The Iroquois Village Important Features of a Village Site Clearing for Village and fields. Near stream for water. Steep ridge to at least one side for defense. Longhouses aligned with ridge line for drainage. What resources did the Iroquois use when building their villages?

Where should we build it? Iroquois villages were usually located on the tops of steep- sided hills. Slopes formed natural defenses for the village. Palisade or "stockade" was commonly built along the edge of the hill for added protection. Notice the entrance to the village through a narrow space formed by overlapping ends of the stockade wall. How did building the entrance this way help the Iroquois?

What Made A Good Location? The Iroquois cut a clearing in the forest to create a space for the village and the surrounding fields. The village was located on the hilltop for defense and good drainage. Soil fertility determined the location of the surrounding fields. A water supply, either a spring or stream, was located nearby. The larger the population of a village, the more quickly did the nearby resources such as firewood and fertile fields become exhausted. A small village might be able to maintain itself in one location for 20 to 30 years, but a large village might need to move in ten years Why are we able to stay in one place for decades?

Moving Day New villages probably were built over a period of time, with longhouses being occupied as they were built. All this time people were coming and going to and from the old village. Residents of the new longhouses might be busy at work making clay pots or pounding dried corn into flour using a large wooden mortar and pestle. The forest that was cleared to create the new village site and farm fields around it provided the raw materials for the construction of the new village.

Work In The Village When weather permitted, a lot of work was done outside where the light was better and the air relatively free of wood smoke. Food was continually being prepared and cooked. There were no set mealtimes. Family members helped themselves from the pot whenever they were hungry. Foods raised by the Iroquois women included corn, beans, and squash; other plant foods were gathered from the surrounding forest, and included in season, roots and tubers, greens, berries and other fruits, and nuts. What were men doing while women did all the farming?

How The Iroquois Used Their Land. The new field, cleared by slash-and-burn from a patch of the forest, was littered by charred tree stumps and large, partially burnt tree trunks. Iroquois women worked around them in the spring, planting corn, beans, and squash seeds. These were frequently planted together, spacing them amid the charred forest litter. Freshly cleared fields were very fertile. The sites for the fields were chosen because of the high lime content of their soils, indicated by the kinds of plants, shrubs, and trees growing on them. What is “Slash and Burn”?

The Three Sisters Fields were tended by women of the village. Platform allowed for village children to act as scarecrows. Corn, Squash and Beans, “the Three Sisters”, were grown in fields near the Village How did “the Three Sisters Work together to provide for the Iroquois?

Tending The Fields Elderly men occasionally helped with the work in the fields. This man is scraping soft kernels of corn from the cob with a deer's jawbone. Although the main harvest took place in the fall, another important event in the farming cycle was "Green Corn" time, usually sometime in August, when the corn was "green" or not fully ripened. Similar in consistency to our sweet corn, the green corn was harvested for immediate consumption. This occasion was one of the Iroquois' important seasonal ceremonies of thanksgiving. What produce or products do we associate with celebrations?

All Work And No Play Boys played the "hoop and javelin" game, in which boys took turns trying to throw their javelin or spear through a small hoop rolled along the ground by another. Most children's toys and games involved role-playing: that is, girls doing things that their "mothers" and older "sisters" would do; boys doing what their " fathers," “uncles" and older "brothers" would do. Boys role-played as hunters and warriors using small bows and arrows, testing their skills by shooting at targets or small animals and birds. Lacrosse, known to the Iroquois as "The Little Brother of War," also drew upon and tested skills that would become important to boys in adulthood. What skills were boys practicing with this game?

New York State And The Iroquois Many thanks to the New York State Museum for the information and pictures in this presentation. You are all encouraged to visit the State Museum in Albany for more information about the Iroquois and many other interesting people and events that have shaped New York State throughout it’s rich and colorful history. Presentation Prepared By Peter Thomas, Acadia Middle School