1. Prehistoric Native American Cultures

2. Terms to know Prehistory Kinship Extended Family Nomads
Culture
Agriculture
Ceramics
Chiefdom
State
Prehistory
Kinship
Extended Family
Nomads
Projectile Points

3. What is PREHISTORY? History before there was written language
There was history before it was written down, but some cultures never developed writing
Most North American Native American cultures understood history through oral tradition.

4. Four Phases of Prehistory in North Carolina
Paleo-Indian Period
Archaic Period
Woodland Period (includes the Mississippian Culture)
Contact Period

5. Bering Strait Theory
During the last Ice Age (25,000-35,000 years ago) people began populating North America, coming across the Bering Strait from Asia

6. How do we know about the people that lived before history was recorded?

7. Various levels of social organization among prehistoric Native Americans
Bands (20-35 people)
Tribes (several bands)
Chiefdoms ( people)
States (thousands of people)

8. Paleo-Indian Period (14,000-12,000 Years Ago)
Family
People lived in bands (20-35 people), with 2 or 3 extended families
social structure based on kinship and skills

9. Paleo-Indian Period Culture Nomads – hunters & gatherers
Archaeologists have found many Paleo- Indian sites in NC
Q: What does this map tell us about Paleo-Indian nomadic culture?

10. Paleo-Indian Period Technology
Only stone material is found from this period
Paleo-Indians used simple, crafted stone tools
Most of the items found have been projectile points (tips of spears, darts, lances, etc.)
Q: How do you think these points were made?

11. Projectile Points & Arrow Heads
What are the differences?
Projectile points were used long before arrow heads.
Arrow heads were only invented around 4000 years ago

12. Projectile Points and Arrowheads of North Carolina

13. The end of the Ice Age causes changes
c. 12,000 – c. 10,000 BCE global warming
Climate warmed, forests changed, plant and animal life developed
As food became more plentiful and easier to find, there was more leisure time, so….
Culture evolved

14. Archaic Period (10,000-4,000 years ago)
Bands got larger, containing people
Tribes began to evolve consisting of closely related bands of people tied together by kinship

15. Archaic Period (10,000-4,000 years ago)
Archaeological sites from this period are more complex
People move with seasons instead of following herds of animals
Still hunter-gatherers

16. Archaic Period People begin making complex tools. Grinding stones
Clay Pottery
Stone net sinkers
Fish hooks
Awls (engraving tool)
Drills
Scrapers
Atlatl (Spear thrower)

17. Three inventions drastically change life for Native Americans.

18. Woodland Period (4000- 250 years ago)
Marked by three inventions:
Agriculture
Ceramics
Bow & Arrow

19. Agriculture People live in one place (or in summer/winter camps)
Cultures increase in complexity
Begin deliberately growing food crops
Women did much of the farming while men hunted

20. Ceramics Firing or baking clay pots made them last longer
Ceramics used for storage, transportation, even cooking
crafted mostly by women

21. Bows & Arrows The bow and arrow c. 4000 yrs ago hunting small game
warfare

22. Woodland Period Organized into tribes and chiefdoms
Within tribes, clans/families formed ranks
Some Woodland people buried their dead in burial mounds
Daily items were commonly decorated

23. Mississippian Culture (1100-1500 years ago)
During the Woodland Period, a unique culture arises, known as the Mississippian Culture.

24. Mississippian Culture
Large populated towns with ceremonial centers
Surrounding the ceremonial centers were villages
Farming was central to culture
These societies were states (nations)

25. Mississippian Culture
ceremonial centers were truncated mounds
Nature-worshipping culture

26. NC Native Culture at Contact
As we discuss Exploration
Leave central space for the contact period—we’ll return to this next week
On leaves, create 4 categories, one for each leaf
Categories should be comparative/contrasting methods of looking at the three periods studied so for (i.e. Native American group sizes)
Explain at least one aspect under the category for each period studied so far (i.e. Paleo-Indian groups were small, consisting of about individuals from 2-3 extended family kinship groups)