1. First Inhabitants of Georgia
SS8H1 The student will evaluate the development of Native American cultures and the impact of European exploration and settlement on the Native American cultures in Georgia.  a. Describe the evolution of Native American cultures (Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian) prior to European contact.

2. Terms to Know this week Archeologist Artifacts Prehistoric Culture
Paleo- Indians
Archaic Period
Woodland Period
Agriculture
Nomads

3. What is an archeologist?
A scientist who studies the past based on what people leave behind.
Artifacts- Objects that were made, modified, or used by humans

4. North America 12,000 years ago
The last Ice Age occurred.
A land bridge existed between Asia and North America (Beringia).
Georgia’s coast line was a hundred miles east of today’s coast.

5. Paleo Indians First inhabitants of Georgia – 12,000 yrs ago.
Nomadic people - followed the herds.
Hunter-gatherers - large animals (mammoths, bison), fish ,wild plants.
Used large spears with stone tips called clovis points (artifacts).
Clothes and tents of animal skins.
Warming climates- extinction of many large animals during Paleo period.
Due to climate and enviornmental changes, people were forced to adopt to new ways of life.

6. Clovis Point Used on the end of a long heavy spear.
It was used for stabbing, not throwing.

7. Archaic People
8,000 BC – 1,000 BC
Began at the end of the last Ice Age
Began small seasonal settlements.
Improved hunting (small animals) and gathering.
Began trading with other groups.
Smaller spear points, stone axes, atlatls and bowls.

8. Atlatl Was thrown using small spear heads at smaller animals.
View how an atlatl was used and made

9. Woodland Indians 1,000 BC – 900 AD
Permanent villages (protective walls) along stream valleys (moist soils)
Farming (squash, corn, beans) and improved hunting
Bow and arrow, new pottery methods
First to build burial mounds (Kolomoki, Rock Eagle)

10. Rock Eagle Effigy Located near Eatonton,GA.
Excavations found the remains on one person and a small spear point.

11. Mississippian Culture
800 AD – 1600 AD found in FL, GA, and AL
Civilization with organized towns and cities.
Extensive agriculture grew corn, squash, beans – aka: “Three sisters”.
Trade with groups across North America.
Lived in large “mound towns”.
Matrilineal- Property and titles were passed through women, not men.
Society created with hierarchies (levels of importance). The chief was the most important.
Stone tools, bowls, painted pottery
Mound in Cartersville, GA

12. The End Overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and European diseases brought an end to the Mississippian Culture by early 1600s.

13. Five Keys to Civilization
Cities are the center of trade.
Specialized jobs for different people
Organized government and religion
A record keeping system
Advances in technology and tools.