Georgia History Chapter 4
GEORGIA’S PREHISTORIC
PAST:
CLUES OF THE FIRST PEOPLE
Prehistoric Age
Archaeologists must unearth clues to
prehistoric past, before written records were
created.
Some cultures have prehistoric pasts.
Egyptians had hieroglyphics as early as
5000 – 6000 BC.
Georgia’s prehistoric past ended 500 years
ago. Prehistoric Indians lived thousands of
years ago.
Unearthing the Clues
Archaeologists study certain clues to the past:
Artifacts, such as arrowheads, tools, pottery,
jewelry, etc.
Ecofacts (living objects) such as pollen, seeds,
bones, teeth, skulls and shells)
Features, such arrangement of rocks, bricks,
stains, and other features laid out on ground.
Site Excavation
Basic tools include shovels, wire screens,
trowels, ice picks and brushes are used.
Digging is very slow and methodical, to
prevent missed objects or damage.
Notebooks recording data and sketches are
used, as well as cameras to document all
information.
In the Lab
After digging, all evidence is taken to a lab
for cleaning, sorting and identifying.
Archaeologists try to answer and record
multiple questions about each artifact.
Dating each object is an important clue to
it’s history.
Dating the Evidence
If evidence is an ecofact (once living), then
Carbon 14 dating (C14) can be used.
C14 deteriorates at a steady rate, so amount left is
examined (less C14, older the object).
If object is nonliving, then proximity to ecofact is
considered (ex: ax near a fire pit).
Final step is to compare findings with all previous
findings to understand ancient culture.
Georgia’s First Inhabitants
Theory is land bridge (Beringia) between
Asia (Siberia) and U.S. (Alaska) brought
first nomadic people about 12,000 years
ago.
Ice Age froze much of earth’s water, and
ocean levels were as much as 300 ft. lower
than today.
Crossing over to North America
Beringia may have been 1,300 miles wide during
Ice Age. Now covered with water (Bering Strait)
Migration of people (nomads) probably due to
searching for food and warmth.
By 10,000 BC first humans came to Georgia.
Next 11,700 years divided into traditions:
1) Paleo, 2) Archaic, 3)Woodland, and
4) Mississippian.
Beringia Today
Paleo-Indian Period 10,000 b.c. –
8,000 b.c.
Lived in small bands of about 20 adults and
children
Dependent mostly upon wild animals for
food, clothing, even tools
Diet consisted of large game – bison,
mastodons, giant sloths, etc – also ate small
game, berries, wild fruits and vegetables.
Paleo-Indian Period cont’d
Moved often in search of food
Usually camped in the open, but sometimes
dug pits or built shelters covered in bark,
brush or animal skins for warmth
Created the “clovis” spear point for hunting;
also created the “atlatl” to aid in throwing
spears further
There is no evidence of a religion
Paleo-Indian Period cont’d
Spear is notched,
suggesting a
“reloadable” spear
Archaic Period 8,000 b.c. – 1,000
b.c.
With the disappearance of large game, they
began to depend on hunting, fishing, and
gathering
Deer, bear, squirrels, rabbits, fish, berries,
wild fruits and vegetables made up their diet
Middens – large trash heaps containing
shellfish and oyster shells have been found.
Large middens suggest that the Indians
returned to the same place year after year.
Archaic Period cont’d
Learned to use the resources around them
and a wider variety of tools to make hunting
and gathering more efficient
Also built more permanent homes from
long poles covered in animal hide
Learned to burn small areas of forest to aid
in hunting
Archaic Period Cont’d
With less time needed to gather food, they
learned to polish stone, create decorative
items from stone and bone.
Learned to create pottery from clay and
Spanish moss or grass to be used for
cooking.
Became concerned with proper burial of the
dead suggesting religion and belief in an
after life.
Woodland Period 1,000 b.c. –
a.d. 1,000
Woodland Indians began to build
ceremonial mounds used for a variety of
purposes, most commonly religious
ceremonies and burial grounds
Developed the bow and arrow for hunting
as well as agriculture – began to save seeds
and for planting
Nuts became very important to their diet –
dug underground pits to save nuts and seeds
Ceremonial Mounds in GA
Woodland Period cont’d
Corn, squash, and bottle gourd from
modern-day Mexico were also used in
agriculture
Increase in food supply allowed for increase
in group size; people began to group
together into tribes
Created pottery from clay and sand; designs
were unique to each area were stamped on
the pots
Woodland Period cont’d
Artifacts in Georgia from as far away as the
Great Lakes suggest that Woodland Indians
traded through the US.
There is also evidence to suggest religion –
burial mounds contained jewelry, pottery
figurines of humans, and other ceremonial
objects
Mississippian Period a.d. 1,0001,600
Preferred rich bottom lands, long moist
growing seasons, and good deer and turkey
hunting
Relied heavily on agriculture, particularly
corn and beans
Harvest crops were stored in community
storehouses; supported a large population
Mississippian Period cont’d
Settlements were usually protected by a
wooden palisade
Houses were constructed of wattle and daub
Organized into chiefdoms that may include
only a couple of villages or may include a
wider area
A priest-chief presided over religious
ceremonies as well as political affairs
Mississippian Period cont’d
Built large flat topped mounds for religious
ceremonies with burial places underneath –
Etowah and Ocmulgee Indians are the best
known Mississippian
Regularly travelled waterways and forest
trails to trade; evidence shows they were
highly artistic
Discovered by Hernando de Soto in 1540