on the plains for food, shelter, clothes, and tools. Their whole society relied on hunting buffalo.
NATIVE AMERICANS
Before bows and horses, Natives would run herds of bison off cliffs and live beneath the cliff for months living off the bison. (c)
Modern America
Urbanization
Hunting in the North American continent began long before any European set foot on the continent. Native Americans had flourished in this land since nearly 10,000 years ago.Before there were firearms available to the Native Americans, or even bows and spears, they would gather massive amounts of bison on the edge of a cliff and run them off the edge. When the Europeans began to settle north america in the early 1700s, hunting was a crucial aspect in their lives. The soil was different from anything they had ever encountered in Europe and the crops were relatively ineffective. The colonials had to hunt to survive as they gained a foothold on the eastern seaboard of North America. To them, hunting was a form of pure, raw survival with no limits as to what they could hunt or how many (2). In colonial America, if the settlers didn’t hunt or fish, they didn’t eat and they didn’t survive. As the United States began to expand farther and farther west, hunting became more and more important because the groups of people headed west had no time for growing crops and could only carry so many supplies in a Conestoga wagon. Hunting remained a crucial bearing in the lives of Americans until the turn of the 20th century when industrialization and urbanization occurred. (f,h)
Modern Methods
Video
POACHING
(c) (f)
Pittman-Robertson Act
(g) (i)
Why Hunting Still Matters
21st Century Life
Many people in today’s society have forgotten about the importance of hunting and how hunting and the culture of the hunter has helped shaped our society today. Hunting is the natural order of human beings. We evolved about 100,000 years ago and up until approximately 5,000 years ago we were all hunter gatherers. In turn, genetically, hunting is what we are programmed to do (3). Hunting is also better for the emotional health of humans today. Our brains aren't yet equipped for a 21st century lifestyle. Hunting is very important for kids and young adults. Many civilizations used hunting as a right of passage for young children to go through. In modern times, children who hunt and hunt with their parents have healthier relationships with their parents and tend to have healthier bodies and earn better grades (5). (j)