The first Coloradoans

Prehistoric Indians

Paleo Indians

Clovis Period

Folsom Period

Plano Period

Pueblo Farmers

Overview

Indians that lived on the land before written history

existed

Historians say these are the Indians that crossed the Bering strait and migrated to the North and South American Continents

Archaeologists have discovered tools and artifacts from this era.

Prehistoric Indians

Lived in small family units

Continuously searching for food

Always on the move

They camped near rivers and streams to be close to water

The plants and animals that needed water became the main food groups for these people

They would sometimes follow large animals into the mountains use the meat and hide

Paleo Indians

Most likely the first group of Paleo Indians to live in

Colorado

Around 15,000 years ago

Most common artifacts found for this group of Indians are animal bones and spear points

These are some of the oldest artifacts ever found in CO

Clovis

Folsom The next group of Paleo Indians to live in CO

Similar to the group before they were hunter/gathers and used spear points as their main weapons

Are thought to have lived about 10,000 years ago

Plano Last group of Paleo Indians The climate change created grasslands where forests use

to stand

They did not move as much, instead they moved with the seasons not the animals

Still hunted animals but were finding better and more effect ways to hunt

Folsom/Plano Period

Plano people learned to kill large number of animals at a time

Plano Indians would scare groups of Bison

Using spears and dogs

Push the group to a cliff

The bison would fall to their deaths

There are several different sites in CO where these “bison jumps” have been found

James-Miller Bison Kill site Northeast CO

River of Bones

Who are they? They lived in CO at the end of the Archaic period The ancestral Puebloans the Anasazi

Navajo word for “ancient enemy” or “outsider” Puebloans did not like this name

Creating a Community The First Puebloans lived on the flat-topped mesas

along the Mancos River This area today is called Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde means “green tableland” in Spanish

Ancestral Puebloans were farmers Squash beans and corn

Pueblo Famers

How could they farm?

To water plants/crops during dry periods they dug ditches to move water from the nearby streams

They also built dams to create large ponds to have water stored for later use.

Where did they live?

Ancestral Puebloans live in Pit houses

Each house had a large main room with a fire pit in the middle

Built close together to form a community

Built around a Plaza

Creating a community

Where did they live?

Villages also had special rooms that were called Kivas

Kivas were close to the plaza were round and usually used for important ceremonies or special activities

In the middle of the Kiva was a small hole called a sipapu, it was thought to be the passage to from the underworld

The belief was this is how people first came to the world

Spirits of the dead could go back to the spirit world through this hole

Creating a community

Food and Tools

New tools = The bow and arrow

Improved hunting

Bone hooks= weighted fishing hooks

Improved fishing

Some even raised turkeys

Planting and Harvesting= less time than gathering

Began to make clay pottery

Creating a community

Better home builders

Used mud and stone to create a new type of home

Built them tall so they could hold many families

2-3 stories high

From Pit Houses to Cliffs

The First Coloradans