Native Americans:The Tribal Periods

A Little Bit of Background…

• first humans arrived long ago during the Ice Age

• Beringia-land between Alaska and Siberia (today called the Bering Strait)

• migration was not planned; nomads looking for food

• they followed a herd of game into North America and slowly pushed southward

Animals of the Day

wooly mammoths mastodons ground sloths bison musk ox moose bear sheep antelope

Mastodon

Wooly MammothWooly Mammoth

Giant ground sloth

could be about 14 feet tall when

standing

So…what about Georgia specifically?

• by about 10000 B.C. the first humans had arrived in GA

• The four cultural periods of Native American occupation are:

• 1)Paleo • 2) Archaic • 3) Woodland • 4) Mississippian

Paleo-Indian Period (10000 BC-8000 BC)

• Paleo=ancient• lived in small bands, or groups, of 20 • depended upon wild animals for food,

clothing, and tools• ate bison, mastodons, sloths, berries,

wild fruits & veggies, and other animals…most of which are extinct now

• usually camped out in the open

Paleo-Indian Period cont.

• dig pits or build shelters to protect against the wind and cold, but no permanent settlements

• few lived older than 30 or 40• many children died before age 1• a moderate climate helped when

they moved further south• used animals for food, shoes, shelter,

blankets, coats, clothes, & weapons

Paleo-Indian Weapons• used tree trunks and cane for spear shafts,

ax and tool handles, & poles for shelter• -used rocks for making knives,

spearheads, ax heads, and tools• -major Paleo artifacts are spearheads AKA:

clovis points (jabbing)• -no bow and arrows at the time…

developed the atlatl, a wooden shaft about 2 feet long with a bone or antler hook on one end in which a spear can be placed (spear-throwing device)

• -brave & skillful hunters

Clovis Point

Atlatl

Communication In Native American Culture

• Hand symbols

• gestures

• Drawings

• Much later a language developed

Archaic Period (8000 BC- 1000BC)

• -adapted to a warming climate and the disappearance of big game

• -learned to use resources around them• -dependent upon hunting, fishing, &

gathering• -deer (favorite), bear, turkey, squirrel,

small game, fish, berries, nuts, etc.• -large piles of shellfish remains have been

found on GA coast, called middens• -large size of middens piles means that

Indians returned to locations annually

Midden Pile

New Innovations

• wider variety of tools and weapons• burned small areas of forest to improve

hunting (small plants attract deer)• more time on hands b/c less time on

hunting so…polished stone, made decorative items from stone and bone, made clay

• able to cook food with pottery • becoming more settled• body ornaments, tools, and weapons at

burial sites suggest a belief in the afterlife

Archaic Pottery Bowl

Woodland Period (1000 B.C.- 1000 A.D.)

• -built thousands of earthen mounds---many still around today

• -Kolomoki mounds in Early County• -mounds varied in size, shape, & usage• -used for burial mounds and ceremonial

activities (flat-topped)• -some were animal-shaped (Rock Eagle)• -used bow and arrow for hunting• -arrowheads were smaller

Kolomoki Mound in Early County

Kolomoki Pottery

Rock Eagle in Northeast GA

Cultural Advancements• advancements in agriculture (saved seeds from

fall for planting in the spring)• -staple crops were nuts, corn, squash, berries,

etc.• -population grew and small families united

(tribes)• -villages appeared (sturdier houses)• -pottery was popular (designs based on the

region)• -traders throughout the eastern US• -belief in afterlife (burial mounds often

contained jewelry & pottery figurines)

Mississippian Period (1000-A.D.-1600 A.D)

• Preferred places that offered rich river deltas, long growing seasons, & good hunting (deer & turkey)

• Named after place where period began

Chow Time…

• Wild foods were important, but relied more on agriculture (corn)

• Crops kept in community storehouses so always a constant supply

• Agriculture supported a growing population

• Food supply meant permanent settlements

Mississippian settlement

• Protected by a “palisade” (a wall made of tall posts)

• Moat (wide ditch) outside the palisade

• Within the walls were “wattle & daub” houses (made of wood & clay)

Rank & File…

• A More Complicated Social & Political Organization developed= Chiefdom

• Could include one or many villages

• Priest-chief at the top of the hierarchy and handed down through family line

Mississippian Mounds

• Built large flat-topped mounds with temples and other buildings for ceremonies

• Inside of the mound was a burial area

• Burials of people included ornaments, tools, food, & ceremonial objects

Ocmulgee Mound…near Macon

Etowah Mound…near Cartersville

Other Interesting Tidbits

• Indian traders used waterways & forest trails between settlements

• Very artistic designs on artifacts• Played games• Smoked tobacco• Decorated with jewelry, feathers, &

tattoos• Very ceremonial

…So what happened to the Mississippians?

• Hernando do Soto met the Mississippian Indians when he came to GA in 1540

• Europeans brought diseases & steel weapons, which meant the end of the Mississippian Period

• The survivors of this period created the current-day tribes of the Creek & the Cherokee

Cherokee Indians

Creek Indians

Tribal Regions

• Tribal regions developed toward the end of the Mississippian period

• California, SubArctic, Arctic, Southwest, Southeast, Great Plains, Great Forest, Northwest Coast, Great Basin, & Plateau

• Tribal regions still exist today, population decreased rapidly after arrival of Europeans

You might have heard of…

• Southwest: Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, Pueblo, & Apache

• Great Plains: Arapaho, Sioux, Cheyenne, & Blackfoot

• Great Forest/Northeast: Powhatan, Delaware, Iroquois, Miami, Huron, Algonquin, Ottawa, & Shawnee

• Southeast: Seminole, Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, & Yamassee

Paleo-Indian

• (10000-8000 B.C.)

• Chased large bison to cliff, kill for food

• archaelogical sites: Savannah River, Ocmulgee River, & Flint River near Albany

• Paleo=Ancient

Archaic

• (8000-1000 B.C.)

• began use of agriculture

• archaelogical sites: Stallings Islands, Fayette County, & Coweta County

• developed first pottery

• lived together in camps

Woodland

• (1000 B.C.-1000 A.D.)

• First to use religion in ceremonies

• first to use bow and arrows

• first to grow veggies

• archaelogical sites: Putnam County & Rock Eagle

Mississippian

• (1000 A.D.-1600 A.D.)

• Highest prehistoric civilization

• several thousand families live together

• used village system

• archaelogical sites: Macon, Etowah, & Early County

Similarities of the 4 Periods

• Native Americans in GA

• Used tools & weapons

• Lived near rivers and water sources

• Ate meat (along with fruits, veggies, etc.)

• Used projectile points

• Lived in groups of various sizes