Alabama History Where is Alabama Alabama is located

Alabama History

Where is Alabama? • Alabama is located in the southeastern United States on the continent of North America in the Northern/Western Hemisphere. • Alabama is bordered by Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the South, Mississippi to the west, and Tennessee to the north.

The Rivers of Alabama • Tennessee River – In the north; dips down into the northeastern corner of the state, then flows northwest and down again. • Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers – On the western side of the state. • Alabama River – Formed where the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers join. • Cahaba River – Joins to the Alabama River; flows down from the mountains near Birmingham. • Mobile River – Formed where the Alabama meets the Tombigbee. • Chattahoochee River – To the east; forms part of the boundary with Georgia.

Alabama Rivers

The 5 Geographic Provinces of Alabama • The Highland Rim- level plains of fertile soil and gently rolling hills • Cumberland Plateau- steep canyons and coal deposits • The Ridge and Valley Province- includes Birmingham and Red Mountain- known for iron ore, coal, and limestone • The Piedmont Province- means “foot of the mountains” Mount Cheaha (the highest point in Alabama is located here) • The Coastal Plain- The border between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain is called the fall line. It makes up more than half of the state. A band of dark rich soil called the black belt is found in the Coastal Plain.

The 5 Geographic Provinces of Alabama

Paleo Indians • The first people of Alabama arrived approximately 12, 000 years ago. We believe they crossed the Bering Strait on a land bridge that connected Asia and North America. • The first people of Alabama were Paleo Indians.

Paleo Indians • When the Paleo Indians came to Alabama they came following herds of now extinct food animals. They were hunters and gatherers. • The Paleo Indians found places to live that would be both safe and close to food sources. • Paleo Indians were skilled at using natural resources. They were also excellent artists. Scientists have found petroglyphs carved into rocks. These offer clues about the religious beliefs. • Paleo Indians hunted large prehistoric animals like mastodons and woolly mammoths.

Archaic Indians • Like the Paleo Indians, the Archaic Indians were hunters and gatherers. The Archaic Indians made use of other resources too. • Unlike the Paleo Indians, Archaic Indians tended to stay longer in one place. • Archaic Indians lived on the rivers, where they harvested fish and shellfish during the summer. In the fall and winter they moved to the forests to collect nuts and to hunt. • Archaic people developed many tools, such as the atlatl, or throwing stick for hunting. Burial sites show that the Archaic Indians traded for special items.

Archaic Indians • Vocabulary: Horticulture: Archaic Indians paid attention to where certain plants grew well and tried to encourage plant growth. • Archaeologists believe that finding rare or precious items in a person’s grave probably meant they were important to the group. Scientists also think the Archaic people believed in life after death. • Archaic Indians made bowls and other items from stone.

Archaic Indian and Atlatl

Woodland Indians • The Woodland Indians began making pottery to cook and store food with. They also developed the bow and arrow, which improved hunting. • The Woodland Indians had a healthier, more dependable diet, and as a result the population grew. • The Woodland Indians stayed in one place for at least a season. • Leaders began to form during the Woodland time period.

Mississippian Period and Native Americans • Native Americans were attracted to the abundant plant and animal life found in and along these waterways. • With hundreds of miles of waterways, Native Americans did not have to travel far to find good water and transportation. • People during the Mississippian period lived in chiefdoms. Chiefs and priests lived in town, and they made the laws and led the people in peace and war. • Mississippians still hunted and fished, but farming was central to their society. • Mississippian society included nobles and commoners. Nobles were related to the chief or priests. Commoners served the nobles.

Moundville • The Moundville site contains some twenty mounds. The largest is almost sixty feet tall and covers nearly two acres. • The mounds may not have been built primarily for tombs. Houses of the chiefs and priests were located on the flat tops of some of the mounds. • When a chief or priest died, his followers might burn or tear down his house, add a new layer of dirt, and build a new house for the next leader.

Moundville

Bottle Creek • Located on an island in the delta of the Mobile and Tensaw Rivers. • Contained at least eighteen mounds, and the city was the social and governmental center of the region. • Both Moundville and Bottle Creek went into decline and people began moving away, leaving the sites all but deserted. We do not know for sure why the Mississippian culture declined. Scientists think warfare and diseases brought by Europeans caused this decline.

Conquistadores 1519 -1559

- Spanish explorers were sailing into the area of Mobile Bay as early as 1500, with the bay being marked on early Spanish maps as the Bahía del Espíritu Santo (Bay of the Holy Spirit). - The area was explored in more detail in 1516 by Diego de Miruelo and in 1519 by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda. - In 1528, Pánfilo de Narváez traveled through what was likely the Mobile Bay area, encountering Native Americans who fled and burned their towns at the approach of the expedition. - This response was a prelude to the journeys of Hernando de Soto, more than eleven years later.

- Hernando de Soto explored the area of Mobile Bay and beyond in 1540, finding the area inhabited by a Muscogee Native American people. - During this expedition, his forces destroyed the fortified town of Mauvila, also spelled Maubila, from which the name Mobile was later derived. - The battle with Chief Tuscaloosa and his warriors took place somewhere north of the current site of Mobile. - The next large expedition was that of Tristán de Luna y Arellano, in his unsuccessful attempt to establish a permanent colony for Spain, nearby at Pensacola in 1559 -1561.