1. Pre Columbian Wisconsin

2. Paleolithic Period
10,000 BCE – 6500 BCE 2

3. First Human Settlement
Between 45,000 & 12,000 BCE Paleo Indians migrate across Bering Land Bridge
These peoples migrated along with herds of megafauna (Mammoths, Mastodons, bison, etc)
10,000 BCE – Paleo Indians reach Wisconsin 3

4. Paleo Indians: Clovis Culture
Semi-nomadic. Followed mega-fauna seasonally
Made stone tools and spear points
Cached tools and frozen meat for later use, and to reduce the amount necessary to carry while moving 4

5. Paleo Indians: Clovis Culture
With an atlatl, spear-thrower, Clovis spears could penetrate more than a foot into a mammoth 5

6. Clovis artifacts in Wisconsin
In 1897, the Dosch family in Boaz, Wisconsin discovered a mammoth skeleton and Clovis spear points on their farm
Clovis peoples lived in Wisconsin at the end of last Ice Age 6

7. Clovis Period Clovis Period lasted from 10,000 BCE to 9,000 BCE
Three hypotheses on why it ended
Overkill Hypothesis: Clovis peoples hunted the megafauna to extinction
Younger-Dryas Cold Shock Hypothesis: years of cold temperatures ended Clovis culture
Younger-Dryas Impact Hypothesis: An impact, or near impact of a comet or meteor changed climates abruptly 7

8. Paleo Indians: Plano Culture
Hunter-gatherers, predominantly on the Great Plains, but remnants of Plano culture have been found on Atlantic and Pacific coasts and as far north as the Northwest Territories 8

9. Plano Culture Hunted bison antiquus, much larger than today's bison
Preserved meat with berries and fats
Also stampeded herds over cliffs or into corrals
May have used circular teepees and earthen lodges 9

10. Plano Period Plano Period lasted from 7,000 BCE to 4,000 BCE
Plano Period ends when bison antiquus is hunted to extinction and new culture emerges 10

11. Archaic Period
6,000 BCE –1,000 BCE 11

12. Boreal Archaic Period
Water vapor from melting glaciers created a greenhouse effect that sped up the process
As the land warmed up, megafauna migrated north
Boreal Archaic peoples began to hunt smaller animals 12

13. Boreal Archaic Culture
Boreal Archaic peoples were semi-nomadic, moving through locations in cycle with the seasons
Made greater use of stone tools, such as the adze
Evidence of dugout canoes
Also evidence of elaborate burial rituals 13

14. Boreal Archaic Culture
Lasted from around 6000 BCE to about 4000 BCE
Boreal period is considered to have ended with the appearance and use of copper artifacts 14

15. Old Copper Culture Lasted from around 4000 BCE to about 500 BCE
Peoples mined copper along shores of Lake Superior
Made tools, jewelry, etc from copper 15

16. Old Copper Culture
Tools, spearpoints, fish hooks, etc 16

17. Old Copper Culture
Copper Culture artifacts were mined in limited area, Keweenaw Peninsula in modern Michigan
Artifacts found in large area indicates existence of trade 17

18. Oconto County Burial Site
Old Copper Culture
Copper Cultures in Wisconsin performed elaborate burial rituals, indicating a degree of spiritualism
Artifacts show extensive trade across continent
In Eastern Wisconsin sites, archaeologists have found:
Freshwater clam shells from the Mississippi River
Whelk shells from Gulf of Mexico
Oconto County Burial Site 18

19. Early Woodland Period 500 BCE – 100 BCE
Hunting and gathering. Wild plants: hickory nuts, blackberries wild rice, etc. Small game, fish and shellfish
They did plant some crops such as squash, sunflowers, tubers and herbs 19

20. Early Woodland Period
First North Americans we know that made pottery and other clay artifacts 20

21. Early Woodland Period
Tools, jewelry, pipes, weapons, etc 21

22. Early Woodland Period
Tee-Pees/Wigwams, covered with reeds/grass, hides
As farming develops, settlements become permanent 22

23. Hopewell Period 200 BCE to 500 CE
Similar cultures spread across Eastern United States
Built Large Complex Mounds Uncertain Purposes: Burial, Astronomy, etc
Extensive trade between different regions 23

24. Hopewell Period Explosion of Art, Ritual & Ceremonial Architecture
200 BCE to 500 CE
Explosion of Art, Ritual & Ceremonial Architecture
Elaborate burial customs
Effigy Mounds in the shape of animals 24

25. Hopewell Period Mostly in Southern and Southwestern Wisconsin
There are several Hopewell era sites in Wisconsin
Mostly in Southern and Southwestern Wisconsin
Hopewell peoples came from Illinois and Ohio and lived alongside other tribes
Nicholls Mound in Trempealeau 25

26. Hopewell Culture They practiced agriculture: nuts, seeds & grasses
Hopewell peoples settled on rivers and waterways
They practiced agriculture: nuts, seeds & grasses
They did make use of pottery
Dwellings were round or oval, using posts and mats of reed or bark 26

27. Hopewell Period
End of the Hopewell Period is not well understood
Archaeological evidence suggests that Late Woodland peoples moved away from great mounds and settled in large wood-walled villages
Conflict between tribes?
Over farming of land caused starvation? 27

28. Mississippian-Late Woodland
CE until European Contact in s
Similar cultures stretched from Mississippi to Atlantic & from Wisconsin to Mexico
Extensive trade between regions 28

29. Mississippian-Late Woodland
CE until European Contact in s
Large plazas around two central mounds: one for ceremonial purposes, one for the “chief”’s residence
Largest settlement near Cahokia in Illinois 29

30. Mississippian-Late Woodland
Between CE Cahokia had a population that varied between 10,000-40,000. Larger than London, Paris and Rome at the time
Culture was based on the cultivation of maize (corn)
Cahokian society spread north into Wisconsin up the Mississippi and Rock River Valleys 30

31. Aztalan
Mississippian peoples blended with descendants of older peoples.
Major center at Aztalan on the Crawfish River 31

32. Aztalan Aztalan site discovered in 1830s near Lake Mills
Village and mounds surrounded by log stockade
Several archaeological digs there since 32

33. Aztalan Archaeologists believe Aztalan thrived between 900-1200 CE
Site was abandoned; reasons unclear
Stockade partially burned. War? Accident? 33

34. Late Woodlands: Mounds
Dates uncertain
Hopewell?
Earlier?
Mississippian?
Blends of cultures?
Most mounds in Wisconsin date after 500 34

35. Effigy Mounds: Waupaca County
Sanders-Steiger Site: Fremont; Privately Owned
NE Shore of Taylor Lake
Mounds 35

36. Native Americans in Wisconsin: 160036