Early Georgia History
Study Guide
a.
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Standard: SS8H1a, SS8H1b, SS8H1c
Describe the evolution of Native American cultures prior to European contact.
Evaluate the impact of European contact on Native American cultures; include
Spanish missions along the barrier islands, and the exploration of Hernando de Soto.
Explain reasons for European exploration and settlement of North America, with
emphasis on the interests of the French, Spanish, and British in the southeastern
area.
Prehistoric People: PaleoIndians
*Many scientists believed that the first
people came to North America about
40,000 years ago!
*Archaeologists call these people
Paleo Indians.
*Paleo-Indians are ancestors of North
and South America’s native people.
*Paleo-Indians came to the Americas
from Asia in search of food.
Archaic Period 8,000 to
1,000BCE
*Many cultural and technological
advances took place during this time.
*Anthropologists (scientists who study
human life and cultures) divide this main
period into three sub-periods.
*Early Archaic Period – people traveled in
small groups called clans who worked
together to gather nuts, fruits, seeds, and
roots. The moved frequently to find new
sources of food
*Middle Archaic Period – Hunting and
gathering continued, but clans moved
less and less. Development of weapons
such as the Atlatl.
*Late Archaic Period – begin to build
permanent structures. Many groups
settled near rivers, cooking technology
increased (using pottery and soapstone
bowls)
Woodland Period 1000900CE
*Natives living in the Eastern
Woodlands region of American
Southeast to New England.
*Survived by fishing, gathering plants,
and hunting
*Developed technologies such as tools
and pottery
*Began living in groups called tribes.
*Small villages began to start up, but
most were not permanent.
*People began the practice of
agriculture. The most common was
called the Three Sisters of Native
American agriculture: corn, beans, and
squash
Mississippian Period
900CE-late 15th century
*Natives were farmers.
*Lasted until European contact.
*Lived in villages called chiefdoms.
*Traded shells, copper, and ceramic
objects with other groups.
*This group began to build large
mounds of earth, and were called
“moundbuilders”.
European Exploration –
late 15th Century
*Many Europeans sent missionaries to
the Americas to spread Christianity.
*Most early exploration in the
American Southeast was done by the
Spanish.
*They explored the coastline of the
Southeast along Georgia’s barrier
islands.
*The Spanish built missions on the
islands to convert Native Americans to
Catholicism .
European Explorer:
Hernando de Soto
*Hernando de Soto from Spain was
the first European to see the interior
of Georgia.
*He was looking for gold. He looked
for three years before he died, without
finding any gold.
*De Soto and his group were the only
Europeans to see many Native
American cultures before they
declined.
*Today, historians benefit from de
Soto’s writings of his interactions with
the Native Americans.
Causes of European
Exploration
*God, Gold, Glory
*France – 1562, France explores North
America in search of Gold
*Spain- 1568, Spain explores North
America in search of wealth, built
missions to spread Catholicism.
*England – 1588 Britain defeated the
Spanish Armada and began to explore the
Americas. They were looking for gold, and
to set up trading companies for items like
copper and furs. Took Natives as slaves.
*Native and European interaction often
led to warfare due to disagreements over
ownership of land in North America
* Native populations decreased as a
result of European exploration