Name ___________________________________________________ Date __________________ Class ____________________ LESSON PREHISTORIC PEOPLES OF GEORGIA 1 Objective: To learn about the prehistoric peoples of Georgia During the last Ice Age, peoples from eastern Asia seeds for their superior performance, and used these migrated to North America on a now-vanished land seeds to grow their crops. bridge. This land bridge spanned the Bering Strait Woodland Indians were far from being farmers, and disappeared when the Ice Age ended some however. They still relied heavily on hunting and 10,000 years ago. The peoples who crossed the gathering, although they did make advances in land bridge came over in waves and gradually these areas. They began to use the bow and arrow migrated south. Eventually, descendants of some as a hunting tool and also developed various other of these peoples reached what is now Georgia. stone and bone tools for processing and preparing food. The biggest technological change during the Early Prehistoric Peoples Woodland period was the making of pottery. Clay The earliest inhabitants of present-day Georgia are vessels may have been used to store cultivated or called Paleo-Indians. These migratory peoples gathered foods, such as nuts. Woodland peoples wandered into the region between 10,000 and 8000 added textured designs to the surface of the pots B.C. Paleo-Indians left few traces of their culture, by pressing a fabric-wrapped stick or paddle into and scholars know little about them. We do know the wet clay. that these early peoples were hunter-gatherers, The Woodland Indians lived a more settled life moving around in search of game and foraging for than their hunter-gatherer ancestors. Some Woodland nuts and wild plants. They used stone-tipped spears peoples even lived in small villages. In addition, to hunt big game, such as mammoths. they built earthen mounds, believed to be burial sites. The Paleo-Indian culture was gradually These mounds contain many elaborate, small artifacts replaced by the Archaic, or Meso-Indian, culture such as pipes, tools, figurines, and ornaments made (8000–1000 B.C.). Like the Paleo-Indians, Archaic peoples were hunter-gatherers who followed the WOODLAND AND MISSISSIPPIAN seasonal migrations of animals. Archaic Indians ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES also fished, hunted small game, and gathered wild Nacoochee plants. These peoples developed a greater variety Tunacunnhee of bone and stone-tipped tools than the Paleo- Long Swamp Indians, however. Etowah [ Woodland Culture Rock The Woodland culture (1000 B.C.–A.D. 900) eventually Eagle replaced the Archaic culture. The transition was gradual, with changes occurring earlier and faster in some areas than in others. Nevertheless, certain }Macon Plateau features identify all Woodland societies. First, Wood- land peoples began to grow their own food. In Ocmulgee small gardens they cultivated sunflowers, squash, and a green plant called sumpweed. Later, they Cemochechobee Mandeville began growing corn as well. Kolomoki How do we know the Woodland peoples cultivated plants? The evidence comes from seeds Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. gathered at the sites of Woodland communities. At Woodland Sites these sites, archaeologists have found sunflower and Mississippian Sites sumpweed seeds that are larger and more uniform in Scale in Miles size than the wild seeds from these plants. This fact 050 suggests that the Woodland peoples saved the best GEORGIA HANDBOOK j HISTORY 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 Rock Eagle 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, Mississippian Culture 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 Mississippi River. 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.