This meant that men and women shared duties and power equally. Thousands of years before European women would begin the struggle for their own equality, Native American women already had equal rights to their men. In fact, it was Native American women who initially inspired European women to fight back against being second-class citizens.
2. They were extremely healthy.
This is because they understood the importance of good nutrition and regular bathing. While Europe was being constantly afflicted by regular plagues and famines, the Native Americans were in top form.
The Native Americans managed to construct cities that were bigger and a lot more complex than most European ones at the time. While Europeans were busy emptying filthy chamber pots out of windows onto the streets below, many Native American cities had access to fully-functional sanitation systems.
4. They were innovative doctors.
While Europeans were still using many questionable medical interventions, such as bloodletting, the Native Americans made use of a huge number of medicinal plants and herbs, which are still considered to be effective by today's standards. They also made use of syringes, aspirin, and even relatively complex surgical procedures.
Within traditional Native American cultures, everyone from the smallest kids to the oldest grandparents was adequately taken care of and provided for. This was a far cry from the European systems of the time, which only ensured that the rich got richer, while the working classes suffered in misery.
6. They have the oldest continuous democracy in the world.
In 909AD, Native Americans established the Haudenasaunee People’s Confederacy which is still active today. However, while they were freely reaping the fruits of democracy, most of Europe was still bending the knee to royalty and waging war against anyone they felt superior to. In fact, this type of democracy actually served as the inspiration and model for the US constitution.
Just a few of the things that they invented include snow goggles, snowshoes, toboggans, kayaks, and canoes. They also learned to create and cultivate rubber and maple syrup.
8. They were highly advanced farmers.
Around 70% of the world's crops today were originally cultivated in the pre-European Americas. These include potatoes, tomatoes, rice, and corn. They were also completely aware of the benefits of crop rotation, as well as the medicinal properties of thousands of plants.
Instead of having one giant city in the center of the continent and expanding outwards, they instead built a huge number of smaller settlements, spreading them out across the land. The type of settlement built would then be constructed in such a way that makes it ideal for its climate and purpose.
10. They were exceptionally accurate time-keepers.
Native American calendars were so precise that they were only 19 minutes off by the 5th century BC. This is an achievement that no other civilization at the time even came remotely close to.
