Ohio’s Early People
Chapter 1, Lesson 3
Pages 28-33
A Long Time Ago
• Thousands of years ago, Earth had long
periods of freezing cold  Ice Ages
• What happened to the Earth?
• A “bridge” of dry land appeared between
Asian and what is now Alaska
A Long Time Ago
• People from Asia began to cross the land
bridge
– Nomads = people without a permanent home
– Moved in bands (small family groups) and
followed herds of animals
– Spread out over North and South America
– Ancestors of present-day Native Americans
Prehistoric Indians of Ohio
• 12,00 years ago reached Ohio
• Lived before written history = “prehistoric
people”
Prehistoric Indians of Ohio
• Paleo-Indians  first people to live in
Ohio
• Nomads; hunted large animals for food
• Last Ice Age ended 10,000 years ago 
large animals died out
– People had to adapt to survive
Prehistoric Indians of Ohio
• Archaic Indians  after the last Ice Age
• Fished and hunted, ate plants and gathered
nuts and berries
• Built wooden tents covered with
bark/animal skin
• Made tools from stone= axes, spearheads
– Tools enabled them to build canoes  began to
trade
• Each group had its own culture
The Mound Builders
• Part of a larger group known as the
Woodland Indians
• Arrived in Ohio 3,000 years ago
• Built mounds piles of hard-packed earth
and stone
– Scientists have discovered artifacts in the
mounds (spearheads, jewelry, beads)
• Included two main groups: Adena and
Hopewell
The Mound Builders
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Adena  villages in southern Ohio
Grew squash and sunflowers
Hunted, fished, gathered fruits
Made pottery, used stone axes and hoes
Mounds used for burials
– Important leaders – mound build over the site
– Mounds grew as more were buried
Adena Mounds
The Mound Builders
• Hopewell  central and southern Ohio
• Culture grew from the Adena’s
• Larger mounds, many shapes
– Used for religious ceremonies, social gatherings,
trading centers
• Objects made with copper and shells
• Trade network stretched to Rocky Mountains
and Gulf of Mexico
• Division of labor
Hopewell Mounds
The Mound Builders
• Fort Ancient Indians  villages in
southern Ohio 1,000 years ago
• One of the last groups of prehistoric
people
• Late Prehistoric Indians
– Depended on farming
The Mound Builders
• Fort Ancient Indians build villages with
square or circle-shaped houses made from
wooden poles
• Built mounds  shaped like animals
– Great Serpent Mound
The Great Serpent Mound