We have been lied to, repeatedly!
And lived to 45, if they were lucky.
I remember reading that colonists, when they first encountered Native American people, were shocked and horrified when they observed how Indians treated captives of their tribe vs tribe fighting.
‘Skinned alive’, as I recall, was the LEAST gruesome of all their torments for captives.
Yea...they were real ‘noble savages’ (sarc)
Where did they defecate?
Answer: Wherever the mood struck. It's why they had mobile housing. When they finally got tired of wading in their own feces, the women would pack it all up and move until they couldn't smell it any more. Indians STANK. A LOT! Even by European standards. And Euros thought bathing was unhealthy.
Archeologists use ancient latrines and middens to get a good handle on how old civilizations lived. With Amerinds, they don't exist.
Imagine the romance of stepping outside, of an early morning, and feeling what Great Lard Bottom dropped last night squish between your toes.