Cultural Periods

First Nations and Inuit cultures shared a common, yet richly diverse, worldview and spirituality based on their connections to the land. They had many unique characteristics, that resulted from the geographic environments in which they lived. These environments led to the evolution of many different languages and cultures across Canada.

First Nations and Inuit peoples used legends, songs, and personal stories to pass down their cultures from generation to generation. They did not write history books or keep diaries of official records. Since there were no formal systems of reading and writing, most scientific information about the First Nations Peoples comes from archaeological investigation.

From these archaeological investigations, archaeologists have created time periods for the First Peoples: The Wisconsin Glaciation Period (70,00-12,000 yrs ago) The Palaeo-Indian Culture (12,000-7,000 years ago) The Archaic Period (7,000-3,000 years ago) The Woodland Period (3,000 years ago to contact)

The Wisconsin Glaciation Period: 70,000 – 12,000 Years Ago

The Wisconsin Glaciation period marks the beginning of the last ice age. The Cordilleran Ice Sheet covered most of what is now southern Alaska and British Columbia, extending south into the U.S. During this time, Homo sapiens, or modern humans, emerged in Asia. Approximately 35,000 to 70,000 years ago, the Beringia land bridge connected Siberia and Alaska. This allowed people to travel across safely from Asia to North America, where they migrated south. As glaciers receded (melted), the people spread across the continent following herds of game animals. As they did, they developed their own societies, cultures, and languages.

The Palaeo-Indian Culture: 12,000 – 7,000 Years Ago

The Palaeo-Indian culture was the first culture to emerge in North America and little is known about them. The only evidence about them is the tools they left behind. Much of the Palaeo-Indian culture was centred in what is now the U.S., in the area south of the glaciers. The Palaeo-Indians were big-game hunters. As the climate warmed and the glaciers receded, the Palaeo-Indians spread into eastern Canada.

The Arachaic Period: 7,000 – 3,000 Years Ago

The Archaic culture was divided into two groups: The Laurentian The Shield

The Laurentian culture lived in southern Ontario. It is believed that they were originally a nomadic culture that migrated north from the U.S. They were big-game hunters but they supplemented their diet with smaller game, fish, berries, and wild plants. Laurentians had trade relationships with other cultures. The Laurentian culture lasted almost 3,000 years, until agriculture was introduced to the region.

The Shield cultures lived in central and northern Ontario. They hunted big game and supplemented their diet with smaller game, waterfowl, and fruits and berries. They development technologies such as birch- bark canoes and snowshoes.

The Woodland Period: 3,000 Years Ago to Contact

The Woodland period was the closest period to European contact. More artifacts have been preserved from this period than from any other. Woodland peoples had similar technologies to the Archaic cultures but they also had pottery as one of their technologies. Five different pottery types have led archaeologists to identify five cultures that flourished during the Initial Woodland Period between 3,000 to 1,000 years ago. The Terminal Woodland period from 1,000 years ago to the time of European contact marked the emergence of the Algonquian-speaking peoples of northern Ontario and the Iroquoian-speaking peoples of southern Ontario.