They still used sign language to an extent, but not like it was used out here.” “They were mostly woodland tribes, living in permanent villages and were familiar with each other’s languages. “There were fewer linguistic groups east of the Mississippi River,” said Garritson.
Though universal in North America, Hand Talk was more prominent among the nomadic Plains Nations.
While each tribe had its own dialect, tribes were able to communicate easily. It was that easy to use and easy to understand.” “He documented that the Comanches made themselves so well-understood with the use of sign talk that there was almost no need for an interpreter. “Coronado, as he documented in his journals in 1540, was in Texas and met the Comanche,” said Garritson. It was observed among Florida tribes by 16th Century Spanish colonizers. Scholars dispute exactly when, in their 30,000-year history in North America, tribes developed sign language. When speakers of one language met those of another, whether in trade, councils or conflict, they communicated in the lingua franca of Hand Talk. Prior to contact with Europeans, North American Native peoples were not a unified culture, but hundreds of different cultures and tribes, each with its own political organization, belief system and language. This map shows location of tribes, cultural areas and language groups prior to European contact.
