The Changing Style of the Plains Indians 美國歷史—平原印第安人生活方式的轉變 第一批歐洲人抵達北美洲的廣大平原時，發現了農業導向的原住民文化。印第安人每天的例行工作，圍繞著賴以生存的穀物耕作打轉，包括玉米、豆子、南瓜。大約一年一次，部落大舉出動獵殺北美野牛，以補充蔬菜為主的飲食，同時可以獲得牛皮、牛筋、牛骨以及其他原料。打獵占用他們的時間不多。 一五九八年，西班牙人在新墨西哥移民開墾以後，印第安人才首度得到馬匹。到了一八零零年，馬匹的使用已經傳遍了大平原上所有的印第安部落。馬匹帶來了機動性，結果不同的原住民族群全部聚集到平原上來，以獲得獵捕大群野牛帶來的豐富資源。馬匹引進之後一百年內，平原上的印第安人口增加為三倍，估計有十五萬人 。印第安人建立了新的生活方式，靠著追逐野牛群為生。因此原先賴以活命的農業大多遭到荒廢，平原上的原住民變成了游牧獵人; 種植的獲利就是比不上打獵。 The History of the United States - The Change of the Life Style of Indians living in plain areas When the first Europeans arrived in the vast plains of North America, they found agricultural-oriented Aboriginal cultures. The daily routines of the Indians centered on the subsistence cultivation of crops, including corn, beans and squash. About once a year, the tribes went on a major bison hunt in to supplement their vegetables diet, as well as to access some cowhides, tendons, cattle and other raw materials. Hunting took them little time. In 1598, after the Spaniards settled in New Mexico, Indians obtained horses at the first time. By 1880, the use of horses had spread throughout all the Indian tribes. Horses brought mobility, as a result, different groups of aboriginals all gathered to the plains, in order to obtain the resources by hunting the great bison herds. Within a hundred years of the introduction of the horses, the Indian population on the plains had tripled to an estimated to 150,000. Indians established a lifestyle, relying on chasing bison for their living. So the original survival ways of the agriculture were mostly abandoned, the aboriginals in the plains become to be nomadic hunters; gardening simply was not as profitable as hunting.