1. The First Inhabitants of Alabama and the New World
Paleo Period
11,500 B.C. – 7,000 B.C..

2. The word “Paleo” means old
Bering Strait Theory
Anthropologists believe ancestors of American Indians immigrated from northeastern Asia across the Bering Strait land bridge during the Ice Age.
Bering Strait Land Bridge and the Migration of Early Indians - Jose Arredondo
Paleo-Indian sites are throughout the U.S.
The migration of people (that eventually populated the Americas) occurred in three separate migrations. The Amerind (indigenous peoples of the Americas) includes most Native Americans south of the Canadian border.
Paleo-Indians lived in temporary, open-air camps that followed migratory animals. In small hunter-gatherer groups (15 to 20 people), they followed herds of mammoth and mastodon southward into the Americas. This lifestyle limited their group size and possessions.

3. Paleo Sites in Alabama
Around 11,000 B.C., Paleo-Indians are believed to be the first humans to live in Alabama.

4. Paleo Sites in Alabama
The most consistent trait of all Native American cultures is their knowledge and use of lithic (stone) technology. This understanding is important when studying Paleo-Indians because it is one of the few ways for interpreting Paleo artifacts.

5. Paleo Sites in Alabama
The Paleo were about survival. They did not waste: the meat was eaten, the hide used for clothing or shelter, and the bones were made into awls, pins, fish hooks, and other tools. 

6. Artifacts left behind tell the story
Paleo-Indian Artifacts…
Most Paleo-Indian sites are identified by a presence of projectile points, or arrowheads. Archaeologists use the variation in size and shape to determine the time period a projectile point was made.
Projectile point types of the Paleo-Indians include Clovis, Beaver Lake, and Cumberland. These projectile points are relatively large and were some of the most time consuming and difficult to produce.
Other recovered artifacts include tools such as scrapers ,knives, drills, gravers, and hammerstones.
Illustration reproduced from Handbook of Alabama Archaeology: Part 1 Point Types.
Scraper -

7. Finding arrowheads

8. Why Is water important?
TENNESSEE RIVER The first inhabitants along the Tennessee Basin were nomadic hunters that used stone-tipped spears. They also gathered nuts, berries, fruits and roots, as well as fish and mussels, and they cooked in open pits.
The Muscle Shoals area was an early settlement for Paelo-Indians.

9. The Quad Site, An Alabama Paleo-Indian Site
In 1951, the Quad Site was discovered as a group of smaller sites along the Tennessee River that all shared similar characteristics
Based on projectile points and animal bones, this area was inhabited in late summer to early fall--peak hunting time
Lithic tools are often one of the few types of artifacts that survive in the archaeological record in Alabama. Lithic artifacts have been recovered, yet there is little evidence for their production on site
Of the tools recovered, most were used for butchering and working hides, but there is also evidence that wood working and fiber shredding occurred.
To find out more about how some of these tools were used and how they were made, click the picture of the quarry.

10. Russell Cave National Monument
The history behind the Paleo-Indians and Russell Cave is one of adaptation and survival. Prehistoric Indians discovered and returned to the Russell Cave area for thousands of years. We know because the Paleo left behind clues as to their way of life. The cave offered shelter, and it was continuously used by Native Americans up until the time of European explorers. The forest provided food, tools, and fuel for their fires. These clues help us to understand the past and the Paleo way of life.
In 1958, National Geographic Society donated the land to the American people. May 11, 1961 Russell Cave National Monument was established by President Kennedy .

11. Alabama Department of Archives and History
Skeletal remains at the Russell Cave National Monument in Bridgeport, Alabama.

12. One purpose of archaeology… What does it all mean?
We interpret the history of people based on the objects they leave behind. Artifacts from sites like the Quad and Russell Cave provide clues as to where Paleo-Indians lived and how their communities were structured among an open-air campsite.
The small bands that moved frequently probably represented family groups, such as grandparents, parents, children, and perhaps aunts, uncles, and cousins. These family groups may have only consisted of eight to fifteen people.
Paleo-Indians used their environment and the resources it provided. Hunters roamed the land searching for large animals, such as mastodons and bison, with large projectile points attached to spears.
With the large number of sites in the area, it seems that this area had been visited for many years, and perhaps by several bands at the same time. Possibly the area provided enough food sources for groups of bands to come together and share in each other's company, exchange ideas, and perhaps find a mate.
What does it all mean? Quite simply, the Indians were here first.
They are Native Americans.

13. Timeline of Events in Alabama
Paleo Period Nomatic hunters follow the herd in search of food—traveled only on foot
Archiac Period
Woodland Period
Mississippian Period
Alabama becomes the 22nd state
Present day
Dinosaurs die out
11,500 BC- 7,000 BC
9,000 BC – 4,000 BC
1000 BC – 500 AD
500 – 1500 AD
1814
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14. Click here to return to timeline
Paleo

15. Archaic
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16. Woodland
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17. Mississippian
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18. Sources and Credits
The Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Encyclopedia of Alabama
The University of Alabama
Alabama Archaeology: Prehistoric Alabama
National Geographic
Alabama Tourism and Travel