Nevada Before Statehood A History

The first people to come to Nevada are recorded when this site was written in December 2007, as having come 12000 years ago. There may have been people before, but that is among the earliest proven dates with evidence. During that time it possible that early Native Americans were hunting with clovis arrow heads, against animals from buffalo, to Giant Sloth. The last of these was pushed to extinction across the Americas by hunting but many species survived.

Two Nevadan archaeologists found the body in the 1940s of a man named the cave man from 10600 or so years ago. It is said Mammoths and such in teh area died out 1000 years before the Cave Spirit Man. At the time Lake Lahonthan was a large lake in North West Nevada. People at the time fished, with Mesolithic technology, with marshes where he was. Spirit Cave Man has a fracture in his head, and fish in his intestines. He had a rabbit fur robe, and very well used moccasins made of animals hides and with plants used to make the soles. Some claim the man had Ainu elements, but it may not be certain. What is certain is that more people came from Asia, aswell, who were more Asian and they and possibly these other people saw many millenia of cultures in Nevada. At the Cave Spirit Man's time the area was greener than now.

By the time the first Europeans arrived in the area, there were 3 major tribes in Nevada the Paiutes, the Sho-sho-ne and Washoe. It was not till the 1800s that American settlers were coming in large numbers to Nevada. It is felt the Washoe have lived in Nevada for over 4000 years, they were famed for basketry they were more in the Sierra Nevada and California and mountains.

The Washoe were more in the western corner of Nevada, with the Northern Paiutes in the North West and Southern in South East, and Sho-sho-ne in a strip from North East to South West. Movement of people was very seasonal. Game was hunted from rabbits to squirrels. Explorerers say people were fell fed at the time. When European contact came, Native tribes became more and more settled. Tribes were sometimes named after the fish they ate in Pyramid Lake. Just like occurred in Mexico in the early days before Spainish Conquistadores arrived, they sometimes had Aztec stuff, like the name Masters of the Fishes for one groups of people, maybe just the elite of a nation. As of what they ate. Like how the Northern Mexican deserts people who took over Teotihuacan and the locals area from locals, a couple or So centuries before the Spanish Arrived, in the big chaos and wars of then, had simmilarities to the tribes the South West USA. Indeed many statements claim the tribe that took Teotihuacan in the 14th Century when the Mexico City Valley area was still in a tradition of being a immensely urbanised and wealthy land with the Yucatan compared to much of the rest of the USA, that the tribe that did that and who became the Aztecs the Nahultan were a wandering tribe based in Nevada and Arizona and California and such seasonally migrating. Like how the Barbarians took Roman Cities in the 5th Century. Except this tribe essntially made the Teotihuacan and the lake around it the capital of the areas of wealthy Mexico, and made it then into a huge city ahead of other areas and booming. So a massive amount of History there. There were many unusual tools used by centuries past tribes and forgotten cultures, with long sticks with hooks pulling off nut laden cones off trees. Native Nevadans dried fish in the sun, with most populations near water. Even in the 1890s many tribes were still using Native as well as European tools in harvetsing. like winnowing oval baskets. Baskets were very useful for transportation.

In 1200 Mojave Indians were planting by some river banks for a time. So nearing farming in then Nevadan Pre history

1609 Saw the Spanish found Santa Fe, in New Mexico that Pueblo Indioans took in a revolt in that century.

The 18th Century saw more Spaniards arrive including in the 1770s a new tral from New Mexico to California as the Old Spanish Trail used by missionaries. But there were possibly few round trips till the 19th Century when Native American slaves and pack trains went along it. Some say the first White man in Nevada was Jedediah Smith in 1826. With Humboldt River only found for European settlers in 1828, With Las Vegas found in 1829 by Antonio Armijo the area with its meadows and springs seemed great for a new trdae route. By the end of the decade pack trains started passing through herem, the 1840s saw more and more emigrants passing through Nevada to California. Nevada was still Mexican at this time, but taken to the US in the 1840s. Gold and such started to bring settlers to Nevada too aswell as Mormons. In the 1850s Mormon Coins were circulating in Nevada. By the 1850s the first African American settler and the first marriage and divorce were recored. Across this time Native tribes survived at greater rates than many in other areas, as of later contact by settlers. Nevadas US based population was 6000 in the 1860s. In the 1890s a Nevadan Native American started anew faith the Ghost Dance but it was crushed by the government.

Just before Europeans arrived in the Nevada area the Paiute learned to ride horses and began to beat the Washoe in wars far more. So at that time the Paiute did not really allow the Washoe to ride horses so they would be a subject state. There was the Pyramid Lake war in the 1860 where 100s died over resources and settlement. Between the Paiute and Europeans, the Northern Paiute are not that well related to Washoe neither are other Nevadan tribes while the Northern Paiute are more related to Sho-sho-ne people, than to Southern Paiute and the Southern Paiute are more related to Ute than to Northtern Paiute. Diseases and such helped weaken the Nevan tribes and settlers were able to take many areas across the century and use economic dominance to leader over others.

The battle of Woundeed Knee in 1890 was over a Sioux not wanting to be evicted from South Dakota to places like Nevada, and partly inspired by the Wovoka Ghost Dance religon. 100s of people were killed this revolt over the government trying to impose white mans ways on tribes there.

Nevada Before Statehood A History

Flight Las Vegas Nevada - Click here to find one

Flight Las Vegas Nevada - Click here to find one