Archaeology of
North America
The Late Archaic of
the Eastern Woodlands
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Introduction
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By the end of the Mid Holocene, 4000 BC,
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most of the Laurentide ice sheet was gone
Deciduous trees spread north, including the nut
bearing trees (especially hickory)
Sea levels rose and opened up fishing areas
along the northeast coast
The Great Lakes rose and warmed, and fish
populations increased
The rising sea levels, lake levels and water
tables created many swamps in the southeast,
and the main rivers slowed, which was great for
fishing and game
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Introduction
All of these changes are likely the reasons
behind the population increase
 As was the case in the Middle Archaic, the
building of trade alliances was very
important and continued to be
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The Early & Middle Archaic date to:
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c. 10 500 – 6000 BC (Early)
6000 – c. 3600 BC (Middle)
The Late Archaic dates to:
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c. 3600 – 1000 BC (as early as 6000 BC)
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Population Growth and Sedentism
The beginnings of sedentism were seen in
the Middle Archaic (increased temp and
aridity)
 Base camps were set up as storage
facilities to survive through poorer seasons
or years
 Along with the storage pits, baskets and
organic containers, ceramics begin to
appear
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Population Growth and Sedentism
The first ceramics appear in Southern
Carolina around 2500 BC
 These were created in the same forms as
the organic baskets, trays etc.
 They were simple and functional
 Ceramics were somewhat slow to be
adopted at first, but then took off due to
the fact they could also be used to store
water and cook with
 However, ceramics are not very
transportable and therefore were common
only in the sedentary sites
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Population Growth and Sedentism
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As populations increased and sedentary
sites appear, 5 distinct Late Archaic cultures
are seen in the Eastern Woodlands
The Shield Late Archaic, Mast Forest Late Archaic
The Maritime Tradition, Central Riverine Archaic
Lake Forest Late Archaic
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They are differentiated on the basis of their
projectile points and other artefacts
These cultures grow over the next 3000
years
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Shield Late Archaic c. 5000 BC - Contact
The Shield area includes the Great Lakes
and northwards to the Hudson Bay and
eastward into Quebec
 The environment is full of lakes, rivers,
and boreal forest, with sparse game and
vegetal resources
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Caribou and fish were the main staples, but
bear, beaver, moose and muskrat were also
eaten
During the spring and summer a variety of
plants were collected
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Shield Late Archaic c. 5000 BC - Contact
The earliest points are Plano like in form,
and change to stemmed points later on
 Heavy scarpers and knives are common
 Many of these tools are made with exotic
cherts
 These groups continue for 1000s of years
in almost complete isolation from the
groups to the south
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
The Northeast
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The northeast region is subdivided into 3 zones:
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Maritime, Lake Forest and Mast Forest
The vegetation is dominated by pine, hemlock
and spruce forests with lots if lichen that the
caribou feed on
The large number of rivers would have also
attracted these animals, and many sites are
strategically positioned in these areas
Along the coasts, the sea mammals include:
seals, whales, porpoises, black fish, swordfish
and cod
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Maritime Tradition c. 6000 – 1000 BC
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James Tuck introduced the name Maritime
Archaic based on a cemetery of 99 people
at the site of Port aux Choix, Newfoundland
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Dated to 2350 BC
All the dead (equal males and females, infants
and elderly) were sprinkled with red ocher and
were buried with artefacts (spearheads and
ground points)
Other artefacts at the site include axes and
adzes to work wood, harpoons, bone needles,
bone combs, pendants and carved bird and
whale effigies
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Maritime Tradition c. 6000 – 1000 BC
It is suggested that the Maritime groups
hunted caribou and sea mammals, as
these remains are found at sites
throughout the region
 There is more local diversity in this region
than in the Shield Region however
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Along the coast different fish and mammals
were hunted, while inland the caribou and
some fishing were common
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Maritime Tradition c. 6000 – 1000 BC
To hunt swordfish (which swim offshore)
the people used dugout canoes and
harpoons
 It is likely that the groups hunted sea
mammals and fish during the summer
months and then moved inland to hunt
caribou and take advantage of the
spanning fish (like salmon) in the spring
 Many of the sites contained cemeteries,
meaning they were organized groups that
had a connection with their lands and
ancestors
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Lake Forest Archaic c. 3200 – 1000 BC
This area is north and inland from the
Maritime region, and is dominated with
pine and hardwood forests
 The many rivers are full of fish and in the
spring and fall seals could be hunted in
Lake Ontario, coming in from the St.
Lawrence
 Other animals include: deer, shellfish,
waterfowl, reptiles, birds and other
medium and small animals
 A variety of plant foods could be collected
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Lake Forest Archaic c. 3200 – 1000 BC
Population in this region was generally low
except isolated site in rich areas
 Base camps were common but seasonal
mobility was maintained
 There is diversity in the region, which
makes it confusing to link the sites
together at times, but for broad relations
the Laurentian and Old Copper
Cultures are used
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Lake Forest Archaic c. 3200 – 1000 BC
Laurentian Culture (3200 – 1400 BC)
 A number of diverse sites in the Lake
Forest region are groups together based
on their woodland adaptation, variety of
mammal, fish and vegetal subsistence,
and seasonal exploitation of these
resources
 A subdivision is also seen in the
Laurentian, in relation to more local
diversity
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Lake Forest Archaic c. 3200 – 1000 BC
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The Laurentian Culture has characteristic
artefact forms including:
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Broad-bladed and side-notched Otter Creek
points, polished atlatl weights, ulu knives (to
skin fish and treat sea mammal hides), adzes
(woodworking), and a wide variety of antler
and bone points, ornaments and small tools
There is some difference in the quantities of
these artefacts from the east to the west.
Copper artefacts for example are much more
common in the west (were copper is found),
but is also traded to the east
Side Notched Otter
Creek points
Ground-slate ulu
Goundstone
bannerstones
(atlatl weights)
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Lake Forest Archaic c. 3200 – 1000 BC
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Old Copper Culture (c. 3000 – 2500 BC)
Most information on this loosely defined
culture comes from three disturbed
cemeteries, but seems to connect to a
large number of small diverse groups that
share the copper technology
In the Lake Superior Basin copper
outcrops were mined and used as raw
material for tools and ornaments, hence
the classification of this culture
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Lake Forest Archaic c. 3200 – 1000 BC
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Old Copper Culture tools include:
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Projectile points, axes, adzes, fish hooks and
gorges, ulus, and awls
Ornaments include: beads, bracelets and
headdress pieces
These objects were traded throughout the
northeast and eventually into the Midwest
and southeast, where their value
increased
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In the far sites, copper objects were held with
great prestige and often buried with the dead
as grave ornaments
Old Copper Culture
Two copper
spearheads
Raw Material from
Lake Superior
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Mast Forest Archaic c. 2700 – 1200 BC
This is the southern most region of the NE
 It is a forested area with high numbers of
oaks
 Deer were the main game hunted, but fish
were hunted with harpoons and nets along
the rivers and lakes. Other animals
include: shellfish, turkey, pigeons and
other small mammals
 Nuts (especially hickory) and acorns were
very important plant food
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Mast Forest Archaic c. 2700 – 1200 BC
The main difference between this region
and the others is the presence of
grinding stones connected to the
preparation of vegetal foods
 Most sites were small camps, but a few
contained dwellings and were slightly
larger in size. The larger groups seem to
concentrate near the Atlantic coast
 Like the other areas this area is also
subdivided based on the projectile points,
including the Susquehanna tradition, and
the Lamoka tradition
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Susquehanna point
Lamoka antler pendant with
geometric design, bone
awl/dagger, adze (above)
Lamoka points (2 stemmed
and 1 side-notched (left))
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Mast Forest Archaic c. 2700 – 1200 BC
The Lamoka tradition has evidence of
rectangular dwellings and acorn roasting
pits and fish and meat drying racks
 As well, heavy woodworking tools,
perhaps to make canoes, and pendants
with geometric designs were common
 These groups buried their dead in the
village middens, very carefully in the
flexed position. Most graves contained red
ocher and some grave goods
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Mast Forest Archaic c. 2700 – 1200 BC
Interesting is that several people have
been found with Lamoka projectile points
embedded in them, beheaded or with
appendages chopped off, so there were
times of fighting in the area
 Unlike the other regions there seems to be
little trade between the groups in this
region, and the result is a more singly
diverse set of groups when compared to
other areas
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Central Riverine Archaic c. 4000–1000 BC
In the Midwest and Southeast the
populations also tended to concentrate
along the river valleys
 The area is dominated with rich deciduous
forests and floodplains that provided an
abundance of aquatic, game and plant
foods
 The Central Riverine Archaic was the most
well developed of all the Late Archaic
cultures
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Central Riverine Archaic c. 4000–1000 BC
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The Helton Phase at Koster (Horizon 6)
between 3900 – 2800 BC marks a time
when people were living there year round
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100-150 people
Houses were constructed
Catching the shallow water fish was common
(even poisoning them)
Hickory and other nuts were very important
resources
As were waterfowl (caught with nets), deer
and other small animals
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Central Riverine Archaic c. 4000–1000 BC
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The Helton phase points to an increased
variety of resources being collected and also
stored, which is directly connected with the
sedentary occupation and restricted territorial
mobility
Population likely increased with this change
The site was abandoned around 2800 BC,
perhaps due to population pressures exceeding
the resources and storages
It was only occupied 800 years later by a deer
hunting group (The Titterington Phase)
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Central Riverine Archaic c. 4000–1000 BC
Other cultures including the Green River
(3000 – 2000 BC), known for their shell
middens, and the Riverton Culture
(1500 – 1000 BC), concentrating on
upland and floodplain resources, show the
variety in the region
 All groups showed degrees of sedentism
and cemeteries (in many of which were
relatively young individuals that died
violently)
 These cultures are connected with
concentrations of people and slightly
higher population densities
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Poverty Point Culture 2200 – 700 BC
Along the Lower Mississippi Valley and
Gulf coast are more than 100 Poverty
Point sites from 10 discrete clusters, each
with its own centre
 The earliest site dates to 2200 BC, and the
culture will last for 1500 years
 Poverty Point is the largest of these
centres
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Poverty Point Culture 2200 – 700 BC
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Poverty Point is situated overlooking the
Mississippi floodplain near the confluences of 6
rivers
This was a strategic point for trade
The site has great horseshoe earthworks made
up of 6 concentric semi-circular earthen ridges
divided into segments about 25m wide and 3m
high. They are about 40m apart. They may
have been used to elevate the houses about
the floodplain
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Poverty Point Culture 2200 – 700 BC
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To the west lies an artificial mound more than
20m high and 200m long, possibly connect
with the equinoxes
In terms of the habitation area, Poverty point
covered 200ha between 1000 – 700 BC and
took more than 35 000 cubic m of basketloaded soil to build
Poverty Point served as a well positioned
trading centre (which peaked 1400-1100 BC).
Following this however, the exchange system
and political forces forced it to collapse
The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Summary
By 4000 BC the populations of the Eastern
Woodlands were starting to socially rank
themselves
 Each group was becoming more restricted
in their territory. This territory closure is
marked by 2000 BC with the local
artefacts and styles
 As a result, relations with their neighbours
needed to be defined. Groups needed to
trade artefacts and come together for
communal hunts and ceremonies
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Summary
The change in social organization was
slow, as populations remained relatively
low (a few 100 people a most), and most
remained egalitarian for years
 Over the 3000 years the trade of valued
items increased, and the distances
reached increased as well
 As trade became more intense and
controlled a modest degree of social of
social differentiation based on reciprocity
may have emerged
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The Eastern Woodlands: Late Archaic
Summary
By 1000 BC social ranking is seen in the
burials in the Central Riverine Archaic
 After 1000 BC the individuals that became
the leaders of the groups would lead even
more complex societies, which lead into
the Woodland Period
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Archaeology of
North America
Early Woodland and the Adena
Complex of the Eastern Woodlands
The Eastern Woodlands: Woodland
Introduction
After 1000 BC the Eastern Woodland
societies become much more complex,
culminating in the Mississippian culture in
the closing centuries of ancient times
 During these 2500 years the Woodland
people grew from their Archaic roots,
becoming permanently settled, with
established territorial boundaries, defined
exchange networks and complex social
orders
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The Eastern Woodlands: Woodland
Introduction
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The beginning of the Woodland period is
marked with 3 things:
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pottery
deliberate cultivation of native plants
interment under funerary mounds
Pottery: Utilitarian pottery was being
made throughout the Eastern Woodlands
2000 – 500 BC
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This is termed the Container Revolution
Middle Woodland vessel
Late Woodland
storage vessel
Woodland
(Mississippian) vessel
The Eastern Woodlands: Woodland
Introduction
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Cultivation: Small scale plant cultivation
began around 2000 BC to aid in times of
shortages
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Cultivated were gourds and squashes
Sunflowers,
Sumpweed or marsh elder
Goosefoot and knotweed
Tobacco lastly around AD 250
It wasn’t until AD 800 that maize agriculture
was adopted in some areas
The Eastern Woodlands: Woodland
Introduction
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Burial mounds:
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Burials are seen throughout the Eastern
Woodlands, and other areas of NA for that
matter, long before 1000 BC
But in the Woodland period burial mounds
become an important part of mortuary
ceremonialism
This is most marked with the Adena Complex
in the central Ohio Valley
The Eastern Woodlands: Woodland
The Adena Complex
Adena is connected with a ceremonial
complex marking the climax of the Early
Woodland Period
 Most Adena sites are burial mounds
 They began as simple, single person
burials (cremated or interred) in a shallow
elliptical lit lined and covered with bark
 As more burials were added the tumulus
grew reaching huge sizes
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The Eastern Woodlands: Woodland
The Adena Complex
Later Adena burials changed to very
elaborate interments often with large
burial chambers or enclosures that
contained more than 1 body
 The structures lay on or beneath house
floors and remained open for a time,
which is different than the continual build
up of mound deposits in the earlier types
 Many bodies were painted with pigments,
and even some of the bones
 Grave goods became more and more
elaborate
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Reconstruction of an Adena
structure that likely has a
mortuary function
Adena burial from the
Wright mound, Kentucky
The Eastern Woodlands: Woodland
Summary
It is important to remember that the
distinctive, elaborate and varied Adena
complex and Early woodland culture had
its roots in the Archaic period of the
Eastern Woodlands
 Throughout the Early Woodland period
populations began to rise and local groups
defined their territories
 As a result the projectile points and other
artefacts show more variation after 1000
BC
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The Eastern Woodlands: Woodland
Summary
Throughout the Woodland period
exchange networks continued and became
more defined as did social systems and
organization
 The latter became well-integrated
replacing the more flexible ones of the
Archaic period
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The Eastern Woodlands
Conclusion
The Paleo-Indian cultures evolve into the
Archaic populations spread across the
Eastern Woodlands
 The appearance of ceramics, domesticates
and burial mounds around 1000 BC mark
the appearance of the Woodland, which
continues to develop until around 1600 AD
 The Mississippian marks the climax
Eastern Woodlands (AD 1000 – 1500)
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Known for the large chiefdoms and their socioreligious organization (cults, cemeteries and
earthworks)
Great Serpent Mound, Ohio