Transcript Early Inhabitants of Georgia

Early Inhabitants of
North America
Paleo
Archaic
Woodland
Mississippian
1
Native Americans or
1st Immigrants?

One of the first questions that scientists try to decide is where did the 1st people
come from that lived in “America” come from and why were they moving?

Were they always here?
Did they come from Asia?
Did they come from South America?
Did they sail over the Pacific?
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PALEO: ICE AGE
(Hollywood style)
The Ice Age locked up more of the world’s water in polar icecaps that allowed a land
crossing over the Bering Sea from Asia to North America. Also, similar
archaeological sites on in such faraway places on North American continent such as3
present-day California and Florida.
Animals of the Paleo Tradition
Prehistoric Camel
Wolly Mammoth
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Animals of the Paleo Tradition
Saber-Tooth Tiger
Giant Sloth
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Animals of the Paleo Tradition
Fossilized Skull of SaberTooth Tiger
Saber-Tooth Tiger Attacks
Giant Sloth
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PALEO (10,000-8,000 B.C.)
“Very Old”

The “Band”: Because the survival of the
group depended on a successful hunt, the
number of people in the band was usually
20-30 people.

Men: The men would hunt together with
large spears called “Clovis Points” and
stabbed the large animal until it died. They
would run up and try to stab the animal in
its soft underbelly or joints. Once the
animal died, the group would move near
the “kill site”. Young boys would hunt
when he was a teen.

Women: The women would quickly pack
up the camp site and move to the “kill
site”. The women and girls would help
prepare the slain animal for all of its
different uses.
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FYI: The average age span of Paleo: 4045 years.
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PALEO (10,000-8,000 B.C.)
“Very Old”
Over these 2000+ years, Paleo
groups chased big game into
North America. At the end
of this time, these animals
began to die off. Scientists
have many theories:
-End of Ice Age (early
version of Global Warming)
-Overhunting
-Disease
Humans began to move less
and develop cultural ties
more.
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Paleo Camp:
A Modern Version of a Paleo “Household”
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Paleo life ended when the animals became extinct.
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PALEO (10,000-8,000 B.C.)
“Very Old”


The “Clovis Point” was the
large spearhead that was
used to stab the animal in
the soft underbelly. (Clovis
was the site where this
technology was discovered
These stone points later
became more delicate and
lighter to be on throwing
spears (rather than stabbing
spears). These were called
“Folsom Points” and
showed how technology
was improving.
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Paleo Humor: End of Ice Age
OR
The 1st Global Warming?
12
ARCHAIC (8,000 -1,000 B.C.)
“Old”

Why the Change?

When the Ice Age ended, the larger
animals became extinct, and the people in
North America did not have to travel as far
to hunt the smaller animals. So these
Archaic Indians moved on a more
“seasonal” basis: winter on the seashore,
summer in the mountains might be a
year’s plan.
Though these Indians were still hunters &
food gatherers, they did live longer in an
area before moving. So, they lived in
groups of bands, numbering 40-60 people
and moved just a few times in a year.
All tools continued to be made from wood,
stone, or bone; no metal tools were used
by these Native Americans.
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ARCHAIC (8,000 -1,000 B.C.)
“Old”
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Innovations:

Stone Boiling:
Rocks were placed in a fire, and then
moved with two forked sticks
into a pit that was lined with an
animal skin and filled with water.
The sticks would be used to drop
the rocks in the water. The rocks
would make the water boil and
the vegetables could be cooked!
--Pottery:
As people needed less time to
gather food, they had time to
invent things, such as simple
pottery to use in cooking.
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ARCHAIC (8,000 -1,000 B.C.)
“Old”

Atlatl: A new weapon for hunting
smaller game was created: the atlatl.

By shrinking the size of the spear, and
transferring energy from the person to
the atlatl to the spear, a hunter could
throw this weapon from a great
distance. It was a perfect adaptation
for hunting smaller game.

FYI: An atlatl could throw a spear
the length of a football field… on a
straight line.
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Atlatl
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Atlatl
Atlatl Throwing Motion
Close-up View of Atlatl
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Atlatl
How does the weight help the
atlatl’s aim & power?
Atlatl bringing home the bacon! (or
at least the venison!)
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Atlatl…a short video
19
Woodland (1000 B.C.- 1000 A.D.)

Eventually, people in
America made an important
discovery. Besides gathering
food and hunting, they could
plant seeds and expect a
corn crop to grow during the
summer. The discovery of
farming gives incentive for
people to stay to harvest the
crop.
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Woodland (1000 B.C.- 1000 A.D.)

Because food was easier
to get, the need for
movement was reduced.
The groups of bands (of
the Archaic period)
grew to be tribes (200400) of people by the
Woodland period.

Men still hunted, and
farming was left to the
women.
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Woodland (1,000 B.C.- 1000 A.D.)

Technology:

Bow and Arrow: for
hunting small game such
as deer or squirrel.

Dart/Blow Gun: for
hunting very small game
such as birds, rabbits,
etc.
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Blow-Gun
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Bow and Arrow
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Woodland (1,000 B.C.- 1000 A.D.)

Examples of Woodland
Tradition:
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Hohokam (Southwest)
Anasazi (Southwest)
Rock Eagle (Southeast)
Corn (maize) was the major
crop in most areas.
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Woodland (1000 B.C.- 1000 A.D.)

Horticulture (Agriculture)
Techniques:

Girdling: This is the process of
cutting down a tree with a stone axe.
The Woodland Indian would cut a
circle around the base of the tree
trunk. Eventually, the tree would die,
and could be pushed over easily.

Slash & Burn: This process involves
cutting away all vegetation on the
ground, and then burning it. The soil
can then be used for planting, or
allowed to grow back naturally. (The
young plants that grow there attract
deer, rabbits, etc. because those
plants are the best to eat)
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Woodland Landmark

One of the signs of the Woodland
period in Georgia is the Rock Eagle
Effigy Mound.

Quartz Rocks were piled 10 ft. high,
102 feet in length, and 120 ft. wide.
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Archaeologists think Rock Eagle
might have been used as a religious
center for many groups in the area.
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Rock Eagle Today
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Mississippian (1000 A.D.-1540 A.D.)

As time went on,
cultures got even better
at growing food. Where
the Woodland Indians
grew corn (“maize”),
the Mississippian
Indians grew a variety
of crops such as
pumpkin, squash, beans,
and many other crops.
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Etowah

Etowah is a
Mississippian chiefdom
in Northwest Georgia
(near Cartersville).

Archeologists think that
the closer you lived to
the center, the more
important you were in
the chiefdom.
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Etowah’s Changing Technology
V Trap: Rocks were placed in Etowah River for
“Fast Food Fishing”. The fish had to swim through
the hole at in the “V”, so a basket could be held
there to catch them for dinner!
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Ocmulgee

Ocmulgee Mounds are located
near Macon. The mounds have
one of the few hollow mounds
that served as a meeting place for
the leaders of the chiefdom.

The Black Drink was consumed
in the Earth Lodge (sweat lodge)
as part of the purification processit made you throw up! Example: if
you killed someone in battle, you
needed to be rid of the “evilness”
of that deed!
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Mississippian (1000 A.D.-1540 A.D.)

Because food was easily
provided, group size grew to
chiefdoms (2000+ people)
for this tradition.

The Chief was the spiritual
& political leadersof the
chiefdom. He could be
carried down from his
mound on a “litter” (a seat
carried between two poles
by warriors).
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Mississippian (1000 A.D.-1492 A.D.)

He could be carried down
from his mound on a “litter”
(a seat carried between two
poles by warriors).
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Effigy statues were often
made and buried at the king
at the burial.
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Mississippian (1000 A.D.-1540 A.D.)

The chief lived on manmade mounds of dirt. Other
smaller mounds might be
for a lesser chief (medicine
man) or a burial mound.

When a chief died, his body
& house might be burned
on top on the mound. Then,
more dirt would be added
and the new chief (his son)
would live on top of the
mound.
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Mississippian (1000 A.D.-1540 A.D.)
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TECHNOLOGY:
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The bow and arrow was improved
with the triangular arrowhead
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Pottery was decorated with
patterns. It was also made into
many different shapes & forms.
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Triangular Arrowheads
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Mississippian (1000 A.D.-1540 A.D.)
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Famous sites:

Etowah: located in NW GA (near
Cartersville), this site has 7 mounds and
used the “V” trap for fishing. The chief
would live on the highest mound.

Ocmulgee: located in middle GA (near
Macon), this site also has mounds,
including an earth mound that was hollow
so that meetings could be held in there. A
raging fire would make it a “sweat lodge”
and the “Black Drink” would make people
vomit before entering.

Question: Why would sweating and
purging with the Black Drink be used at
these meetings? (Hint: think about
symbolism)
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Time Periods

When archaeologists study
past cultures, they estimate
when these people might
have lived in Georgia. For
example, the term, “Paleo”
means “very old” and refers
to any person who was alive
in Georgia during that time
period. So, Paleo is more of
a time period than a name of
a tribe.
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Indiana Jones v. CSI

In the movie, Raiders of
the Lost Ark, Indiana
Jones plays a scientist
who looks for valuable
artifacts of the past at
archaeological sites
(while fighting bad
guys). These clues to
the past can be found in
“middens” or trash piles
that were left behind.

Anthropologists are like
the experts on CSI, who
look for how different
crime scenes may be
related. They also try to
describe how one
culture is different from
another. They explain
how humans changed
their living styles over
time.
Georgia Story: Archaeology
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SURVIVAL 101
Archaeologists want to know
how cultures solved our
basic needs:
F
___ ___ ___
W ___ ___ ___ ___
S ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
By examining the artifacts left
behind, the archaeologist can
make educated guesses about
how people lived.
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Question for the Day:
Where’s the Food?

Because food was the main
concern of each day, people were
always looking for ways to make
the search easier and less timeconsuming. As anthropologists
study the past, they describe
cultures by how they got their
food. The first category is:

FOOD GATHERERS: these
people hunted, fished,
collected nuts, and ate
whatever food that they could
find as they walked about the
land.
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Question for the Day:
Where’s the Food?

As time went on, people
wanted to have some control
of where they found their
food. They grew tired of
packing up and moving
every time food got scarce
in an area.

This led to the 2nd category
that anthropologists use to
describe a culture:
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Question for the Day:
Where’s the Food?
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HUNTING FARMERS:
these people continued to be food
gatherers but they added one great
new skill: the ability to farm.
Farming means you can decide
that a crop such as “yellow corn”
can be grown in a certain spot,
and it will (with some work)
appear there to provide food for
all at some point during the year.

That is a huge burden to be lifted
if you KNOW you’ll have food
growing in a certain spot during
the year. When the crop does
comes to harvest, food will be
plentiful.
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Question for the Day:
Where’s the Food?

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Eventually, people got
very proficient at
growing their food.
Diversity in crops
occurred, and groups
quit moving around so
much.
Cultures got more
complex as people had
more free time than
every before.
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Question for the Day:
Where’s the Food?
MASTER FARMERS:
These people still hunted,
fished, and gathered
food like their
ancestors; but the main
“staple” of their diet
came from their great
ability to grow crops
wherever they wished.
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SO… Time to play “Detective”

As you learned about the four time periods (or
eras) of Native Americans in Georgia that
lived before the Europeans arrived, think about
how they collected their food.

Food Gatherers: hunt, fish, collect (no farms)
Hunting Farmers: hunt, fish, collect, farm corn
Master Farmers: hunt, fish, collect and grow a
variety of crops to feed thousands of people
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Why didn’t the Native Americans
leave us some written clues?

“One interesting thing about
all 4 of these cultures is that
all of their story-telling,
laws, religious beliefs, and
values had to be taught
verbally to each generation.
No group created their own
written language until
Sequoyah did it for the
Cherokees in the 1800’s.”
--U.R. Ancient
(archaeologist)
48
Myths or Oral Traditions: A
Tool for Teaching

After a full day, a
grandparent may sit down
and tell a story to their
grandchildren around the
campfire. It usually tried to
do 3 things: (3 “E’s”)
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Entertain (no TV or I-pod)
Explain the “unexplainable”
about nature ( “Why is there
thunder? Why does a raccoon
wear a mask? Why does a
skunk stink?)
Enlighten children on values
that are important to the
culture (Honesty, bravery,
sharing, equality, etc.)
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Myths or Oral Traditions: A
Tool for Teaching

Listen to this Cherokee
tradition about the First
Strawberries…
-How was it entertaining?
-What things in nature were
explained?
-What values were learned?
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A Tradition is Born…
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