Native Americans of Georgia

1. Native Americans of Georgia What was the Influence of Native Americans on the History and Development of Georgia?

2. Where Did They Come From? • Where did the people to be called “Native Americans” come from? • Scientists believe that they came from Asia and crossed the Bering Straits during the last ice age. Massive glaciers removed so much water from the seas that a “land bridge” between the Asian and North American continents appeared. www.americanindian.net/ links7.html

3. Prehistoric Indians of Georgia There were four time periods of Indian life in prehistoric Georgia: • Paleo Period – 10,000 BC to 8000 BC • Archaic Period – 8000 BC to 1000 BC • Woodland Period – 1000 BC to 1000 AD • Mississippian Period – 1000 to 1600 AD

4. Paleo Indians10,000 B.C. to 8000 B. C. http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/ssteller.htm

5. Weapons of the Paleo Indians • Made from antlers and rocks • Knives, spearheads, and axes • Used cane or tree trunks for shafts • Clovis Points were the earliest known spear points of the Paleo Indians

6. Clovis Point • These points were made from flint rocks using a technique called ‘flint knapping”. • Clovis point found at Ocmulgee site in Georgia http://www.stlcc.edu/fv/users/mfuller/martens/Pottery.html

7. Paleo Food Sources • Hunted large game such as the mammoth, the mastodon, giant bison, giant sloths, and other large mammals. • They hunted in groups and had to get very close to their game in order to kill it (they were using spears, see picture on page 43). • Any fruits or vegetables they ate, were ones they found while foraging.

8. The Game Over 9 feet tall at the shoulder Over 15 feet long from tusk to tail The longest tusks found were over 17 feet in length. Heavier than the mastodons. Stood from 6 to 9 feet tall at the shoulder. Were up to 15 feet long from tusk to tail. Evolved from the wooly mammoth. http://www.unmuseum.org/mastodon.htm

9. The giant sloths weighed about 100 pounds. They became extinct about 10,000 years ago. Hunting pressure and environmental changes due to climate changes. They were about twice as big as our modern day buffalo. Their horns could be seven feet from tip to tip (modern buffalo will reach about 2 feet). http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/larson/sloth.html

10. Shelter of the Paleo Indians • Paleo Indians were nomadic, they moved from place to place, following animals they killed for food. • They did not build permanent houses, but rather lived in shallow pits or crude shelters covered with animal skins or tree bark. http://www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us/~crsmith/anth7_paleo.html

11. Religion and the Paleo Indian • There is only limited evidence of religious practices of the Paleo Indians living in Georgia. • Two skeletons were found buried with several artifacts and covered with a red powder. • This suggested that they practiced some form of burial ceremony.

12. Lifestyle of the Paleo Indians • They lived in small family groups, usually no more than 20 to 30 people per group. • The family groups were small because they could not get enough food (animals they killed plus nuts and berries they gathered) to support larger numbers. • They usually only lived to be 30 to 40 years old due to disease and accidental death (for example - being stepped on by a mastodon). LIVED DURING THE END OF THE ICE AGE

13. Prehistoric Indians of Georgia There were four time periods of Indian life in prehistoric Georgia: • Paleo Period – 10,000 BC to 8000 BC • Archaic Period – 8000 BC to 1000 BC • Woodland Period – 1000 BC to 1000 AD • Mississippian Period – 1000 to 1600 AD

14. Archaic Period Indians8000 B.C. to 1000 B.C. • FIRST CULTURE OF GEORGIA • About 7000 B.C. the climate began to change. Large mammals such as the mammoth, mastodon, giant sloth, and giant bison died out. • A new tradition of Native Americans, known as the Archaic Indians adapted to the warming climate of Georgia. Their most urgent adaptation was one of finding food.

15. Archaic Weapons and Tools • Archaic points were more defined and often had a barb on the end. This helped hold the point on the spear shaft. • The stone axe was not just used as a weapon but also used to cut down trees, hollow out holes for storage, etc. http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/ocd/arch/laprehis/paleo.htm

16. Weapons/Hunting Tools, Archaic Period • The atlatl became the weapon of choice for the Archaic Period Indians. • They still used spears to kill their game, but since the large mammals had disappeared, the spear was not as effective as a hunting tool.

17. Atlatl (pronounced – (at/lat/l) • An atlatl was a stick about two feet long with a notch on the back. • It would throw a spear about six feet long. http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/ocd/arch/laprehis/paleo.htm

18. Animals Hunted by Archaic Indians www.bearbiology.com/bbdesc.html http://www.esf.edu/pubprog/brochure/turkey/turkey.htm http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/animals/raccoon.htm http://www.bowhunting.net/Scouting/default.htm

19. Archaic Indians • Small villages of people living together was possible because they used more variety in their diet, eating more vegetables. • They also ate shellfish and used barbed hooks to catch fish. • Grinding stones and large storage pits for food were common. http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/RiverWeb/History/Cahokia/archaic/settle.html

20. Archaic Indian Pottery • The first use of pottery was found at the end of the Archaic Period. • Pottery allowed the people to store food, cook with oils, and water. • Primitive markings and symbols were used to decorate the outside of some pottery pieces. http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/outline/04- /

21. Evidence of Religion – Archaic Indians • There is evidence that the Archaic Indians believed in life after death. • They buried tools, weapons, body ornaments and food with the dead person.

22. They were the first to make fiber tempered pottery. There is evidence that they traded with other native peoples Traded bowls for utensils and tools They moved in limited areas, often spending a lifetime within a small area. They invented new ways of hunting and fishing, using barbed fishhooks and fish traps. Lived in rock shelters and pithouses Lifestyles of the Archaic Indians

23. Prehistoric Indians of Georgia There were four time periods of Indian life in prehistoric Georgia: • Paleo Period – 10,000 BC to 8000 BC • Archaic Period – 8000 BC to 1000 BC • Woodland Period – 1000 BC to 1000 AD • Mississippian Period – 1000 to 1600 AD

24. Woodland/Mississippian Foods • http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/woodland.htm http://free-stock-photos.com/food/beans.html http://www.funnytummy.com/posters_asst_vegetables.html

25. Woodland Period Shelter • Sometimes referred to as “longhouses” these were often permanent locations. • Covered with tree bark or often animal skins. • In the later part of the period they also used “wattle and daub” constructed houses. • Wattle and daub houses were constructed from interwoven sticks and twigs and covered with mud and allowed to dry. http://www.germantown.k12.il.us/html/homes.html

26. Woodland • Woodland Indians began to build permanent settlements. • Along stream valleys (soil soft and moist) BUILT PROTECTIVE WALLS AROUND VILLAGES AND STORAGE FACILITIES • DEVELOPED AGRICULTURE they would harvest grains, beans, maize (corn) and squash/gourds • Stored foods for winter and early spring http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/RiverWeb/History/Cahokia/woodland/settle.html

27. Woodland Period Pottery • The early Woodland pottery had markings and designs which varied from area to area http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/RiverWeb/History/Cahokia/woodland/tech.html

28. Woodland Hunting • The Woodland Indians developed the bow and arrow. • It replaced the spear and atlatl as the primary hunting weapon. http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/outline/04-woodland/

29. WOODLAND MOUNDS • Best know structures left by Woodland Indians • Contain skeletons, jewelry, pottery, beads • Several mounds in Georgia • Kolomoki Mounds • Rock Eagle

30. Mounds and Indian Religious Beliefs • Both Woodland Indians and Mississippian Indians believed in life after death. • This was demonstrated by the great mounds they built. • The effigy mound at Rock Eagle and the seven mounds built near the present city of Cartersville are examples of their skills. http://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/rock_eagle.html http://ngeorgia.com/history/early.html

31. Prehistoric Indians of Georgia There were four time periods of Indian life in prehistoric Georgia: • Paleo Period – 10,000 BC to 8000 BC • Archaic Period – 8000 BC to 1000 BC • Woodland Period – 1000 BC to 1000 AD • Mississippian Period – 1000 to 1600 AD

32. Mississippian Period Warrior • The Mississippian warrior presented a very interesting figure. • Notice the tattos on his body, meant to scare his opponents. • The bow and arrow became the weapon of choice, it was accurate and could kill at great distances. • The warrior would carry 15 to 20 arrows in a quaver on his back. • He could fire about 4 to 5 arrows per minute in a battle situation.

33. Mississippian Village/Mounds • The Mississippian Period Indians were prolific mound builders. • The mounds were generally used for worship or for an elevated area for the chief-priest to live on. http://www.mississippian-artifacts.com/html/main.html

34. Mississippian Culture • Had true towns which were social, political, and economic activity centers • Towns had 1 to 2- flat-topped temple mounds with ceremonial buildings/public structures on top

35. Mississippian Indian Village • Mississippian Indians became permanent residents of the areas due to improved agriculture: • Beans, corn, squash • Hunted turkey, deer, etc • Warm climate and longer growing seasons made permanent settlements possible. • Villages often surrounded by wooden palisade and a moat on the outside. http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/outline/05-mississippian/index.htm

36. COMPLEX CULTURE DEVELOPED CIVILIZATIONS politicial, social, religious structures • 1. cities were centers of trade • 2. specialized jobs for different people • 3. organized forms of government and religion • 4. system of record keeping • 5. advanced tools

37. Mississippian Indians • Developed highly structured societies, taking care of elderly and ones unable to care for themselves. • Traded widely with other Indian cultures from Tennessee, Florida, and other distant states. • Indians that Hernando de Soto encountered when he began to explore Georgia in 1540. FIRST GROUP TO BE DEVASTATED BY DISEASED BROUGHT BY EUROPEANS (TUBERCULOSIS) • Became the Creek and Cherokee Indian tribes- played such an influential role in development of Georgia history.

38. The European Explorers