1. Native Americans:
The Tribal Periods

2. A Little Bit of Background…
first humans arrived long ago during the Ice Age
Beringia-land between Alaska and Siberia (today called the Bering Strait)
migration was not planned; nomads looking for food
they followed a herd of game into North America and slowly pushed southward

4. Animals of the Day wooly mammoths mastodons ground sloths bison
musk ox
moose
bear
sheep
antelope

5. Mastodon

6. Wooly Mammoth
Wooly Mammoth

7. Giant ground sloth could be about 14 feet tall when standing

8. So…what about Georgia specifically?
by about B.C. the first humans had arrived in GA
The four cultural periods of Native American occupation are:
1)Paleo
2) Archaic
3) Woodland
4) Mississippian

9. Paleo-Indian Period (10000 BC-8000 BC)
Paleo=ancient
lived in small bands, or groups, of 20
depended upon wild animals for food, clothing, and tools
ate bison, mastodons, sloths, berries, wild fruits & veggies, and other animals…most of which are extinct now
usually camped out in the open

10. Paleo-Indian Period cont.
dig pits or build shelters to protect against the wind and cold, but no permanent settlements
few lived older than 30 or 40
many children died before age 1
a moderate climate helped when they moved further south
used animals for food, shoes, shelter, blankets, coats, clothes, & weapons

11. Paleo-Indian Weapons
used tree trunks and cane for spear shafts, ax and tool handles, & poles for shelter
-used rocks for making knives, spearheads, ax heads, and tools
-major Paleo artifacts are spearheads AKA: clovis points (jabbing)
-no bow and arrows at the time…developed the atlatl, a wooden shaft about 2 feet long with a bone or antler hook on one end in which a spear can be placed (spear-throwing device)
-brave & skillful hunters

12. Clovis Point

13. Atlatl

14. Communication In Native American Culture
Hand symbols
gestures
Drawings
Much later a language developed

15. Archaic Period (8000 BC- 1000BC)
-adapted to a warming climate and the disappearance of big game
-learned to use resources around them
-dependent upon hunting, fishing, & gathering
-deer (favorite), bear, turkey, squirrel, small game, fish, berries, nuts, etc.
-large piles of shellfish remains have been found on GA coast, called middens
-large size of middens piles means that Indians returned to locations annually

16. Midden Pile

17. New Innovations wider variety of tools and weapons
burned small areas of forest to improve hunting (small plants attract deer)
more time on hands b/c less time on hunting so…polished stone, made decorative items from stone and bone, made clay
able to cook food with pottery
becoming more settled
body ornaments, tools, and weapons at burial sites suggest a belief in the afterlife

18. Archaic Pottery Bowl

19. Woodland Period (1000 B.C.- 1000 A.D.)
-built thousands of earthen mounds---many still around today
-Kolomoki mounds in Early County
-mounds varied in size, shape, & usage
-used for burial mounds and ceremonial activities (flat-topped)
-some were animal-shaped (Rock Eagle)
-used bow and arrow for hunting
-arrowheads were smaller

20. Kolomoki Mound in Early County

22. Kolomoki Pottery

23. Rock Eagle in Northeast GA

24. Cultural Advancements
advancements in agriculture (saved seeds from fall for planting in the spring)
-staple crops were nuts, corn, squash, berries, etc.
-population grew and small families united (tribes)
-villages appeared (sturdier houses)
-pottery was popular (designs based on the region)
-traders throughout the eastern US
-belief in afterlife (burial mounds often contained jewelry & pottery figurines)

25. Mississippian Period (1000-A.D.-1600 A.D)
Preferred places that offered rich river deltas, long growing seasons, & good hunting (deer & turkey)
Named after place where period began

26. Chow Time…
Wild foods were important, but relied more on agriculture (corn)
Crops kept in community storehouses so always a constant supply
Agriculture supported a growing population
Food supply meant permanent settlements

27. Mississippian settlement
Protected by a “palisade” (a wall made of tall posts)
Moat (wide ditch) outside the palisade
Within the walls were “wattle & daub” houses (made of wood & clay)

28. Rank & File…
A More Complicated Social & Political Organization developed= Chiefdom
Could include one or many villages
Priest-chief at the top of the hierarchy and handed down through family line

29. Mississippian Mounds
Built large flat-topped mounds with temples and other buildings for ceremonies
Inside of the mound was a burial area
Burials of people included ornaments, tools, food, & ceremonial objects

30. Ocmulgee Mound…near Macon

31. Etowah Mound…near Cartersville

32. Other Interesting Tidbits
Indian traders used waterways & forest trails between settlements
Very artistic designs on artifacts
Played games
Smoked tobacco
Decorated with jewelry, feathers, & tattoos
Very ceremonial

33. …So what happened to the Mississippians?
Hernando do Soto met the Mississippian Indians when he came to GA in 1540
Europeans brought diseases & steel weapons, which meant the end of the Mississippian Period
The survivors of this period created the current-day tribes of the Creek & the Cherokee

34. Cherokee Indians

35. Creek Indians

36. Tribal Regions
Tribal regions developed toward the end of the Mississippian period
California, SubArctic, Arctic, Southwest, Southeast, Great Plains, Great Forest, Northwest Coast, Great Basin, & Plateau
Tribal regions still exist today, population decreased rapidly after arrival of Europeans

38. You might have heard of…
Southwest: Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, Pueblo, & Apache
Great Plains: Arapaho, Sioux, Cheyenne, & Blackfoot
Great Forest/Northeast: Powhatan, Delaware, Iroquois, Miami, Huron, Algonquin, Ottawa, & Shawnee
Southeast: Seminole, Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, & Yamassee

39. Paleo-Indian
( B.C.)
Chased large bison to cliff, kill for food
archaelogical sites: Savannah River, Ocmulgee River, & Flint River near Albany
Paleo=Ancient

40. Archaic (8000-1000 B.C.) began use of agriculture
archaelogical sites: Stallings Islands, Fayette County, & Coweta County
developed first pottery
lived together in camps

41. Woodland (1000 B.C.-1000 A.D.) First to use religion in ceremonies
first to use bow and arrows
first to grow veggies
archaelogical sites: Putnam County & Rock Eagle

42. Mississippian (1000 A.D.-1600 A.D.) Highest prehistoric civilization
several thousand families live together
used village system
archaelogical sites: Macon, Etowah, & Early County

43. Similarities of the 4 Periods
Native Americans in GA
Used tools & weapons
Lived near rivers and water sources
Ate meat (along with fruits, veggies, etc.)
Used projectile points
Lived in groups of various sizes