1. Native Americans, Discovery, Exploration and Settlement
12,000 BC to 1803

2. Paleo-Indians 12,000 BC-9,500 BC
25,000 years ago Following herds of wild animals the first settlers in North America came over the land bridge that connected what is now Alaska and Russia
Earliest dated Indian remains in Arkansas are from around 10,000 BC
Lived by hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants
Lived in groups of men and women
frequently moved to follow the animals
Climate of Arkansas was cooler and drier, had less plant life
Most of our knowledge comes from archeologists

3. Archaic Indians 9500 BC-1000BC Major climate changes mark this period
Climate became warmer and drier
Large mammals die out replaced by deer, bears, elk, wolves, racoons
Native American populations grew
Tools and weapons became more efficient
Atlatl (throwing stick that made spears go further)
Adze (made cutting wood easier)
People began to settle down for parts of the year
Lived along river banks and other high ground
Different groups met and exchanged goods and ideas
Beginning of religious beliefs and the idea of an afterlife

4. Woodland Indians 1000 BC-950 AD
Important change was the practice of agriculture
Crops- squash, goosefoot, marshelder, sumpweed
Growing food allowed them
Stay in one place (villages developed)
Have a secure food supply
Develop governments
Began to bury their dead in small hills or mounds
Trade increased
Traded items like salt, hematite and novaculite
Traded for items like copper, seashells
Indians began to make elaborate pottery

5. Mississippian Tradition 950 AD-1541 AD
Population began to grow large and live in villages
Center of village was a large open plaza surrounded by mounds
Mounds contained public buildings
Religious services and harvest festivals were held on the plazas in the village
Native Americans began to use the bow and arrow at this time
Corn was introduced
It improved the health of the population
Bad side was this it promoted tooth decay and lead to early death

6. Historic Indians after 1541AD
When the first European explorers arrived in in Arkansas there were three distinct tribes Caddo, Osage and Quapaw living in Arkansas
Called the historic period because we have written records from European travelers

7. Caddo Lived in Southwest Arkansas Built mounds
Buried important leaders there
Built religious temples on top
Large, complex farming culture
Lived in small family farms
Grew the “three sisters” crops (corn, beans, squash)
Houses had a distinct cone shape

8. Caddo Important industry was making salt
Boiled water to evaporate the moisture, when the water boiled off salt remained behind
Salt was used to preserve and season food
It was also used as a trade item
Most famous salt making site in Arkansas was the Hardman site in Clark County
Salt making was Arkansas first large scale industry

9. Quapaw Moved into Arkansas 550 years ago
Lived in river valleys of eastern Arkansas
Arkansas, White and Mississippi River
Grew the three sisters crops
Believed that everyone owned the land and they farmed all land together
Houses were shared by several families
Kappa was the largest known Quapaw village (present day Arkansas County)
They were the first Native Americans to come in contact with the Europeans

10. Osage Hunting tribe that did not actually live in Arkansas
Home was in southern Missouri
Considered northern Arkansas to be part of their hunting lands
Were more warlike than Quapaw and Caddo and they raided their settlements

11. Arkansas Explorers

12. The First Explorers
Around 1500 European ideas, and ways of life began to spread around the world
European countries began to explore and colonize the New World (North and South America)
European explorers came to the New World for the “three G’s”; god, gold and glory
Europeans did not understand Native American cultures and looked down on them
The most significant European impact on the Americas was disease
Native Americans did not have any immunity to smallpox, measles or the flu
Within 200 years of European contact the Quapaw's went from over 10,000 in Arkansas to fewer than 500 members

13. Hernando Desoto
The Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto was the first European explorer to come to Arkansas
De Soto and his men reached Arkansas in 1541
By the time he reached Arkansas De Soto and over 600 men had been searching what is now the southeaster U.S. for gold
They crossed the Mississippi near present day Memphis
They spent almost one year traveling through Arkansas
When De Soto died his men buried him in the Mississippi River and made their way back to Spanish settlements in Mexico
The expedition provided the first written accounts of Native American life in Arkansas

15. The French in Arkansas
It was 130 years before another European visit to Arkansas
1673 two French explorers Jacque Marquette (a French priest) and Louis Joliet ( a French fur trapper and trader), traveled down the Mississippi River to find a water route to the Indies through North America
They came in two canoes with five men
They were given a calumet by Illinois Indians that served as a passport to provide safe travel
They went as far as the mouth of the Arkansas River and met the Quapaw Indians
They were told by the Indians that the river did not empty into the Pacific and that they were close to Spanish lands
Marquette and Joliet returned north
Their report of the journey gave the people they met and the land where they were the name Arkansas

17. Robert La Salle
1682 LaSalle wanted to claim the Mississippi River Valley for France
He traveled with Henry De Tonti 50 other men and visited many of the same places that De Soto, Marquette and Joliet
LaSalle told the Indians he claimed the land for the King of France
LaSalle eventually traveled to the mouth of the Mississippi and returned to France to plan a larger expedition
In 1684 LaSalle led another expedition that failed and he was murdered on the coast of Texas
The legacy of LaSalle's visit to Arkansas
he built positive relations with the natives
claimed the area for France.

18. Arkansas Post
LaSalle's lieutenant went to find him and decided to wait for him at the mouth of the Arkansas River
1686 De Tonti built a fort and trading post and named it Arkansas Post
De Tonti left behind 6 men at the post
It became the first permanent European settlement on the west bank of the Mississippi River
It always remained an isolated and remote outpost

19. John Law
1717 the king of France gave John Law the right to sell land and bring settlers to Arkansas he recruited settlers saying that there was gold and silver close by
1721 the first colonists arrived but there were only Quapaw Indians at the site, the colonists stayed and rebuilt the post.
Throughout the 1700s there were never more than 100 people living there
The location of Arkansas Post was moved several times because of flooding
Arkansas Post was the only French settlement in Arkansas
1719 Bernard de La Harpe traveled up the Arkansas River and discovered “big rock” the location across the river eventually became Little Rock

20. Daily life at Arkansas Post
Rugged rural frontier town
Always more men than women
Most lived in dogtrot houses
Spoke their native language (French)
European traders traded goods with Indians
Fed themselves with hunting and fishing
Traders traveled by canoe up the White, Arkansas and other rivers of the region
Settlers at the Post always had slaves
Interracial marriages were common

21. The American Revolution
In 1763 after the French and Indian War Arkansas became part of the Spanish Empire
It took 5 years for the first Spanish army officer to take control of Arkansas Post
1783 the British and Chickasaw Indians attacked Arkansas Post
The Spanish fought off the attack
It was the only battle of the American Revolution fought west of the Mississippi