Before European contact, the United States was inhabited by which group?

Before European contact, the United States was inhabited by which group?

• A. Native Americans
• B. Africans
• C. Caribbean settlers
• D. British colonists

Answer: (A)

Long before Europeans arrived, the area now called the United States was home to many Native American peoples, each with their own cultures, languages, and ways of life. Across different regions—from the Northeast and Southeast to the Plains, Southwest, and Northwest—various tribes and nations such as the Iroquois, Cherokee, Sioux, Apache, Navajo, and Pueblo peoples thrived in diverse communities long before contact with Europeans. The other groups listed didn’t inhabit the continental United States prior to contact: Africans arrived mainly through the later transatlantic slave trade, Caribbean settlers lived in the Caribbean islands, and British colonists established settlements after European contact began.

Long before Europeans arrived, the area now called the United States was home to many Native American peoples, each with their own cultures, languages, and ways of life. Across different regions—from the Northeast and Southeast to the Plains, Southwest, and Northwest—various tribes and nations such as the Iroquois, Cherokee, Sioux, Apache, Navajo, and Pueblo peoples thrived in diverse communities long before contact with Europeans. The other groups listed didn’t inhabit the continental United States prior to contact: Africans arrived mainly through the later transatlantic slave trade, Caribbean settlers lived in the Caribbean islands, and British colonists established settlements after European contact began.