Prehistoric Native American Cultures

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Prehistoric Native American Cultures
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What is PREHISTORY?

• History before there was written language
• There was history before it was written down, but
  some societies just didnt write
• Native American societies were oral and have
  always been aware of their history, even without
  writing it down.

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Three Phases of Prehistory in North Carolina

• Paleo-Indian Period
• Archaic Period
• Woodland Times (includes the Mississippian
  Culture)

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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
• Around 14,000 years ago, North America was fully
  populated by people

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How do we know about the people that lived before
history was recorded?
They left items the items they left are
discovered today in archeological sites.
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Various levels of social organization among
prehistoric Native Americans
Bands (20-35 people)
Tribes (several bands)
Chiefdoms (100-300 people)
States (thousands of people)
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Paleo-Indian Period (14,000-12,000 Years Ago)

• Family
• People lived in bands (20-35 people), with 2 or 3
  extended families
• Natural leadership developed
• The social structure was based on kinship and
  skills

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Paleo-Indian Period

• Way of Life
• Nomads who moved with the hunt (mostly ate meat
  and hunted big game)
• The archeological sites left by these people are
  few with few deposits, probably because they were
  nomads
• In North Carolina, at least one Paleo-Indian site
  has been found in every county

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Paleo-Indian Period

• Technology
• Only stone material is found from this period
• They had some of the finest tools in prehistory
• Projectile points are most of what is found (tips
  of spears, darts, lances, etc.)

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Projectile Points Arrow Heads

• What are the differences?

Projectile points were created before arrow
heads. Arrow heads were not invented until
around 4000 years ago
projectile point
arrow heads
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Projectile Points and Arrowheads of
North Carolina
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The end of the Ice Age causes changes

• Global warming occurs between 12,000 10,000
  years ago (it took about 2000 years)
• It causes forests to change, thus food sources
  change
• Something else key happens.
• Culture evolves

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Archaic Period (10,000-4,000 years ago)

• Family
• Bands got larger, containing 50-75 people
• Tribes began to evolve consisting of closely
  related bands of people tied together by kinship

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Archaic Period (10,000-4,000 years ago)

• Way of Life
• The archeological sites found from this period
  are larger
• The people are semi-sedentary, not moving as much
  (they move with the seasons rather than the hunt)
• They are still hunter-gatherers (nuts, berries,
  plant material)

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Archaic Period

• Technology
• People begin making tools, to make other tools.
• They create more diverse and advanced tools such
  as
• Grinding stones
• Dishes
• Stone net sinkers
• Fish hooks
• Awls (engraving tool)
• Drills
• Scrapers
• Atlatl (Spear thrower)