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The First Inhabitants. Chapter 4. Prehistoric Cultures. Chapter 4 – 1 . The story of the past is the story of the earliest people in LA. Today we know these stories from our ancestors. The prehistoric period of LA is the time before written or recorded history.
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The First Inhabitants Chapter 4
Prehistoric Cultures Chapter 4 – 1
The story of the past is the story of the earliest people in LA. Today we know these stories from our ancestors. • The prehistoric period of LA is the time before written or recorded history. • Although the first people did not leave written records of their culture, they did leave behind clues about their lives.
Archaeologists are scientists who study the items left behind by ancient people. They even dig through ancient garbage dumps, called middens. • The middens included discarded food, garbage, and artifacts built up over the years created small mounds. • Their findings explain who left the items, when they were left, and what happened at those places. • These findings are known as artifacts.
The Paleo Indians are the oldest known Indians in LA. These first people came to N. America from Asia walking across the Bering Strait. • Also known as Archaic Indians. • When these nomads reached LA, they found a good hunting area with a good source of food and migrated often searching for food.
Meso Indians B/c they did not move around as much, the Meso Indians built more permanent houses, because they hunted small animals
Meso Indians also built mounds. These mounds were probably used during special ceremonies, but they were not used for burials. • The Meso Indians made different kinds of artifacts.
Early Neo Indians One of the things that distinguishes the early Neo Indian period from earlier ones is pottery making.
Late Neo Indians • The late Neo Indian period refers to the time right before the Europeans arrived in LA. • At this time, villages were larger and were located near waterways, which were used for travel and a source of food. • People built more permanent houses. • The late Neo Indians switched from gathering to agriculture.
The major crops grown were: • Maize (corn) • Beans • Squash • Pumpkins • During this time, the Indians built temples atop their mounds. These temple mounds were used for religious ceremonies.
Poverty Point Indians Located in Epps, Louisiana Northeastern LA
Known for its mound construction it is an archaeological site • 6 concentric earthen ridges
The people of Poverty Point acquired stones from the Ouachita, Ozark and Appalachian mountains and even copper from the Great Lakes–1,400 miles away. • Traded for Food with other groups through bartering.
Poverty Point An Ancient Native American Culture in Louisiana
Poverty Point • Poverty Point is located in the lower Mississippi Valley of Louisiana near many major rivers. • Strategically placed on many rivers, Poverty Point was large and influential.
Poverty Point Artifacts • Artifacts found at Poverty Point include: • chipped stone projectile points and tools • shell and stone beads • modeled clay objects • Figurines • Materials used to make these objects came from many different locations!
The people of Poverty Point used materials from faraway places to make different objects. Let’s look at these locations on a map…
Materials like copper came from as far away as the Great Lakes region.
Gemstones for jewelry came from the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains.
Flint, used to make spearheads, came from as far away as the Ohio River Valley. • Soap stone, for making pots and bowls, came from the Appalachian Mountains.
Why would the Poverty Point people be interested in obtaining these types of materials from faraway places? • How do you think the Poverty Point people acquired these foreign materials?
YES! The Poverty People would Trade/Barter! • Barter = trading goods and services without money
Historic Indians Chapter 4 – 2
Historic Indians • The historic Indian period began when the Europeans came to N. America. • In 1539, Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, set out to explore the southern part of the US. He brought along with him European diseases. • The lack of immunity (natural resistance) to these diseases brought a sentence of death to many who never even saw him.
The Native American population had be reduced by 80% due to influenza, measles, and smallpox. • The early French explorers and trappers identified a # of tribes. • Today historians categorize the Indians of LA according to 6 major language families: Atakapa, Caddo, Chitimacha, Choctaw, Natchez, and Tunica.
Natchez • The primary village of the Natchez people was located near Natchez, MS. • The Natchez had an unusual social structure: • Common people (stinkards) • Nobels • Chiefs • Everyone in the society, both men and women, wore tattoos indicating their status.
Their ruler was known as the “Great Sun”. The Great Sun was a king and religious figure who controlled life and death. • They also liked to decorate their clothing w/ accessories.
Tunica-Biloxi • The Tunica-Biloxi lived in MS. The Chickasaw drove them into LA near Avoyelles Parish. • The Tunica were great traders. They became major distributors of salt, arrow points, and horses. • They were governed by both a war chief and a peace chief. • Their totem (symbol) was the rattlesnake.
Houma • The Houma Indians lived near a river at Angola in W. Feliciana Parish. They lost their land after a battle w/ the Tunica and moved to Terrebonne Parish. • Driven from their farmland, they had to give up their agricultural way of life and had to learn how to hunt, fish, and trap. • The crawfish was their totem.
Another symbol of the Houma was the Istrouma, the tall red pole on the banks of the Mississippi River marking the boundary between the hunting grounds of the Houma and the Bayougoula. • The French explorer, Iberville, called the marker baton rouge, French for “red stick.” The name of Louisiana’s capital city come from this story.
Chitimacha • Chitimacha lived in villages along Bayou Teche. • They were ruled by one male chief. The chief’s position was an inherited one. • Women could also hold political power and serve as healers, but they were not permitted to hold any powerful religious position. • They lost all of their land to European invaders.
Caddo • The Caddo settled along the Red River and its tributaries. The lived in AK before moving into NW LA. • The Caddo shared this home w/ herds of bison, hunting them from horseback. • The Caddo traded their surplus horses to their eastern neighbors, the Tunica. • The Caddo were an agricultural people and good fishers.
Coushatta • The Coushatta left their home on the Tennessee River after Hernando de Soto tried to force them to give him goods they did not have. • They then settled in south-central LA. • The Coushatta lived in clans made of many families. A clan is a group of people who believed themselves related by blood. • They were good craftsmen and farmers.
Choctaw • The Choctaw were the 2nd largest tribe in the SE US. In Louisiana, they were known as the Muskogean. • They were farmers living in permanent towns and they also had extensive trade routes. • They fought in the French and Indian War, American Revolution, and the War of 1812. • Culture was greatly influenced by the Spanish.
