---
title: "Indigenous science"
chunk: 3/3
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_science"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:39:31.068012+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Engineering ===
Many different Indigenous tribes in America have built homes from natural resources. One example can be found at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, or Anasazi, in Northwestern New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado. Ancestral Puebloans built houses on the ground near the cliffs of the Colorado Plateau, and carved others into the face of the cliff, ultimately spanning almost 10,000 square miles across Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon both have more than 600 rooms each, many of which were made from sandstone that was carved into rectangular blocks, and glued together with a mix of mud and water. In addition to physically building these homes, the Ancestral Puebloans used mathematical knowledge like the golden ratio - which has been used to make the Egyptian pyramids, Ancient Greek architecture and the Notre Dame -  to construct a Sun Temple.
Water management was critical as well in this area, and ancestral Pueblo people had early knowledge of hydrological theory, water transport and storage. This allowed them to create four main reservoirs that helped sustain the population. 
The Hohokam tribe in Arizona also managed their water resources up until 1450, and created irrigation networks that were more extensive than any other irrigation system created during their time. This allowed an influx of agriculture, as canals spread across 135 miles of land and brought water to crops far from the rivers. Ultimately, the population of Hohokam became too large to sustain in the late 15th century, and the irrigation systems failed. However, their descendants, the Akimel O'odham and Tohono O'odham people, continue to live in Phoenix, Arizona and surrounding areas, and farming continues to be an important part of their cultures.

=== Forestry ===
The Menominee tribe in Wisconsin operates the Menominee Forest which covers 217,000 acres of land, and promotes sustainable forest management. For more than 150 years, the Menominee tribe has been utilizing techniques such as silviculture, even and uneven-aged management, tree grouping, and conservation. Silviculture is the practice of developing and managing forests and takes into consideration the age of the tree, the species, shade tolerance, and the health of the entire forest. Even-aged management cultivates shade intolerant trees, and relies on wind and fire disturbances. The Menominee forestry workers mimic these natural disturbances with various treatments like group openings and clear cuts. Uneven-aged management favors trees that are shade tolerant by only cutting a couple in one area, as to not leave any land fully bare. Their strategies have been effective, as there is currently more timber on the land than when the business was in its early management, in 1854. This forest land has been recognized by the United Nations and was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, a prestigious label given to responsible forestry departments.

=== Wayfinding ===
Polynesian and Hawaiian Wayfinders have been trained to navigate the oceans using stars, the sun, and the ocean swells to understand where a vessel is when it is at sea. This requires understanding of trade winds, currents, astronomy, fish and weather cycles. Wayfinding was only possible due to more than 1,500 years of practice and observation by Pacific Islanders. Currently, there is a reclamation movement for wayfinding, which started in the 1970s, when one voyaging canoe, the Hōkūle'a, was created by the Polynesian Wayfinding Society with the purpose of bringing back this traditional practice and reclaiming culture. The Hōkūle'a has made multiple voyages, the first being from Maui to Tahiti and has inspired multiple other voyaging canoes to set out, and for education of wayfinding to increase.

== Notable scholars ==
Nancy C. Maryboy
Karlie Noon
Lydia Jennings
Ian Saem Majnep
Robin Wall Kimmerer

== References ==