Turtle Island: The Story of North America's First People
The Story Myths Tell Even though thousands of years have gone by we have ways to step back into the past One way is by listening to ancient myths or tradi tional stories that are handed down from one generation to another Writing and papermaking were not traditions among the peoples of North America Instead the past is captured in myths preserved for us thanks to memory and storytelling Some myths are based on facts some tell about the deeds of gods and heroes and some describe rituals Creation myths such as the story of Sky Woman tell how the world came to be Others explain what happens to us after we die And still others tell us how we should behave during the time in between Whether they are funny frightening or full of information myths are sacred to the peo ple who tell them listen to them and pass them on Myths don’t just belong to the past Indigenous people still tell the ancient stories because they value their spoken traditions as a vital way to understand history For instance geologists know that earthquakes were common in the past We know the exact date in late January 1700 when the last great earthquake shook the West Coast The tsunami it generated was even recorded in Japan Perhaps it also inspired the story Thunderbird and Whale Bill Reid’s Raven and the First Men was carved from a giant block of yellow cedar In Haida myth Raven found a clamshell on the seashore with tiny people emerging from it He coaxed them out so that they could share in the wonderful world 10 FindinG our WAy to the pAst
ØØØÙ the People of the Northwest Pacific Coast From the Tradition of Thunderbird and Whale Thunderbird and Whale were gigantic Whale was so enormous that every living thing in the world could rest on top of him As for Thunderbird he was also huge He could carry a whole lake on his broad back He was so mighty that if he shifted a single feather he could unleash thunder and make the lake send a torrent of water cascading to earth One day Thunderbird landed on Whale’s back He dug his sharp talons into Whale’s flesh Desperate to dis lodge Thunderbird Whale dove to the deepest part of the ocean But though Thunderbird was dragged underwater he wouldn’t let go As the two struggled and thrashed their battle unleashed a mighty buckling of the earth and ocean The story of Thunderbird and Whale is a memorable way to tell the story of an earthquake and a tsunami A Mohawk elder is speaking at a council meeting In her hand she holds a story belt woven with reminders of what she wishes to say Storytellers sometimes used stone carvings shells rugs or pottery to illustrate the stories they were telling or to jog their memories This wampum belt is a reminder for the Haudenosaunee people who live near the Great Lakes Special symbols and details of events were woven into wampum belts to act as cues to the storyteller
The Story Science Tells Archaeology is a science that gives us another way to discover the past Archaeologists study physical remains to piece together what happened thousands or even millions of years ago We leave traces behind after we are gone our tools clothing art garbage and even bones and teeth Over time floods or landslides or layers of earth rocks or water can cover those traces Archaeologists uncover those signs of life They dig in the ground dive underwater and even use satellite technology to find clues to the past One small piece of bone or stone can be like a book full of information if you know how to read it How Old Is It Science Answers the Question Relative Dating Archaeologists use relative dating to tell the age of an artifact Let’s say you find a porcelain tea cup decorated with violets If you find porcelain saucers nearby that are the same color are made of the same material and have similar decorations of violets relative dating might lead you to assume the cup and saucers are the same age Often relative dating takes into account layers of findings assuming that older objects will be found buried below things that are newer But relative dating has limits For instance soil and the objects in it can be moved by flowing water construction work and even worms In the Northwest totem poles often carved from huge red cedar trees are a way to record and remember important events from the past 12 FindinG our WAy to the pAst
Absolute Dating Absolute dating methods are much more accurate Radiocarbon dating The tissues of every living thing absorb ordinary carbon and radioactive carbon At death the radioactive carbon starts to decay Because scientists know the rate of decay they can tell when death occurred Potassium argon dating Rocks and stone can’t be dated with radioac tive carbon but scientists know that when rocks are formed they contain tiny amounts of radioactive substance From the time a rock is created the radioac tive material starts to disappear Because we know how long that loss takes we can tell when the rock was formed Luminescence dating This method is used to date artifacts such as pottery If a sample is burned at high heat it will give off a different color depending on its age This is an accurate method but it also means damaging the artifact Archaeology students at Nipissing University work on an excavation site on Nipissing First Nation territory The Story Your Imagination Tells There’s one more way to discover the past and that is by using your own imagination You can begin to under stand what it was like to live in a different time or place only if you imagine yourself there Your imagination can fill in the gaps between myths and science to help make long-ago people come alive to you What do you think they cared about What did they think was funny What songs did they sing What hopes and dreams did they have Myths science and imagination together they form a map of Turtle Island 13
