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The continent of North America was home to many Native American societies long before the arrival of the first Europeans. For thousands of years they lived in isolation influenced only by the geographic diversity of their natural environment. They learned to adapt to the characteristics of the region they inhabited obtaining the necessities for survival. By the time the first Europeans arrived they found a diverse population of Native Americans, some with “highly sophisticated and complex civilizations.”1 Native American societies ranged “from small bands of hunter-gatherers and farmers to well-organized states,”2 depending upon their geographic location. Prior to European colonization it is believed that there were several hundred nations and tribes in the area of the lower 48 states, each with their own language and customs. The nations or societies could consist of several different tribes each made up of various clans. Clans normally consisted of family membership or kin groups who believed they descended from a common ancestor that possessed characteristics of a particular animal.3 Kinship was the most important factor in every Indian social group and served to bind societies together. It could consist of the family; aunts, uncles and cousins, or the tribe, village and clan. This led to extensive family connections and complex social obligations within each tribe. Unlike European societies that were patrilineal, meaning they traced their descent through the father’s line, Native American cultures consisted of both patrilineal and matrilineal.
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