Native Americans in South Carolina

Artifacts No written records; artifacts are our source of info Stone, pottery, arrowheads, tools, etc.

How Did Early Cultures arrive in SC? Popular Scientific Theory Ancestors of Native Americans left Siberia (northeastern Asia) and traveled across the Bering Land Bridge into what is now Alaska Nomads followed animals into North America Different cultures developed as groups settled into different areas South Carolina Coastal Plain and Piedmont

SC Native Americans Pre Projectile Point Era Culture based on hunting mammoth, mastodon, and great bison Paleo Indian Era Better tools: made projectile points attached to spears for hunting large animals Evidence shows they gathered plants for food, but they were NOT farmers

SC Native Americans Archaic Indian Era More advanced Made smaller spear points Developed mortar Used bone to make fish hooks As larger animals disappeared, diet changed to smaller animals, nuts, berries, and fish More settled and less nomadic Learned to make pottery to store food and water

SC Native Americans Woodland Indian Era Villages appeared Cultivation of plants began Agriculture begins to be practiced Produced smaller sharper spear points Began to decorate pottery Mounds built for public buildings, temples, or burials Protected villages with palisades Highly organized society