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Prehistoric Oklahoma: Ice Age Migration and Spiro Mounds

Learn about the earliest inhabitants of Oklahoma, their migration during the Ice Age, agricultural trade, and the significance of the Spiro Mounds. Gain a level 3 understanding of prehistoric Oklahoma.

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Prehistoric Oklahoma: Ice Age Migration and Spiro Mounds

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  1. Learning Goals • The students will gain an understanding of prehistoric Oklahoma. They will understand the earliest Oklahomans to live here, the Ice Age migration, agricultural trade and the Spiro Mounds with at least a level 3 understanding.

  2. Anticipation Chart What I Already Know What I Want To Know What I Learned

  3. Unit 1 Early Days in Oklahoma

  4. Earliest Oklahomans • Recorded history began in Oklahoma in 1540 when Coronado crossed the plains with his conquistadors. • There are many theories today concerning the origin of the American Indian. • Most tribes had legends or traditional histories that are passed down orally that contained stories about migration. • Many legends claimed that early members of the tribe came from “the land of the setting sun” or somewhere to the west of California. • Others claimed to have come from the north . • The theory most commonly accepted among experts concerns the ice age.

  5. Ice Age Migration • During the ice age there was a lowering of the oceans water level. It exposed a land bridge between present-day Russia and Alaska. • Inhabitants of northeast Asia walked across the bridge, called Beringia, into North America. • Physical characteristics indicate that early Americans may have been descendants of the Mongols or of various Chinese tribes. Some may have been Indians from India. • This varied evidence strongly suggests that American Indians should not be grouped together in one class called “Indians”

  6. Theories Developed from Artifacts • Sculpted pieces found in Mexico in 1961 have been identified as Roman. • Japanese pottery, five thousand years old, was found in Ecuador, and artifacts of Phoenician and Pompeiian origin were found in other places. • All this evidence points to two obvious possibilities • The Ancestors of the American Indian came from many places • Ancient Americans carried on trade with Ancient people from around the world

  7. Prehistoric Oklahoma • Oklahoma is divided geographically into two areas by the Cross Timbers, a natural barrier of very dense scrub timber and thickets. • The belt of thick vegetation ran along a line from the central part of the state toward the southwest. • Much of the land east of that lined rough woodlands, while western Oklahoma is largely flat prairieland.

  8. Western Indians planted three main crops- Squash, corn, and beans Western Oklahoma Indians were fine craftsmen, making excellent stone knives and points. These were often traded to tribes from farther west who brought pottery from New Mexico, obsidian from Montana, Chalcedony from Colorado and even seashells from California The most important trade item Oklahoma tribesmen had to offer was salt. The Great Salt Plains still exists today as a natural phenomenon. Agriculture and trade

  9. Ag and trade continued • Life in Western Oklahoma was more difficult than in eastern Oklahoma. The Western half of the state received little precipitation so vegetation had to be carefully cultivated and sheltered as much as possible from the high winds. • Eastern Oklahoma, on the other hand , enjoyed heavy rainfall and lush vegetation. • People built their towns close to rivers, lived in permanent dwellings and were primarily farmers and small game hunters

  10. Spiro Mound • Unearthed in the 1930’s one of the nations most important archeological locations is near Spiro. An enormous man-made mound constructed of cedar logs covered with tons of soil, it was a ceremonial center and burial ground. • Believed to be ancestors of the Caddoan tribes, these people lived in eastern Oklahoma from about C.E. 500 to about 1300C.E.

  11. Chapter 1 Quiz 1.) Describe the most commonly accepted theory about how the Indians got here. 2.) Describe an Inhabitant 3.) Describe Beringia 4.) Where did the American Indians come from? 5.) Describe what some artifacts found in different places tells us about the Ancient Indians. 6.) Describe the two geographic regions in Oklahoma? 7.) What were the three main crops the Western Indians planted 8.) What was the most important trade item Oklahoma Tribesmen had to offer? 9.) Describe why life in Western Oklahoma was more difficult than life in Eastern Oklahoma. 10.) Describe the Spiro Mounds

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