Post by rico on Jul 25, 2008 15:59:52 GMT -5
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose range (the Comancheria) consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northern and southern Texas. There may have been as many as 45,000 Comanches in the late eighteenth century.[1] Today, the Comanche Nation consists of approximately 14,000 members, about half of whom live in Oklahoma (centered at Lawton), and the remainder are concentrated in Texas, California, and New Mexico. The Comanche speak an Uto-Aztecan language, sometimes classified as a Shoshone dialect.
Though there are various accounts of the origin of the name Comanche, it is generally agreed to have come by way of Spanish from the old Ute term kɨ.ˈman.ʧi, "enemy, foreigner, Comanche". however, they were not present in that area until later. The Comanches' own preferred name is Numunuu, meaning "human being" or "the People".
The Comanches emerged as a distinct group shortly before 1700, when they broke off from the Shoshone people living along the upper Platte River in Wyoming. This coincided with their acquisition of the horse, which allowed them greater mobility in their search for better hunting grounds. Their original migration took them to southern plains, from where they moved southward into a sweep of territory extending from the Arkansas River to central Texas. During that time, their population increased dramatically because of the abundance of buffalo, an influx of Shoshone migrants, and the adoption of significant numbers of women and children taken captive from rival groups. Nevertheless, the Comanches never formed a single cohesive tribal unit but were divided into almost a dozen autonomous groups. These groups shared the same language and culture but may have fought among themselves just as often as they cooperated.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche
www.texasindians.com/comanche.htm
Though there are various accounts of the origin of the name Comanche, it is generally agreed to have come by way of Spanish from the old Ute term kɨ.ˈman.ʧi, "enemy, foreigner, Comanche". however, they were not present in that area until later. The Comanches' own preferred name is Numunuu, meaning "human being" or "the People".
The Comanches emerged as a distinct group shortly before 1700, when they broke off from the Shoshone people living along the upper Platte River in Wyoming. This coincided with their acquisition of the horse, which allowed them greater mobility in their search for better hunting grounds. Their original migration took them to southern plains, from where they moved southward into a sweep of territory extending from the Arkansas River to central Texas. During that time, their population increased dramatically because of the abundance of buffalo, an influx of Shoshone migrants, and the adoption of significant numbers of women and children taken captive from rival groups. Nevertheless, the Comanches never formed a single cohesive tribal unit but were divided into almost a dozen autonomous groups. These groups shared the same language and culture but may have fought among themselves just as often as they cooperated.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche
www.texasindians.com/comanche.htm
