Why are Europeans always saying U.S.A only has 100s of years of history?

Question

The U.S. has just as much history as any European country does. Europeans are always quick to say "There is no historicals sites or markers older than a couple hundred years. Wrong! Here is one built by the Anazsai Called Pueblo Bonito in New Mexico.
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/northamerica/pueblobonito.html

I'm not taking about the Aztecs either i said in the USA. Not Mexico.
http://www.nativeamericans.com/

So what about the crusades. The USA was not officially called the USA before Europeans. But it still has human history spanning thousands of years and the people who were part of it are still here in reservations.Americans are part of this history because many have Indian hertiage but do not know.

Just like Austraila who also has similar history because of the Aborigines.

USA has had Kings and Queens also in Hawaii. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Hawaii

Answer 1

The USA does have a history as long as the Europeans, but unlike the Europeans it is not documented because the peoples who lived here for those thousands of years did not keep records. That is why they say the United States only has 100s of years of history.

Answer 2

I have never hear that from any european, They are not ignorants and they know because some of them discover America, that Native Americans like Pueblo, Navajo, Irakois, Sioux have thousands of years of History, maybe not written but in other forms. For example when teh English and French people came to the eastern coast of the today USA, the people who guided them were the Native Americans whatever the tribe was, they teach the Europeans how to survive in those lands.....

Answer 3

Because we don't. We only started in about 1774 where as the entire European and Asian countries have been around and civilized for several thousands of years. We are the youngest country in the world with the least amount of civilized history. We have very few historical sites in the US where Europe has castles from the 13th century and before. Sorry, but they are right.

Answer 4

When you say history you mean civilized world. The land of USA was in existence but the history is about only 200 years old. Moreover, before Columbus landed on the soil of America, it was actually mistaken for India and once they realized it is a new territory, the great migration took place from all over Europe and they took the slaves along with them.

Answer 5

They're talking about the United States of America. Not the land mass of America. Sure, we have historical sites built by Aztecs and other Natives but when Europeans speak about our history they're speaking of the history that started when we became a nation.

Answer 6

By its most common definition, 'history' refers to a recorded account of the past. The key word being 'recorded'. That is why cultures such as the Anasazi and the Hohokam (who had no written record) are referred to as 'prehistoric' cultures (ie: before history). Likewise, there are no historians who study the Anasazi and Hohokam (because historians use written records). The people who study prehistoric cultures are archaeologists (who study artifacts). So strictly speaking, North America's history only goes back to the arrival of Columbus even though there were very advanced cultures developing here for hundreds of years before that.

However, I think that what most Europeans mean is that there are few very old historic buildings or ruins in the United States compared to what you see in Europe where 1000+ year old sites are almost as common there as McDonalds are here. In Italy for example, you often see 2000 year old Roman sites sitting abandoned in fields (no museum, no restoration, etc), because they are so common. Many people live and work in 500+ year old buildings and it is no big deal, so they kinda laugh when they see us get excited about a 150 year old house or church here - because it would be considered relatively young and not 'historic' at all in Europe.

Even the amazing ruins at Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon are generally dated to the 1000-1300 AD period - which is still not that old by European standards. There were people living in the current United States for 1000s of years before that, of course, but they were mostly hunter-gatherers who did not build permanent structures and whose artifacts are only found in a relatively small number of archaeological sites and caves that few Americans ever hear of, let alone visit. So you certainly don't get the 'sense' of human occupation going back 1000s of years everywhere you look, like you do in Europe.

However, your general point is well taken, that the current United States did have some very amazing and fairly advanced cultures prior to European contact that many people are not fully aware of. Anyone who visits Chaco Canyon or Mesa Verde will be stunned and amazed by the size and quality of their engineering which shows a high degree of intellectual and mechanical skills. And in Arizona, the Hohokam built an extensive irrigation system consisting of hundreds of miles of canals (some nearly 10 feet deep) that was complex as any in Europe at the time.

Still in my experince, while I have known Europeans to tease us when we point to a hundred year old building and call it 'old', they do generally have a strong interest and appreciation of American history and especially western history and prehistory (often sadly, more appreciation than many Americans do). When I have travelled in Europe, I am often asked all sorts of questions about the 'wild west' which is a very popular subject there. If you do visit Mesa Verde or Chaco Canyon, you will undoubtably be joined by many European visitors as well.

Answer 7

The U.S. of A was only founded in 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Europe has seen fighting, kings and queens for thousands of years. The crusades, the dark ages, The Romans etc.

Answer 8

Their talking about our countries Independence. No one argues that the Continent hasn't been here for some time. Columbus never even landed on our soil, it was Barbados then South America.

He thought it was China, and was a commisioned pirate for spain competing with Norway, England and France for spoils. Our history is long and rich with wonderful people living here well before the Europeans settled.

Answer 9

i think they mean from the time US formed itself into a country. If that's true than US has only 200 years of history.

Other country like China and Inida has over 2,000 years of history. Not sure how old Europe is but it has longer history than US.

And plus, we've learned US history from the 1st grade and up...there're nothing special.

Answer 10

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