Transcript Georgia’s Four Prehistoric Periods

Georgia’s Four
Prehistoric Periods
Background
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During the Ice Age, the seas were as much as
300 feet below what they are now. This
exposed large areas of land that today are
under water.
Around 12,000 B.C., small groups of hunters
walked across a “land bridge” from modernday Siberia to what is now Alaska.
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Scientists feel that the original group of
nomads contained fewer than 25 people. Some
scientists think it was less than that. (Think
about it – fewer than 25 people are responsible
for all of the Native Americans in both North
and South America!)
Georgia’s prehistoric inhabitants
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By approximately 10,000 B.C., groups of
nomadic humans had migrated to what is now
the Southeastern United States.
From 10,000 B.C. until around 1600 A.D.
these people and their descendants developed
4 unique cultural periods, or traditions.
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Paleo-Indian Period (10,000 to 8,000 B.C.)
Archaic Period (8,000 to 1,000 B.C.)
Woodland Period (1,000 B.C. to 1,000 A.D.)
Mississippian Period (1,000 A.D. to 1600 A.D.)
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First humans in North America
The Paleo-Indian Period
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Lived in small or groups of
two or three families
They moved from place to
place in search of and
following food.
They lived in temporary
shelters made of skins of
animals, pits, and caves, but
not in permanent shelters
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The men hunted small game and large, Ice-Age animals
such as the Giant Bison, Giant Sloth, Mastadon, and other
extinct mammals.
The women usually gathered plant foods such as nuts, wild
plums, grapes, blackberries
and other types of berries which were abundant in the summer
and early fall.
Food
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Berries, wild fruit/ vegetables such as plums,
blackberries, grapes
Primarily hunted large mammals such as
Bison, mastodon, giant sloth
Also hunted some small mammals (coyote, bear,
rabbit)
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In the early part of the Paleo period, they
hunted their prey with spears and other simple
tools. Some developed and attached Clovis
points to the spears. Clovis points are large
points, some being as large as your hand.
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Clovis points were attached to heavy spears that
were jabbed into the animal or thrown only a few
feet. Either method required the hunter to get close
to his prey, which was extremely dangerous.
Archaeological evidence shows that many male
Paleo-Indians suffered broken bones and other
lifelong injuries.
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Primitive atlatls helped the Paleo-indians kill smaller
game that was difficult to get close to.
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There is evidence that
the Paleo-Indians had
religious beliefs.
Graves have been found
in which the dead were
sprinkled with a red
powdered mineral
(ochre) and flowers
placed on their bodies.
Some people suggest
that they believed in
some form of afterlife.
The Paleo Period
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Dates
 10,000-8,000 B.C.
Weapons
 “Clovis” points
 Stone spear points
 Knives and scrapers
 Atlatl – used to propel spears long
distances
Food
 Large game hunted animals
 Mammoths, bisons, ground
sloths, and mastadons
 Wild berries and nuts gathered
Paleo = “Very old” / few lived
to be 30 yrs. old
 Dwellings
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Lived in groups of 25-50
Nomadic = always on the
move for food = no
permanent housing
Slept in caves, under
cliffs, and dug out
“sleeping pits”
Religion
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Artifacts to suggest
general spirituality – red
powder, flowers
Archaic Period
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As the Ice Age ended and the weather became
warmer, life began changing for the prehistoric
Indians of our area.
Scientists have divided the Archaic Period into three
distinct time spans:
Early Archaic (8,000 B.C. to 5,000B.C)
Middle Archaic (5,000 B.C. to 4,000 B.C.)
Late Archaic (4,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C.)
Archaic
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8,000-1,000 B.C.
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In general, Indians of the Archaic Period worked
and lived in larger groups and stayed in place longer
than the Paleo-Indians did.
In the Early Archaic period, groups of Indians
continued to follow their food sources.
The Atlatl
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One weapon used during the Archaic period was the
atlatl, or spear thrower. The atlatl allowed the
hunter to throw a light spear (called a dart) very far
with a great amount of force.
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Archaic peoples turned from big-game hunting to
the forest mammals like the white-tailed deer as well
as to nuts and plant foods. They hunted turkeys and
passenger pigeons, collected box turtles each spring,
and freshwater fish and mussels were added to the
diet.
By the Middle Archaic period, the area grew warm
and dry. As a result, rivers and the water along the
coasts receded, making it easier to gather oysters,
mussels and other shellfish for food.
Food
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Smaller game such as deer, bear, rabbit
Berries
Fish, oysters, shellfish, reptiles
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Some evidence of this is the presence of
middens. Middens are piles of shells that
accumulated over time as families of Indians
tossed their throw-away oyster and clam shells
in the same pile.
Dwellings
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Semi-permanent structure
Evidence of semi-permanence – middens
(garbage mounds made from discarded shells)
– This suggests a return to the same area year
after year
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A common tool of the Late Archaic period was
the grooved axe. The grooved axe shows
archaeologists that Late Archaic Indians cut
down tress and probably cleared land around
their camp sites.
Tools & Weapons
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Spears with Atlatl (spear thrower)
Knives, axes
Pottery comes into use
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Archaic Indians’ shelters were made of animal skins and
wood, or woven sticks, but they were not permanent homes.
At the most, they served as part of a temporary base camp.
Pottery
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In the Early Archaic period, Indians began carving
bowls from solid rock.
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By the Late Archaic, some groups had
discovered that containers could be made from
clay.
What would be a benefit of having clay pots?
What would be a drawback?
The Atlatl develops further
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The atlatl is one weapon that was used for almost
30,000 years. (We have been using guns for less
than 600 years!)
During the Archaic period atlatl technology
improved and it became the primary weapon of the
Archaic indians.
How it works
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The dart of an atlatl is usually a long piece of
river cane or soft wood. When it is thrown, the
dart “bends” and springs off the atlatl with
tremendous force.
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Modern experiments show that an atlatl can
help throw a dart over 800 feet, or at short
ranges with a force strong enough to go
through a 50-gallon drum!
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Why do you think the Archaic Indians started
using a weapon that could be thrown a long
distance?
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Hint: What kind of animals did they hunt?
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Archaeological evidence shows that the Archaic
Indians buried their dead with weapons, tools, and
objects from everyday life. Does this suggest that
they believed in an afterlife?
Snapshots of Archaic-Indian Life
Things becoming more settled
The Archaic Period
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Dates
 8,000 – 1,000 B.C.
Weapons
 Atlatl
 New tools invented to save time and effort
 spear points become smaller and sharper
 Grooved Axe – stone head w/ wood handle.
Used primarily to chop wood / remove brush
Food
 Hunted smaller game as period progresses
 Deer, bear, turkey, rabbit, birds, fish
 Fishing and gathering important
 Large remains of middens (trash heaps of
shells ) found on Stallings Island in GA
 Clay pots to store and transport food in
created--POTTERY
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Dwellings
 Small groups gathered to
form larger groups of 50-100
 Would move from season to
season
 Semi-permanent housing w/
wooden poles covered by
animal hides, branches, and
bark
Religion
 Proper burial of the dead
seems to be important
 Tools, weapons, and
ornaments found in tombs
Snapshots of Archaic-Indian Life
Sapelo Island:
http://www.lostworlds.org/sapelo_shell_rings.html
Stallings Island:
Stallings Island, a
National Historic
Landmark site, was a
major settlement of
Late Archaic Native
Americans from 4,500
to 3,500 years ago.
Located in the Savannah
River eight miles upstream
from Augusta, the sixteenacre island is the
namesake of Stallings
Culture and its hallmark
pottery, Stallings fibertempered wares, the oldest
pottery in North America.