Paleo Indians
http://www.oplin.org/point/people/palepeop.html
13,000 B.C.(?)-7000 B.C.
The Palaeo-lndians could have inhabited southeastern Ohio as early as 13,000 B.C.
near the end of the ice age. As the glaciers retreated and vegetation became
established on the landscape, the people gradually spread through much of the Ohio
area, perhaps following the game animals on which they preyed.
The Palaeo-lndians probably lived in small (40-60 people), mobile groups obtaining
most of their food supply through hunting various animals with spears tipped with flint
points. They may also have collected plant foods, especially as deciduous forests
including nut-bearing trees (oak, hickory, walnut) succeeded the coniferous forests of
the ice age.
These people occupied small temporary camps at different locations within their
territories, probably in response to the seasonal availability of various food sources.
Archaeologists have also found some of their workshops near outcrops of flint. These
sites are important because the debris left there shows how the Palaeo-lndians made
their distinctive tools.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1280
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/media_file.php?rec=28
13000 B.C. to 7000 B.C.
Paleoindians were the hunting and gathering peoples who originally discovered the Americas.
They lived in Ohio in the last centuries of the Ice Age. Early Paleoindians hunted now extinct
species of big game animals such as mammoth and mastodon. They also hunted deer and small
game, fished, and gathered nuts and fruit when available. Their distinctive spear points are found
across North America.
The First Ohioans
Humans have not always lived in the Americas. Our original homeland is in Africa. We have
been moving out into the rest of the world over the last 200,000 years.
In order to reach the Americas from the Old World, without crossing an ocean, people had to go
through Siberia. They could have walked across the Bering Strait when winter sea ice filled the
gap between Asia and America, or walked across on dry land at the times when lowered sea
levels opened up the broad continental shelf connecting these two land masses.
The earliest Paleoindian culture discovered in Ohio so far is the Clovis culture (9500 to 8000
B.C.). The hallmark of the Clovis culture is a type of spear point called a Clovis point. Clovis
points have straight sides with no notches. Instead, they have grooves or "flutes" chipped into
their bases. These grooves would have helped attach the points firmly to spear shafts. The point
and the culture are named for the Clovis site located near the city of Clovis, New Mexico. Here
archaeologists first discovered the great age of such points.
Paleoindians hunted large and small game animals, fished in the lakes and streams, and gathered
nuts and berries. Since they were always on the move their shelters were tents made of wooden
poles covered with bark or hides.
One of their most important natural resources was flint. They got flint from several sources. In
Ohio, their favorite materials were Upper Mercer flint from Coshocton County and Flint Ridge
flint from Licking County. Tools made from flint supplied them with all they needed to live.
Hunting and gathering bands usually have no chiefs. Leaders are men and women who
have earned the respect of the group because of their abilities at hunting, healing, or
providing some other needed goods or services. Men and women were free to leave the
band at any time to join another or to fend for themselves. The elders would have been
highly valued for their experience and knowledge.
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=40
The first Americans came from Asia. When they came and what routes they followed
are still uncertain. Current evidence shows that sea levels dropped during glacial
periods on earth. The present-day Bering Strait, separating Asia from North America,
was dry land during those periods. Thus people and animals could have moved by land
from Asia to North America as early as 20,000 years ago.
The newcomers to America followed the animals they hunted and gathered plant
foods according to the season. They probably lived in small groups called bands
made up of a few families, each band having its own territory. Because they had
to travel often, the first Native Americans probably built tent-like structures that
were easily moved. One person may have been viewed as the best hunter or
provider, but many tasks probably required the cooperation of all; likewise,
supplies may have been shared equally, or nearly so, between the ablest and
those with lesser skills.
Like any human society, the newcomers had a spoken language that included a name
for their own group. That name is not known because the language no longer exists.
Archaeologists call these first Americans, Paleoindians (pay-lee-oh-indians).
Archaic Indians Resources:
http://www.oplin.org/point/people/archpeop.html
8,000-500 BC
The economy of Archaic cultures depended on hunting, fishing, and collecting a wide
variety of plant foods in an essentially modern environment. Recent evidence from
Kentucky and Tennessee indicates that Late Archaic people may have domesticated
squash around 2300 BC. People became increasingly efficient in their adaptation to
various environments throughout the Ohio area.
Archaic communities established camps in various parts of their territories during
different seasons of the year according to the availability of food resources. Some of
those camps remained fairly permanent bases where sizeable groups of people
congregated periodically. Others were quite small and temporary, perhaps occupied by
a single family for a short period of time.
In addition to chipping spear points and knives from flint, the Archaic people learned
how to make axes and various types of food processing tools by grinding and polishing
hard stone such as granite.
A growing emphasis on trade and ceremonialism in Late Archaic times foreshadowed
developments among the cultures of the Woodland tradition.
http://bama.ua.edu/~alaarch/prehistoricalabama/archaic.htm
Archaic: from the Greek, meaning Ancient
After the Ice Age ended, the environment
changed and many of the larger animals
became extinct. The sea levels rose, and
river deltas became flooded. The weather
was warmer, and vegetation changed. The
large animals that the Paleoindians
Illustration by C. B.
hunted were no longer around. People had
Dupree (courtesy of
to adapt to this new world around them.
the Alabama Museum As they adapted, a different stage of
of Natural History)
culture developed slowly over time, known
as the Archaic stage. It continued much
longer than the Paleoindian culture did,
lasting from 10,000 to 3,500 years ago.
About Archaic Life...
Archaic people were not
as nomadic as their
ancestors. Their changed
lifeways relied less on
migratory animals
species. Instead, their
subsistence relied more
on smaller game such as
deer, turkey, rabbit, and
even skunk, fox, and
wildcat. Archaic Indians
made seasonal moves
because different food
sources were available at
different places and in
different times of the
year.
During the fall and winter,
they camped in the
forested hills. Here the
hunting was better and
they could also gather
nuts. In the summer and
spring, they returned to
the lower lying river
valleys to take advantage
of fishing and collecting
shellfish, such as mussels.
Illustration by Roy S. Dickens, reproduced from
Frontiers in the Soil: the Archaeology of Georgia.
Shell Middens
Some of the most informative
areas of the Archaic period are
shell middens. These are
garbage piles of mussel shells.
As people disposed of the
shells year after year as they
stayed at the same campsite,
these piles grew and
preserved well over time.
Archaeologists find more than
just shells in the middens.
Archaeologists also find other
artifacts that provide clues to
what life was like and what
activities were taking place
there, including hide
preparation, woodworking,
tool making, and house
building. Sometimes
cemeteries are found at the
sites, which gives us
information about the Indians'
religious beliefs.
Photograph of a portion of the shell
midden found at Site 1Ma10, near
Huntsville, Alabama. Courtesy of the
Office of Archaeological Research,
University of Alabama Museums.
About Archaic Artifacts...
Illustrations by Roy S. Dickens, reproduced from
Frontiers in the Soil: the Archaeology of Georgia.
The Atlatl
Innovative new tools were also added
to the Archaic Indians' possessions.
One of these was the atlatl. An atlatl,
or spear thrower, is a shaft with a
weight (bannerstone) and hook on one
end which a spear is then attached to.
This device aids the spear thrower to
hurl his spear farther and faster.
Roll your cursor over the picture to
the left to find out how the atlatl was
thrown.
Nutting Stones
Another new tool created
by Archaic people was the
nutting stone, used to
grind up nuts and plants
(with the aid of a hammer Illustration by Roy S. Dickens,
stone). Since the Archaic reproduced from Frontiers in the
Soil: the Archaeology of Georgia.
Indians had a more
sedentary lifestyle than
the Paleoindians, heavier
stone tools, like nutting
stones could be added to
the Archaic tool kit.
Steatite, or Soapstone, Bowls
The Archaic Indians produced stone bowls in addition to stone
tools. These bowls are made of a stone known as steatite, or
soapstone, and sandstone.
Illustrations
by Roy S.
Dickens,
reproduced
from
Frontiers in
the Soil: the
Archaeology
of Georgia.
Step 1.
In order to make a
steatite vessel,
mushroom-shaped blanks
were carved from
boulders of steatite.
Step 2.
These blanks were
then carved using
a wooden mallet
and a chisel made
from a deer
antler.
The finished steatite
vessel.
When the bowls were
completed they could not
only be used for storage,
but they could also be used
in cooking by being placed
directly over a fire.
The stone bowl on the right was
recovered from a site on the
Tennessee River in Northern
Alabama (Newman 2002). Notice
the two holes drilled into the
vessel toward the back of the
picture. These are most likely
repair holes. If a crack appeared
in a vessel, holes were drilled on
either side of the crack and rope
or string was threaded through
the holes and tied off. This was
done in hopes that the vessel
would last a little longer.
A steatite vessel recovered from
the Flint River Creek Site,
1Ma48. Photograph provided by
the Office of Archaeological
Research, University of Alabama
Museums.
The Gradual Shift from Archaic to Woodland
Pottery was introduced in the Late Archaic period. With its beginnings in
present-day South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, along the Atlantic coast,
the production of ceramics began to spread westward into Alabama. Ceramic
pots were used in much the same way as the earlier steatite vessels, for
cooking and storage. However, with the advent of ceramic technology, came
the ability to easily transport the vessels that were much lighter than their
stone counterparts.
The inventions continued in the Archaic stage. People began to realize that
they could encourage plants to grow better. They were not farming yet, but
instead helped thin out weeds and/or sheltered wild plants so they could
grow better. The first plants “harvested” were hard-rind squash, and bottle
gourds, which were also used as containers.
People were also sharing ideas and trading goods with others in the region.
For the first time, archaeologists find things that would not normally be
found in that environment. For example, rocks from the Appalachian
Mountains are found in gravesites in Alabama. They were most likely traded
from neighbor to neighbor until reaching their final destination.
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=47
By about 8000 B.C., the Ice Age glaciers had drawn back into Canada. The wild rivers
of southern Ohio slowly became more calm. Along their banks vast forests of oak,
hickory, beech, and elm flourished in the fertile soils. Pine and spruce forests grew on
the uplands. After new soil developed on the ice-scoured plains of western Ohio, oak
forests and grasslands appeared. In the southeastern part of the state, where there had
been no glaciers, hardwood trees still grew. Elm and ash forests developed in the low,
marshy Lake Plains of northwestern Ohio. Slightly higher regions became grasslands.
Grasses along with elm and ash forests may have spread into the still-dry western Lake
Erie basin. Mixed oak and beech forests grew in northeastern Ohio. Throughout Ohio
there was much more food for animals and people than during the Ice Age. Thus, their
numbers and ranges no doubt grew.
The Archaic (ar-kay-ik) Indians who lived in Ohio between about 8000 and 500 B.C. are
set apart from the earlier Paleoindians partly because their spear points were different.
However, certain "transitional" types of points suggest a slow shift from one culture to
the other. Some types of well-made Archaic points show that the flint-working
techniques of the Paleoindians were carried forward. However, later changes by the
Archaic Indians marked them as a distinct group.
The term "Archaic" describes hunting and gathering societies who did not farm, make
ceramics, or live at permanent sites. Still, Archaic groups were not culturally-poor.
According to recent research, Archaic people had comfortable lifestyles, especially
where there were many resources. Indeed, studies in various parts of the world have
shown that some hunting and gathering groups living today spend less time getting food
than do farmers.
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9NnMVsJkAE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Woodland Indian Resources
http://bama.ua.edu/~alaarch/prehistoricalabama/woodland.htm
The Woodland Stage
is identified throughout
the Eastern United
States. It is
characterized by an
increased dependence
on cultivation, the
concentration of the
population into more
permanent towns and
villages, a widespread
emphasis on ceremony,
and the introduction of
both pottery and the
bow and arrow.
Artist's reconstruction by Martin Pate, provided
courtesy of the Southeastern Archaeological Center,
National Park Service.
About Woodland Life...
Like their Archaic
predecessors, Woodland
Indians hunted small game
and foraged in the forests.
However, unlike their Archaic
forerunners, Woodland Indians
placed greater emphasis on a
more sedentary life by
tending plants and cultivating
maize, sunflower, beans, and
squash. With this increased
importance placed on
cultivation came an increased
need to settle in one place for
longer periods of time. Thus,
towns and villages appear to
be occupied year round. In the
spring, summer, and fall the
Woodland Indians hunted and
tended their gardens. By
drying the meat and storing
their crops and gathering nuts,
the Woodland Indians could
remain in their villages during
the lean winter months.
Illustration by Roy S. Dickens, Jr.
Reproduced from Frontiers in the Soil:
The Archaeology of Georgia.
Conical mounds
Mound building first
appeared during the
Archaic Stage. However,
conical mounds are most
Sauls Mound at Pinson Archaeological Park.
Photograph provided courtesy of Chris Wilkins.
often associated with the
Woodland Stage. The
Alabama landscape is
dotted with numerous
conical mounds, nearly all
of which are currently on
private land. However,
just over the TennesseeAlabama border is Pinson
Mounds, a Tennessee
state archaeological park.
Fifteen mounds and many
other earthworks make
up the nearly 1,200 acre
park. The tallest mound
at that park is Sauls
Mound with a height of
72 feet. Archaeologists
believe this mound and,
indeed this site, was used
for ceremonial purposes.
About Woodland Artifacts...
Effigy Pipe. Photograph provided courtesy of the Office of Archaeological
Research, University of Alabama Museums.
Pipes
Pipes first begin to appear in Archaic contexts. Yet, due to the large number
that are found in Woodland contexts, they are most often associated with
the Woodland Stage. As people began to aggregate into permanent village
settings, a more elaborate ceremonial life seems to have evolved. Smoking
from elaborate pipes became part of this new ritualism. The effigy pipe
pictured above represent a dog and is made of greenstone. This pipe was
recovered from Site 1Ms55, in Marshall County near the Tennessee River.
Reels
Copper reels are gorgets that were
worn on the chest of, presumably,
someone of importance. Reels first
appear in archaeological contexts in
the Ohio Valley. Archaeologists believe
that through exchange and contact with
Ohio Valley Indians, copper reels
spread, or diffused, further south into
Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Many were uncovered during the 1930s
TVA excavations that took place in
Northern Alabama along the Tennessee
River.
Photograph provided courtesy of the
Office of Archaeological Research,
University of Alabama Museums.
Grinding Stones
Equally important during
the Archaic Stage,
grinding stones, like nutting
stones, were used to grind
nuts, such as acorns,
pecans, and walnuts, which
were crushed into flour, or
meal, with a pestle
(pictured far right).
Illustrations by Roy S.
Dickens, Jr. Reproduced
from Frontiers in the Soil:
The Archaeology of
Georgia.
Bow and Arrow
One of the hallmarks of the
Woodland Stage is the
invention of the bow and
arrow. Just as the atlatl
increased the power of a
spear, the invention of the
bow and arrow produced a
more powerful weapon than
the spear and atlatl. The bow
acted as a spring that, when
released, was quick and
forceful. With the adoption of
the bow and arrow, came the
need for smaller projectile
points.
Illustration by Nathan H.
Glick. Reproduced from The
World of the Southern
Indians.
Pottery
Another defining hallmark of the Woodland Stage is the widespread
adoption of pottery. The earliest pottery appears to have been made in
the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia during the Late
Archaic. By the beginning of the Woodland Stage, the knowledge and use
of pottery had spread into Alabama and continued to spread further west
into the Mississippi River Valley.
http://mason.gmu.edu/~jjarski/portfolio/fall07/easternwoodland#east
The Eastern Woodland Indian were made up of many tribes. The most known of these
tribes were the Powhatan, Mohawks, Iroqoius, and the Susquehanna. Most of these
tribes belonged to a group of tribes called the Iroquois Nation. The Iroquois tribes all
took animals as there tribal symbol and would mark all of their communications between
each other with that symbol. Also when the tribes would meet the chiefs of the different
tribes would always wear a animl skin that was designed to look like the tribes sacred
animal.
The Eastern Woodland Indians inhabited a wide area in the eastern part of the United
States that extended eastward from the Mississippi River, through the Great Lakes
region, to the Atlantic Ocean. The inhabitants in this region were forest dwellers living in
a vastly wooded area that extended, not only from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean,
but south from Canada into the southern states of Kentucky and Virginia.
All of the Eastern Woodland tribes, which include the Powhatan, were a
stationary tribe. This meant that the tribes did not move very much, except
when they were in search of food. This meant that they needed to create
their own types of shelter. The Eastern Woodland tribes lived in homes
called "longhouses", which all varied in size depending on how big of an area
they had to use, as well as how many families were going to live in them. It
was not uncommon to see 20 different families living in one longhouse. The
longhouses were rectangular in shape, used saplings (baby trees), and
branches for the frames. The branches were then woven together using the
bark from the trees. Most Eastern Woodland tribes would then use animal
skins, wood, and hay to construct their homes.
Like most longhouses used by the Eastern Woodland
Indians, they contained shelves that could be used for
storing food, equipment, and tools. While it was common
for the Indians to sleep on the floor, some homes had
platforms or racks that could be used as beds or chairs.
The Indians in these homes slept on platforms lined with
deerskin on each wall. In the center of this longhouse was an area to build a
fire which was used for keeping warm in the winter or for cooking during
rainy weather. Some larger longhouses might contain more than one place
to build a fire. A hole built into the top of the longhouse served as a chimney
to allow smoke to rise from the fire and ventilate to the
outside. Most of the longhomes also would include shelves
and drying racks where they would put the skins of the
animals they killed to dry to use in their clothing, as food,
and as part of new homes.
Food
The Northeastern Woodland Indians were expert farmers and farming was
the main focus of their lives. Though primarily farmers, they were also
skilled hunters and animals were a staple in their diets. The Indians also
fished the fresh waters of the many rivers and streams throughout the
region using hooks, spears, and nets. Tribes along the coastal Atlantic
waters also dug for shellfish such as oysters and clams.Many tribes planted
corn, beans, and squash which they called the "Three Sisters". In addition to
the three principal crops, gourds, Jerusalem artichokes, melons, pumpkins,
sunflowers and tobacco were also grown. They also gathered seeds, berries,
and nuts. They dried berries, corn, fish, meat and squash for the winter.
Jobs
The Northeastern Woodland Indians had their own farm plot and each
member of the family had an important responsibility. The women of the
family were responsible for gathering wild plants, such as berries, nuts, and
edible plants and flowers. The men's responsibility was to hunt, fish, and fell
trees to make canoes. Many of the Eastern Woodland tribes were not
nomadic and relied on agriculture to provide food for the tribe. Being expert
farmers, farming was the main focus of their lives. The Iroquois
lived in areas that provided good farm land and the Powhatan
also cultivated the land for food.
Women usually did the cultivating after the men had cleared
the land and, along with their children, spent a lot of time in
the
fields during the spring and summer seasons. It was probably
the women who experimented with agricultural techniques that resulted in
the successful cultivation of domestic crops.
The women in a Powhatan, or Eastern Woodland tribe held a very high
role. They lived in what is called a matriarchal society, which just means
women were the most important. This was due to the fact that the Eastern
Woodland tribes believed that eaverything had a spirit and that the most
important spirit was called "Mother Nature". Since women were the ones
who cared for the children they were "kindred spirits" to mother nature.
The children mostly got to play during the day when they were young.
Children were expected to go into the gardens to help their parents work
everyday. Boys would go out with the men of the tribe and learn how to
hunt, track, and gather food for the tribe. Their main job was to learn how to
be a Powhatan Indian. At the age of ten, boys would be blindfolded and
taken out to somewhere in the woods. If they were able to make it back to
the village, and many did not, then the tribe had a huge celebration to
celebrate them entering manhood. They were then expected to go on hunts,
protect the village and the tribe, as well as find a wife. The girls were taught
by their mothers how to be a good wife. They were taught how to farm, how
to take care of the children, how to make clothing, and were expected to
marry by their eleventh birthday.
Transportation
The Eastern Woodland tribes were not nomadic tribes, which means they did
not movearound. Their homes were built on the ground and were not easily
moved. However, there were times when it was necessary for them to move
around. Some of the reasons they may have needed to move around were
for hunting, gathering of food, when there was a drought, if an enemy was
trying to envade, or food was scarce in the area they were in. When times
like these occured they would dug-out canoes to get around which enabled
them to travel over water for short distances, follow food that uses water to
try and escape, and to fish easier using nets. The Powhatans would also
walk every where they went. Since they were not nomadic they did not need
to walk far, so it was not a big deal. Though it would not be out of the
ordinary if you saw someone walk three days to get where they needed to
go, or in search of food.
The Eastern Woodland tribes were one of the first to use animals to help
them. The Powhatans would use the dogs/wolves to help them hunt by
scaring the animals and then shooting them with their bows and arrows.
Some of the Powhatans would use the dogs to help them carry their hunting
supplies and carry the food back to the village. The thing about these dogs
are that they were free, they were not a pet and so were allowed to roam
free, but they still hung around the villages. Many of the Eastern Woodland
tribes believed that this was because the dogs were the spirits of their
ancestors helping them to survive.
Art, Clothing, and Tools
Powhatan warriors used tomahawks or heavy wooden war clubs. They also
carried shields to protect them from animal attacks, as well as
attacks from a waring tribe. Powhatan hunters used bows and
arrows. Fishermen used nets and pronged spears to catch fish
from their canoes. All of these tools were made from animals that
they had killed. No part of an animal was wasted because they felt
that if they wasted something the spirits would retailate against
them and something bad would happen to the tribe or to them individually.
Some examples of ways they used the whole animal are they would use the
stomachs of animals to hold water, they would use the bones and teeth to
make their tools/weapons, and they would even use the bones to create
pipes and spoons.
Powhatans usually wore a beaded headband with a feather in it. They
painted their faces and bodies with different
colors and designs for different occasions,
and both men and women often wore
tattooes. Powhatan women wore knee-length
skirts and the men wore breechcloths with
leather pant legs tied on if the weather was
cool. Traditionally the Powhatans did not
wear shirts, although they did wear cloaks
made of turkey feathers or furs in the winter.
Both genders wore earrings and moccasins on their feet.
Today, some Powhatan people still have traditional headbands or moccasins,
but they wear clothes from today like jeans instead of breechcloths and they
only wear feathers in their hair on special occasions.
The Powhatan Indians are known for their beadwork and basketry. The
Powhatans crafted wampum out of white and purple seashells or shell beads.
Wampum beads were strung together in many different patterns. The
designs usually told stories about important events or a family. Wampum
was used like money. The Powhatans would trade the white man wampum
for goods. Wampum belts would be made into pictures showing the reason it
was made. All Indian messengers carried wampum belts when going to other
tribes because they were used as a form of communication between Indian
tribes. The baskets that the Powhatan Indians would weave, were made
from the bark of trees. They coated the baskets with pine pitch to make
them waterproof. They were very light in weight. The Powhatans used these
baskets for gathering berries, nuts, water, corn, beans, and squash.
http://www.fcps.edu/KingsParkES/student%20pages/indians/woodland/woodland.htm
Location
The Woodland Indians lived in the
northeastern part of the United
States.
Houses
The Woodland Indians lived in
wigwams and longhouses.
Wigwams were made of young
sticks bent into a half circle. Birch
bark was put over it and a thin layer
of grass. Longhouses were
rectangular homes. Longhouses
were also made out of young sticks.
On top of the frame of sticks they
would sew together bark. Inside the
longhouse there would be sleeping
platforms,with deerskin along each
wall. There were also shelves to
hold baskets,pots, and animal skins.
Sometimes as many as 12 families
lived in a longhouse.
Food
They hunted, fished, and got
Clothing
berries, fruit, and nuts.
The men wore shirts, leggings, and Woodland Indians were also
moccasins of animal skins, often farmers. They planted corns,
deer. The women wore skirts
beans, and squash. They used
woven from grasses with furs on bows and arrows and traps to
top and leggings underneath. In the catch animals. Could you
summertime, men changed to
ever imagine eating your
buckskins and women wore grass shoes? The Iroquois Indians
dresses.
made soup with their shoes
when they couldn't find food
to eat.
Wampum
Wampum was used as money.
Wampum was made with purple
and white shells. It was also used to
show that you were not the enemy
when one indian visited another
indian tribe. They used wampum to
decorate their clothing and jewelry.
Here are some of the shells they used to make wampum.
Woodland Indians also used
porcupine quills and beads to
decorate their clothing and
make jewelry.
LATE PREHISTORIC INDIANS
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1282
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/media_file.php?rec=6
A.D. 900 to 1650
The Late Prehistoric Period refers to the time immediately before the movement of Europeans
into the Ohio country. The American Indian cultures occupying Ohio during this period lived in
large villages often surrounded by a stockade wall. Sometimes they built their villages on high
ground overlooking a river. Leadership may have become centralized in one or two leaders,
perhaps including a war chief.
Late Prehistoric people grew maize (or corn), beans, and squash in their fields. They continued to
hunt, fish, and gather wild plant foods, but maize was, by far, their most important source of
food.
Their ritual life was centered on the plazas at the center of their villages and often the dead were
buried in graves surrounding the plaza. Effigy mounds represent a new development during this
period. Serpent Mound and the Alligator Mound appear to have been shrines to important spirits
that still were revered by the tribes of the historic period.
During the Late Prehistoric Period, several distinctive cultures arose in different parts of Ohio:
the Fort Ancient culture in central and southern Ohio, Sandusky culture in northwestern Ohio,
Whittlesey culture in northeastern Ohio, and the Monongahela culture in eastern Ohio.
The Late Prehistoric Period also is called the Mississippian Period. In the Mississippi Valley and
in the Southeastern United States, large cites grew up during this time. The largest was Cahokia
in Illinois.
Perhaps similar large cities would have become established in Ohio, but the Beaver Wars and
then the movement of Europeans into the region forever changed the lives of Ohio's American
Indian peoples.
http://www.oplin.org/point/people/ftanpeop.html
A.D. 1000-1650?
Fort Ancient (southern Ohio), Sandusky (northwestern Ohio), Whittlesey (northeastern
Ohio), Monongahela (eastern Ohio)
Late Prehistoric peoples lived in villages located in areas of fertile soil that could support
cultivation of corn, beans, and squash. Although their crops supplied a major portion of
their food supply, they also hunted game (with bows and arrows), fished, and collected
wild plant foods and nuts. Periodically, perhaps every 10-15 years, declining fertility of
the crop land, decreasing supplies of wood and game, and increasing sanitation
problems forced the villagers to move their community to a new location. Each groupFort Ancient, Sandusky, Whittlesey, and Monongahela-had its own distinctive ways of
making and decorating ceramic jars and bowls.
Although the picture is far from clear, by the early 17th century, these Late Prehistoric
people were either eradicated by other Indian groups, were decimated by the diseases
spreading from the European colonies on the East Coast, or moved out of the Ohio area
to avoid these problems. Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, and Miami Indians (among
others) then moved into the Ohio area shortly before the advent of early European
explorers and missionaries.
The Fort Ancient people occupied most of the river valleys of southern Ohio, northern
Kentucky, and western West Virginia. Their villages consisted of a number of
rectangular houses often grouped around an open plaza area. In some instances, they
protected their community by erecting a wooden fence or stockade around it.
http://www.fortancient.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36&Itemid=
43&limitstart=5
Late Prehistoric Period AD 1000 - 1750
The Late Prehistoric Period is the final period of the prehistoric era in Ohio and is perhaps the best known. Although
other unrelated groups thrived along Lake Erie to the north, southern Ohio was populated by a culture referred to as
Fort Ancient. This culture is related to larger and more complex Mississippian cultures to the west and throughout the
southeastern United States. There is clear interaction with Missippian groups in the form of trade goods and shared
symbolism. Some archaeologists see the Fort Ancient as an offshoot of the Mississippians, while others regard them
as a unique and separate culture. The Fort Ancient culture are generally thought to be descendents of Late
Woodland predecessors. The Fort Ancient are notable for their intensive reliance on corn agriculture and their large,
densely occupied villages, such as SunWatch Indian Village in Montgomery County.
The Fort Ancient people had large villages that generally included about 100-500 residents. This number varied with
the season as people would leave the village in the winter to live in hunting camps. The villages were substantially
larger and more sedentary than the Late Woodland and were occupied for at least 20-30 years.
SunWatch Indian Village is the most thoroughly excavated village attributed to this culture. The village structure was
a pattern of concentric circles with a plaza in the heart of the village. Surrounding the plaza was a circular cemetery
zone in which deceased villagers were buried. Although some individuals appear to have grave goods and other
indications of status, there are also individuals of corresponding lower status and children represented. Around the
burial zone, there is a circular zone of storage pits, trash pits, and work/cooking areas. Surrounding the work zone is
another circular ring of domestic structures. Houses were rectangular in shape and ranged in size from 16 to 22 ft
wide and 19 to 30 ft long. The village was surrounded by a substantial stockade despite a general lack of evidence
for warfare.
As the population continued to grow, corn (“maize”) became the primary crop, supplemented with beans and squash.
These three plants were grown together and were referred to by historic Native Americans as the “three sisters.” Fort
Ancient nutrition was poor, lacking diversity and protein. Approximately fifty to seventy-five percent of the diet was
composed of corn alone. The Fort Ancient hunted deer extensively, but also relied on elk, turkey, bear, and small
game. Nuts, fruits, and berries were also gathered.
The Fort Ancient people of Southern Ohio are known for the construction of two animal effigy mounds – Alligator
Mound in Granville and Serpent Mound in Peebles. These effigy mounds were not burial sites, but were probably
more ritualistic in nature, serving as ceremonial sites. The “Alligator” was originally interpreted as an alligator, it is
more likely that the mound represents an opossum or panther and the name was a mistranslation by early settlers.
As Europeans began settling North America, they began trading goods with the native peoples. Europeans goods
made their way through native hands into Ohio long before Europeans ever crossed the Ohio River. Some later Fort
Ancient culture sites include a few European trade goods such as beads, but few if any early European explorers
ever saw a Fort Ancient village. Archaeological sites attributed to the Fort Ancient culture disappear fairly abruptly
around A.D. 1650. It is unclear what relationship, if any, the Fort Ancient have to the historic tribes encountered by
later explorers. Large villages and most of the middle Ohio River Valley may have been largely unpopulated for at
least fifty years. The introduction of European diseases may have decimated Fort Ancient people leading to their
virtual disappearance, though there is no direct archaeological evidence supporting this popular idea. It has been
suggested that the Fort Ancient were driven out by conflict with contemporary groups, also an idea unconfirmed by
archaeological evidence.
Historic Period AD 1750 - Present
Europeans made their way into Ohio fairly late in contrast to other regions. Reliable descriptions of the Ohio River
Valley do not appear until around the mid-1700s. The tribes found living in Ohio at that time include the Shawnee,
Miami, Delaware, and others, of which none may be directly related to the prehistoric Fort Ancient. The Shawnee
tribe is often described as the most likely historic descendent, though it is difficult for historians and archaeologists to
find any definitive links. The Shawnee were an exceptionally fragmented group in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, with many relocations, fissions, and conflicts with other tribes. Prior to Europeans encountering them in
southern Ohio, the Shawnee were encountered in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Miami, Delaware, and other
tribes were likewise observed in other states prior to being encountered in Ohio. Regardless of whether or not the
historic tribes were related to the prehistoric cultures described by archaeologists, there is no question that historic
period people lived in dynamic and threatening times.
The natives faced several hurdles and challenges to their way of life as settlers moved into the region. They were
confronted with diseases in which they had no natural immunities, trading posts were built within their territories,
missionaries tried to convert them to Christianity, liquor was introduced, and settlers were expanding into Ohio. The
European settlers forced their way into the Ohio Valley and fought continuously for the rich and fertile land of Ohio.
By the end of the War of 1812, most of the native tribes were defeated, both militarily and in spirit. Many moved
westward, but a few remained in defiance. In 1830, the United States Congress enacted the Indian Removal Act
which forced all natives living in the Northwest Territory, which included Ohio, to move west of the Mississippi to
government-designated lands, or reservations.