Early Inhabitants

Paleo Ate Wooly Mammoth!

BERING LAND BRIDGE

At certain periods during the

Pleistocene Epoch, the

temperatures turned cold enough to
freeze much of the Earths water
into ice. From about 25,000 to
nearly 10,000 years ago, sea levels
were as much as 135 m (440 ft)
lower than they are today, and a
natural land bridge, called Beringia,
linked present-day Siberia and
Alaska. Most anthropologists believe
that Native Americans descend from
Asian peoples who migrated into
North America by way of this land
bridge.

Early Inhabitants
Ancient Indians:

Broken into time

periods, based on
total change in
culture
Paleo
Archaic
Woodland
Mississippian

Early Inhabitants
Paleo
Old Stone
Until 10,000 B.C.
Nomadic Culture
Hunters
Hunted Large game
Large pointed sticks
Clovis points spears
Lived in small groups
25 50 members

Artifacts in GA:
Around Rivers
Savannah
Ocmulgee
Flint

PALEO INDIANS
Paleo-Indians lived in small nomadic

groups that remained in an area only as

long as the animals and plant foods were
plentiful. Evidence indicates that they
camped near streams in temporary
shelters made of branches, grass, and
hides. At other times, they preferred high
ground where they could see the
countryside to watch for animals. The
camp may have had a central area for
group activities surrounded by living
areas where families cooked and slept.
These people probably used animal skins
for clothing and as blankets, and they
may have had dogs as hunting
companions. They did not raise other
animals or grow crops. They used no
metal and made no pottery.
Used spears to hunt large game for
food.

Early Inhabitants
Archaic
6000 B.C. 1000 B.C.

3 periods
Game gets smaller
Weapons get smaller, faster
Atlatl

Simple tools
Drills, chipping tools
Seasonal Migrants
Begin horticulture
Small groups join
Make camps
Clay pots first used

ATLATL USED BY THE ARCHAIC

PEOPLES

The Atlatl. By Atlatl Bob!

ARCHAIC PERIOD
8000-5000BC
Invented useful tools

such as:
Choppers, drills, and

chipping tools

Hunted large game

Moved each season

WOODLAND INDIANS
1000BC-1000AD

KNOWN AS HUNTERS

AND GATHERERS
Lived a more settled life.
Attentions to death and
burial

EFFIGY MOUNDS
Invented Bow and Arrow

Early Inhabitants
Woodland
1000 B.C. 1000 A.D.
Camps join and form

tribes
Several hundred families
Common ancestry,

customs
Begin using Bow and

Arrow
Fire pottery for strength
Religious ceremonies
impt.
Burial mounds filled with

goods

EFFIGY MOUNDS

Rock Eagle in Georgia

BOW AND ARROW

Woodland Indians

invented the Bow

and Arrow.

Early Inhabitants
Mississippian
700 A.D. - 1600
Lived in villages
Farmed
Maize
Beans
Pumpkin
Squash

Practiced religion
Priest Chief

Temple Mound Builders

Ocmulgee Macon
Etowah Mound Cartersville
Ornate clothing
Disappeared around 1600

Mississippian Farmers
Farmers
Lived a more settled life.

Lived near Rivers.

Agriculture: corn, beans,
squash, pumpkins,
tobacco
Build flat top mounds for
burials
Used tattooing
Two sects of Indian tribes
from the Mississippian
farmers are Creek and
Cherokees.

Flat top mounds in Georgia

Etowah Indian Mound

Ocmulgee mound
Kolomoki Mounds