A Mississippian site in 1539, depicted in this painting by Herb Roe
Ethnographers estimate that the
America's were peopled by 60-100 million inhabitants on the eve of
Christopher Columbus' arrival in 1492. The first
European explorers encountered Indian cultures that were thriving
and highly sophisticated.
In
pre-Columbian times, the native population of the area encompassed
the United States is estimated to have been 10-15 million. By 1900,
the native population of the United States had fallen to
237,196.
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