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An integral part of the trade system was the middlemen who operated between the various trade centers.The trade systems were maintained through a variety of sustaining mechanisms, including the calumet ceremony, redundancy trading, and sign language.
The Mandan traded fur with other tribes.

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Three Civilizations

Today, if you're a fast driver, you can probably go ten miles in under ten minutes. Well, several hundred years ago, that same stretch that you zip by in moments used to be entire worlds to some people. Indeed, some historians and anthropologists theorize most people in the Middle Ages were born, lived, and died all within a 10-mile radius! Despite this, civilizations as a whole still built cities, fought each other, and conquered seemingly distant lands. In this lesson, we'll discover the achievements and histories of three such civilizations in North America: the Apache, the Navajo, and the Mandan.

Apache

The first of these groups we'll explore is the Apache civilization. Apache refers to various Native American tribes that settled in, what is today, the American Southwest and share a similar dialect with the neighboring Navajo civilization. Their traditional lands roughly cover what is today Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Northern Mexico, Texas, and Colorado. 'Apache' is not the name these tribes gave themselves. Rather, it was likely a Spanish bastardization of the Navajo word for 'enemy' because Navajo tribes and Apache tribes routinely fought one another.

Our understanding of the history of the Apache people is patchy prior to their contact with Europeans. What we do know has been gleaned from oral tradition and the work of anthropologists and paleontologists. Their best guesses claim that the Apaches first arrived in their now traditional homeland a few centuries before the arrival of the Spanish from more northerly lands. Apache tribes soon took up residence in the land and began trading animal hides, crops, and other goods with their neighbors.

The Apaches also routinely raided neighboring cultures for livestock and other goods, and it is likely how they gained their name. The Apache were not a homogeneous group either; Apache tribes were relatively distinct organizations and raided and fought each other just as willingly as outside civilizations, like the Navajo or Pueblo.

Most Apache tribes were led by a chief who was elected by a council of elders. Though the chief was generally in charge of tribal decisions, important decisions, such as those regarding war or moving the tribe's settlement, often required a unanimous decision after debate by the council. By today's standards, the system was rather informal; there were no set guidelines concerning what the chieftain could and what he could not do.

When the Spanish first encountered Apache tribes in their 16th-century exploration of North America, they noted the Apache groups maintained a thriving and friendly trade relationship with Pueblo tribes. This relationship had likely been forged over centuries. When the Spanish began making permanent settlements in the Southwest, Apache tribes were more hostile than other Native American tribes, happily raiding the newcomers' villages and farming communities. Despite this, they developed better trade relations on the whole with the Spanish than with later Mexican or American governments and settlers.

The Navajo, traditional enemies of many Apache tribes likely became so because they inhabited the same land, largely in modern-day New Mexico and Arizona. The Navajo language is closely related to the language spoken by Apache tribes, causing anthropologists to suggest they both migrated from more northerly homelands and possibly from common ancestors. Navajos, like their traditional Apache enemies, began life in the American Southwest as hunter-gatherers, though soon after making contact with Spanish explorers in the 16th century, they acquired European livestock and became some of the best sheepherders in the region.

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navajo & mandan civilizations - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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The Apache, Navajo & Mandan Civilizations - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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Today, if you're a fast driver, you can probably go ten miles in under ten minutes. Well, several hundred years ago, that same stretch that you zip by in moments used to be entire worlds to some people. Indeed, some historians and anthropologists theorize most people in the Middle Ages were born, lived, and died all within a 10-mile radius!

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Aboriginal Mandan religion centered around a belief in supernatural powers that were shared by all living things. The Mandan believed in First Creator who contested with Lone Man to make the region around the Missouri River.

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Mandan society was divided into thirteen clans, but by early historic times, only four were still functioning. The Mandan used a Crow-type kinship terminology.

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They originated on the Missouri River. The Mandan were closely affiliated with the Hidatsa and maintained trade relations with many other tribes of the northern plains.

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Lewis and Clark Exclusive Videos & Features - HISTORY.com

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Check out exclusive Lewis and Clark videos and features. Browse the latest Lewis and Clark videos and more on HISTORY.com.

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The Mandan survived by hunting, farming and gathering wild plants, though some food came from trade. They grew a variety of crops to include beans, squash, sunflowers, and tobacco, with corn being the main vegetable.