THE AMERICAS
BY KIRK H. BEETZ
Th e ancient Americans of the far north learned how to adapt
their frigid environment to their needs. For instance, they built
their beds out of frozen ground, laying animals skins on the
bed to provide comfort. Th ey made cradles out of wood and
hung them from sturdy wooden poles in their homes. Later
Arctic peoples used a mesh of branches covered with animal
skins for their fl oors, and some of the ancient Arctic American
peoples probably did, too. Th eir household tools tended to be
focused on what they needed to prepare food. Th is meant that
they had scraping tools made out of bone, wood, or stone for
removing fat and fl esh from animal hides. Th eir eating uten-
sils, such as spoons, tended to be made out of bone.
In North America south of the Arctic and north of Mex-
ico, many cultures rose and fell, and archaeological studies of
their remains have only begun to form a picture of their lives.
Stone mortars and pestles have been found at many sites.
Some large stone outcrops have dish-shaped impressions
caused by people grinding into them, but there are also mor-
tars and pestles small enough to be used in homes, including
ones barely bigger than a hand that could have been carried
by nomads. Given how small they are, they were more likely
used for grinding ingredients for medicines than food.
Many ancient North Americans probably made spoons
and scoops out of bone. Th e extent of the use of wood in mak-
ing home utensils is not known but probably was extensive
wherever wood was available. Th is can be inferred from the
wide use of wood for building homes, which suggests that wood
would have been used for other household purposes. Ceramics
were used broadly for making pots, bowls, plates, and cups.
Woven baskets were probably used to store grain and for other
household purposes, but pottery would have been favored for
carrying liquids and for cooking. Furniture was sparse, and
most people slept on mats or blankets on dirt fl oors.
A multitude of cultures developed in ancient Mexico and
Central America, but only a few are at all well known. Th e
earliest Americans were hunter-gatherers who used wood and
bone for tools. In Guatemala stone tools dated to 8760 b.c.e.
include scrapers and blades, probably for preparing meat for
cooking. Th e most famous of the ancient Mesoamericans are
the Olmec and the Maya. Little is known of the everyday hab-
its of the Olmec, though their household goods were prob-
ably similar to those of the Maya, whom they seem to have
infl uenced.
Th e Maya did not use much furniture. Th ey slept on
mats on dirt fl oors unless they were of the nobility, in which
case their fl oors may have been stone. Th e mats were made
of woven reeds. When they were not sleeping, Mayans usu-
ally used their sleeping mats as seats. In some homes, raised
earth may have been covered with sleeping mats and used as
seats. Chairs were made of wood and wicker and may have
had backs, but they were probably used only by nobility and
royalty. Th e homes of important people might have contained
stone benches. Archaeologists imagine that those who sat
on the stone benches were family patriarchs conducting im-
portant business with family or outsiders. Baskets have been
found in homes. Chests of wickerwork may have been used
for storing clothing or valuables. Low wooden tables may have
been used in some homes. Th ey would have been small and
portable, because the Maya might sit to eat almost anywhere.
Food preparation involved stone goods such as grinding
stones. It is possible that every home had a grinding stone and
a cylindrical stone grinder, used primarily to process maize.
Nuts may have been cracked on small, stone hand mills. Ma-
yans used stone tools extensively in their preparation of food,
using them for chopping vegetables, cutting meat, and scrap-
ing pulp from gourds. Food would have been cooked in ce-
ramic pots, with wooden utensils that had been made with
obsidian cutting tools. Food was either boiled in ceramic pots
or grilled over open fi res.
Th e majority of household goods recovered from Me-
soamerican archaeological sites have been ceramic, varying
from coarse bowls for soaking maize to artfully shaped plates
for holding food during meals. Bottles, jars, bowls, cups, and
plates were used regularly. Th e bottles held liquids, usually
drinks. Maize beer was oft en poured from bottles into plain
cylindrical cups that fi t easily in the hand. By about 400 b.c.e.
Mayans used jugs with spouts.
Th e populating of South America probably occurred in
waves, with perhaps the fi rst human inhabitants being people
who moved along the coast of modern Argentina in small
boats. Others migrated into the Andes, and more is known
about the ancient Andean peoples, partly because the climate
is cold and dry, meaning that goods made of wood, reeds, and
cloth decay much more slowly than they do in other parts of
South America.
Th ese peoples began as hunter-gatherers but learned to
cultivate maize and many varieties of sweet potatoes. Ceramic
bottles appeared fi rst on the coast and then moved inland. By
about 1200 b.c.e. bottles varied considerably in shape, from
balls to cubes to ornate shapes of animals or even houses. Th e
stirrup bottle seems to have been important as a religious ob-
ject as well as popular for its design. Ancient South Ameri-
cans believed the stirrup represented their connection with
their ancestors. Th e stirrup bottle derives its name from its
handle, which arches far out in the shape of a stirrup from the
main part of the bottle. Sometimes the bottles had two such
handles, and the stirrup-shaped handle design oft en shows
up on jugs and bowls.
Th e principal drink of the ancient Andeans was prob-
ably maize beer. Th eir housewares include many examples
of fermentation jars, bottles for pouring beer, and cups
intended to be used for drinking beer in particular. Th eir
bottles began as boxy shapes with spouts in the 1200s b.c.e.
and became ever more intricately shaped and colorful. By
the 200s b.c.e. the Andeans were using bottles in which the
spout projected out of the stirrup, so that the liquid fl owed
through the handle and out the spout. Another form during570 household goods: The Americas