Georgia and the American Experience Chapter 3: The Land And Its Early People Study Presentation

Georgia and the American Experience Section 1: How Did We Learn About the Earliest Peoples? Section 2: Indian Nations in Georgia

Section 1: How Did We Learn About the Earliest Peoples? Essential Question How did Georgia’s prehistoric Indian tribes live?

Section 1: What is Geography? What words do I need to know? archeologist anthropologist shale artifact culture tribe antiquities

Understanding Ancient Peoples Through Artifacts Oral Tradition: Elders repeated narratives of events often until the younger generations memorized them Archeologists dig into earth to find artifacts (items made by people) that tell us about early inhabitants Shale: Layered rock that can encase ancient animals or birds

Understanding Ancient Peoples Through Culture Anthropologists use artifacts, cave drawings, well-traveled pathways, and oral history to study a group’s culture Culture: shared beliefs, traditions, music, art, and social institutions of a group of people

Cultural Periods in Georgia History: Paleo Paleo (from Greek, “Very Old”) Also called Old Stone Age Lasted about 10,000 years Nomadic (roaming) hunters Most tools and spear points made of stone Used an “atlatl”: stone sling-like implement that threw darts from a longer distance

Cultural Periods in Georgia History: Early Archaic Archaic (means “Old”) Three time spans: Early, Middle, Late Early Archaic period: 8,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C. Hunted large animals and small game Invented tools from deer antlers Moved with each season to find best food resources

Cultural Periods in Georgia History: Middle Archaic Began around 5,000 B.C. Water levels moved back along rivers and coastal areas People began making hooks from animal bones Shellfish was a more common food Food was easier to find; people moved around less

Cultural Periods in Georgia History: Late Archaic 4,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C. Created grooved axes to clear trees and bushes Began saving and planting seeds for plants and seeds for growing seasons (horticulture) Made and used pottery for storing, cooking, and serving food

Cultural Periods in Georgia History: Woodland 1,000 B.C. to 1,000 A.D. Tribe: group of people sharing common ancestry, name, and way of living Hundreds of families formed tribes Built domed-shaped huts with trees Used bow and arrows to hunt Held religious ceremonies Improved pottery-making techniques

Cultural Periods in Georgia History: Mississippian Also called the Temple Mound period Farmed with homemade tools and grew most of their food Thousands might live in a single settlement, protected by fences and moats Very religious; used jewelry and body art

Archeological Finds Ancient middens (garbage piles) show what people ate, how they used fire, what they used for cooking Ocmulgee National Monument near Macon reveals a large ceremonial area with benches and platforms There are large temple mounds in Early, Bartow, and Bibb counties Stallings Island near Augusta is a large shell midden Click to return to Table of Contents.

Section 2: Indian Nations in Georgia ESSENTIAL QUESTION Which Indian nations lived in Georgia and how did they live?

Section 2: Indian Nations in Georgia What peoples do I need to know? Creek (Muscogee) Cherokee

The Creeks (Muscogee) Originally from American southwest Spoke Muskogean Discovered by early European explorers who called them Creeks Lived along Ocheese Creek (today’s Ocmulgee River) Lived in italwa and talofa (large villages surrounded by smaller villages) similar to today’s large city and surrounding suburbs

Creek (Muscogee) Lifestyle Village center featured a plaza and rotunda Games and ceremonies held in plaza Rotunda was used for council meetings Wooden huts or log cabins with chimneys surrounded the plaza Villages, split from larger villages, helped form a confederacy Raised livestock and successful farmers

The Cherokee Lived in northwestern mountain region of the state Called themselves Awi-yum-wija, which meant “real people” or “principal people” Tribal Clans: groups of Cherokee who believed themselves related by blood Two tribal chiefs: one for making war and one for making peacetime decisions Clans governed on the local level

The Cherokee Family Family lines were traced through the mother, not the father The mother’s brothers took responsibility for raising her children Mothers handled most domestic chores; fathers often left home to hunt or trade Children played games that prepared them for adulthood

Cherokee Lifestyle Built homes on high banks or hills along rivers and streams Shelters were built from available materials, often plastered on the exterior to keep out rain and cold Log cabins built for winter living Fishing and raising crops including maize (corn) Barter: trading goods and services without use of money was an economic system

Cherokee Religious Beliefs Believed Earth was large island resting on water “This World”: tribe was at center of the earth “Upper World”: above This World; clean and pure world; Sun and Moon chief gods “Under World”: in waters below This World; disorder and change Deer and birds were honored; bears were not

Other Cherokee Lifestyle Practices Drank ginseng potion to shop bleeding or shortness of breath Smoked tobacco on ceremonial occasions when seeking the gods’ blessings Green Corn Ceremony held to give thanks for corn, the most important food source Followed “Law of Retaliation,” avenging a wrong by getting even; this law helped prevent feuds within a tribe Click to return to Table of Contents.

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