Indians of Alabama Presentation Created by: Richelle Garner Leigh Brown
Prehistoric Indians Paleo Archaic Woodland Mississippian
Paleo: The First Families of Alabama >10,000 B.C. to about 7000 B.C. Came to North America 20,000 years ago across the land bridge Roamed in small family bands; Nomads Hunted large animals with stick like spears and darts
Archaic: Hunters and Gatherers 7,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C. Hunted small game such as deer, turkey, and rabbit instead of large animals Established more permanent camps Used objects such as bones, shells, and stones to make tools and jewelry; Created the Atlatl
Woodland: Crops, Pots, and Burial Mounds 1,000 B.C. to A.D. 800 Cultivated crops and gathered food Built huts out of trees; Lived in small villages Used clay in making pottery; Made bone jewelry and combs Introduced burial mounds through complex religious rituals
Mississippian: Temple Mound Builders A.D. 800 to A.D Grew crops; Used bows and arrows; Fished Lived in complex community; Class system Perfected the use of various materials in making pottery Introduced trading with other villages; Mound builders
Historic Indians Creek Cherokee Choctaw Chickasaw
Creek Lived in central, eastern, and southeastern Alabama Joined small tribes together to form the Creek Nation; Ruled by a chief Named our state after the Alibamon Tribe Hunted, farmed, and fought
Cherokee Lived in northeastern part of Alabama and the Tennessee River Valley Called themselves the principal people Sequoyah created a written alphabet based on the sounds of the Cherokee language Trail of Tears
Choctaw Lived in Southwestern Alabama Friendly with the new settlers First tribe to sell part of their land to the United States Very powerful tribe
Chickasaw Lived in northwestern Alabama Skilled warriors and good hunters Would fight anyone who tried to take their land Small number of villages in Alabama
Summary Prehistoric Indians – Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian Historic Indians – Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw