Georgia s Prehistoric Cultures Objective: I will be able to describe the growth of Native American cultures (Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian) prior to European contact.
B.C.-A.D. or B.C.E.-C.E.????? Year of our Lord
PALEO INDIANS (10,000 BCE TO 8000 BCE)
Paleo Era Paleo means ancient ; very old ; long ago Earliest Native American culture in Georgia (about 10,000 years ago). Only a few of their sites have been found in our state. Also called Old Stone Age Artifacts have been found in the Savannah, Ocmulgee, and Flint rivers areas no evidence of settlement only passing through
Weapons and Tools Made spears out of rocks Nomadic hunter-gatherers who wandered from place to place following large herds of animals. May have chased large animals off cliffs to kill them.
Food Ate mostly large animals (bison, mastodons, giant sloth s) Also ate wild berries, fruits and vegetables
Shelters Lived in groups of 20-50 Nomads Dug pits, built shelters of bark, brush or animal skins Religion No evidence of religious beliefs probably because they moved around
ARCHAIC INDIANS (8000 BCE TO 1000 BCE)
Archaic (8000 BCE 1000BCE) Climate was getting warmer forest were beginning to develop 1st culture we know lived in Georgia and settled in camps near rivers and islands. Weapons/Tools Began using a stone axe Grooved Axe Also made choppers, drills and chipping tools from deer antlers
Food Improved ways to fish, gather, and hunt. Depended heavily on shellfish for food. Began hunting small game such as deer, bear, turkey and rabbit also eat reptiles, game birds and fish (mussels and clams) Beginning of horticulture (saved seeds to plant later)
Shelters Lived under rock shelters or pit houses Less nomadic moved seasonally Fall lived where berries, nuts and fruits grew Summer lived where fishing was good
Some evidence of trading Began to live in larger groups Began making pottery allowed them to cook using water and oil Stallings Island Found a mound of mussel and clam shells 512 ft. long, 300 ft. wide, 6-12 ft. deep Also found burial mounds, fire hearths, pipes, axes, shell beads, bone needles, hooks and spear points
Stallings Island (9CB1) in Columbia County, Georgia is the namesake of Stallings Culture. A 16-acre island in the Savannah River near Augusta, Stallings Island rose to prominence with the nineteenth-century investigations of C. C. Jones and the 1929 Peabody Museum excavations. Despite repeated investigations, Stallings Island remains poorly understood. Was it a massive settlement occupied year-round, or the seasonal camp of smaller groups over a longer occupational history? Did it serve special functions in the settlement system, or was it just another typical, albeit larger and/or longer habitation? How are the prepottery components of the site different from those of Stallings times?
Religion The discovery of burial mounds indicates some type of religious beliefs
WOODLAND INDIANS (1000 BCE TO 800 CE)
Woodland (1000 BCE 800 CE) Weapons/Tools Developed the Bow and Arrow changed hunting Food Developed agriculture (farming) (intensified horticulture) Cleared fields Grew sunflowers, squash, gourds, beans and maize (corn)
Shelters Lived in villages built along stream valley s Built protective walls around villages Thought to be the first to have families band together to form tribes. Moved less became much more settled Made pottery and used for storage out of clay which was stronger Evidence of trade across the eastern U.S.
Religion Built burial mounds containing skeletons, pottery, and jewelry indicates a belief in a supreme being and life after death Kolomoki Mounds (Blakely, Ga.) Rock Eagle (Putnam County) Evidence of elaborate religious ceremonies
Sometime around 2,500 B.C., during the Middle Archaic period, Indians move into the general area of Nacoochee. Nearby areas in Rabun and Union Counties also show evidence of early visits, however significant Indian population probably did not develop until the late Woodlands era (800-1000AD).
MISSISSIPPIAN INDIANS (700 CE TO 1600 CE)
Mississippian (700 CE 1600 CE) Also called Temple Mound Period Around 1600 CE these people mysteriously disappeared most likely to disease but there is not any real evidence as to what happened
Etowah Indian Mounds is an archaeological site in Bartow County, Georgia south of Cartersville, Georgia in the United States. The site sits on the north shore of the Etowah River. "Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site" is managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. There are three main mounds at the site and three lesser known mounds. The community was inhabited from about 1000-1550 A.D. by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture. The town was occupied in three distinct archaeological phases: c. 1000-1200 AD, c. 1250-1375 AD, and c. 1375-1550 AD. Older pottery found on the site suggest that there was an earlier village (c. 200 BC-600 AD) associated with the Swift Creek culture.
Weapons and protection Used stone tools and digging sticks to farm with Built palisades (tall fences) for defense
Food Advanced agriculture:growing most of their food. Main food:3 Sisters=corn, beans, squash provided for a balanced diet Also grows pumpkins, and tobacco Rotated fields each year
Shelters Villages grew in size now several thousand families living together Protected by fences Ga. Sites found along Ocmulgee, Savannah, Chattahoochee and Coosa Rivers Religion Lives now centered around religious beliefs Were the Indians that Hernando de Soto s expedition encountered in the 1540 s.