Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. G B ______Class ______Date ______Name (8000–1000 replaced bytheArchaic,orMeso-Indian,culture to huntbiggame,suchasmammoths. nuts andwildplants.Theyusedstone-tippedspears moving aroundinsearchofgameandforagingfor that theseearlypeopleswerehunter-gatherers, and scholarsknowlittleaboutthem.We doknow The Woodland culture(1000 Woodland Culture Indians, however. of boneandstone-tippedtoolsthanthePaleo- variety plants. Thesepeoplesdevelopedagreater wild also fished,huntedsmallgame,andgathered seasonal migrationsofanimals.ArchaicIndians peoples werehunter-gatherers whofollowed the wandered intotheregionbetween10,000and8000 called Paleo-Indians.Thesemigratorypeoples The earliestinhabitantsofpresent-dayGeorgia are Early PrehistoricPeoples of thesepeoplesreachedwhatisnowGeorgia. migrated south.Eventually,descendantsofsome land bridgecameoverinwavesandgradually 10,000 yearsago.Thepeopleswhocrossedthe and disappearedwhentheIceAgeendedsome bridge. ThislandbridgespannedtheBeringStrait migrated toNorthAmericaonanow-vanishedland Asia During thelastIceAge,peoplesfromeastern suggests that the Woodland peoplessavedthebest size thanthewildseedsfrom theseplants.Thisfact sumpweed seedsthatare larger in andmore uniform these sites,archaeologists havefound sunflowerand gathered atthesitesofWoodland communities. At cultivated plants?Theevidencecomesfrom seeds aswell. began growingcorn and agreenplantcalledsumpweed.Later, they small gardenstheycultivatedsunflowers,squash, land peoplesbegantogrow theirownfood. In features identifyallWoodland societies. First,Wood- in someareasthanothers.Nevertheless,certain gradual, withchangesoccurringearlierandfaster replaced theArchaic culture.Thetransition was LESSON . EORGIA C . Paleo-Indiansleftfewtracesoftheirculture, 1 The Paleo-Indian culture wasgradually The Paleo-Indianculture How doweknowtheWoodland peoples H ANDBOOK B Objective: PREHISTORIC PEOPLESOFGEORGIA . C .). LikethePaleo-Indians,Archaic j To learn about the prehistoric peoples of Georgia of peoples prehistoric the about learn To B . C .– A . D 900)eventually . such as pipes, tools, figurines, and ornaments made such aspipes,tools,figurines,andornaments These moundscontainmanyelaborate,smallartifacts they builtearthenmounds,believedtobeburialsites. peoples evenlivedinsmallvillages.Inaddition, than theirhunter-gatherer ancestors.SomeWoodland the wetclay. by pressingafabric-wrappedstickorpaddleinto ofthepots added textureddesignstothesurface gathered foods,suchasnuts.Woodland peoples vessels mayhavebeenusedtostorecultivatedor Woodland periodwasthemakingofpottery.Clay food. Thebiggesttechnologicalchangeduringthe stone andbonetoolsforprocessingpreparing as ahuntingtoolandalsodevelopedvariousother these areas.Theybegantousethebowandarrow gathering, althoughtheydidmakeadvancesin however. Theystillreliedheavilyonhuntingand seeds togrowtheircrops. andusedthese seeds fortheirsuperiorperformance, The Woodland settledlife Indianslivedamore Woodland Indianswerefarfrombeingfarmers, 050 Scale inMiles WOODLAND AND MISSISSIPPIAN WOODLAND AND Mississippian Sites Woodland Sites ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES Tunacunnhee Ocmulgee Etowah Mandeville Cemochechobee Long Swamp Kolomoki Nacoochee HISTORY } Eagle Rock Macon Plateau [ 1 Lesson 1 continued

of copper or stone. These “grave goods” games were held. The main mound, which usually suggest that Woodland peoples had developed had a flat top, was the site of a wooden temple or funeral rituals. Woodland Indians also built other chief’s residence, where important religious or larger mounds. These mounds were often shaped political ceremonies took place. like animals, and their purpose is unknown. One Many Mississippian mounds were quite tall. example, the Mound, in Putnam County The largest of the Etowah Mounds, for example, is in central Georgia, is in the shape of a bird. This 63 feet high. The Ocmulgee site also had several mound, which is made not of dirt but of thousands large platform mounds, which were built up to their of quartz stones, measures 102 feet across from wing full height in stages over many years. In addition, to wing. the site had many earth lodges, one of which has been reconstructed. This earth-covered building, 42 feet in diameter, may have served as a temple Starting around A.D. 900 the Mississippian culture or meetinghouse for the group’s leaders. slowly began to replace the Woodland culture. A funeral mound at Ocmulgee marks the place Mississippian culture refers to a way of life shared by where over 100 Mississippian village leaders were scattered groups who lived in a wide area of central buried. Mourners placed many valued goods in the and southeastern North America between A.D. 900 graves of leaders and other persons of high status. and 1700. This culture developed first along the Diggings at Mississippian sites have uncovered . It then spread throughout the carved copper headdresses, shell necklaces, and southeast, including what is now Georgia. To see ornaments featuring feathered serpents, spiders, evidence of the Mississippian culture in Georgia, and half-human figures as well as intricate geometric two of the best places to go are the Etowah Mounds, designs. The delicate workmanship displayed in near Cartersville, and the Ocmulgee National these items suggests that Mississippian society Monument, near Macon. included full-time artisans. Mississippian Indians were skilled farmers who Clay pots also were often placed in graves. grew corn and other crops. Unlike the Woodland During the Mississippian era, clay vessels were peoples, who lived in small, widely separated settle- essential for daily living. Mississippian potters ments, Mississippian peoples lived in permanent began to use ground-up shells to create clay towns and villages located next to rivers (see map). pots of many different kinds and sizes. They also As these larger settlements competed for resources, decorated these vessels in a variety of ways, such warfare increased. Thus, Mississippian towns were as stamping or etching them with geometric often surrounded by a tall, protective fence. A patterns or folding and pinching their rims to priest-chief governed each Mississippian community, create bold textures. which was made up of a larger town and smaller At the time of European contact, Mississippian outlying villages. culture already was beginning to fade. By around The earthen mounds built by Mississippian 1700, little remained of the culture the first European peoples were much larger and more numerous than explorers encountered in southeast North America. those built by earlier peoples. Each Mississippian When European colonists began to settle in present- settlement typically had one or more mounds built day Georgia, the Creek and the Cherokee were the near a central plaza, where ceremonies and athletic dominant American Indian tribes in the region.

REVIEW 1. What are some differences between the mounds the Woodland Indians built and those the Mississippian Indians built? 2. Using the map, what generalization can you make about the location of Mississippian settlements? 3. Thinking Critically How was Mississippian society more complex than that of the Woodland Indians? Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. 4. More About the Native Americans of Georgia Use the library and the Internet (go.hrw.com keyword: SG9 GA Indians) to gather additional information on the early Native Americans of Georgia. Then prepare a 10-question quiz about Georgia’s early peoples. On a separate piece of paper, write the answer to each question to create an answer key. Exchange quizzes with another student.

GEORGIA HANDBOOK j HISTORY 2