Chicago History for Kids: Triumphs and Tragedies of the Windy City Includes 21 Activities

Chicago History for Kids: Triumphs and Tragedies of the Windy City Includes 21 Activities — page 9
Chicago Before Chicagoans NH HE HISTORY OF CHICAGO goes back much further than the Chicago Fire Chicago's JL World's Fairs or the days of Al Capone Many history books of Chicago start with the year 1673 when the first Europeans entered the area This isn't one of those books That s because the his tory of Chicago doesn't begin with the arrival of the European explorers and settlers It didn't begin in 1492 either when Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of the New World By that time the Amer ican continents were already populated by millions of native peoples who had lived here for at least 9 000 years probably much longer The earliest migrants may have even arrived as far back as 20 000 or even 30 000 years ago Time Line 3 million Ice Age begins years ago 100 000 Ice sheet covers Chicago years ago 20 000 Chicago area glaciers begin to melt and years ago recede humans inhabit North America Lake Chicago covers much of the future city 11 500 Clovis people hunt mastodons with spears years ago 10 000 Mastodons and other North American years ago megafauna die out