The Paleo Indians were the first Prehistoric Indians

The Paleo Indians were the first Prehistoric Indians that lived in Alabama. They moved here about 12, 000 years ago. They were nomads, people that moved from place to place. They hunted mammoths and other large animals with spears. They were known to be kind to one another when they were sick.

The Archaic Indians were more advanced than the Paleo Indians. They lived on the river during the Summer, and in the Winter they lived in the forest. They traded for special items. They made a spear thrower called an atlatl. They used plants as medicine. They also used spider webs to place on cuts to stop the bleeding.

The Woodland Indians made lots of tools like a bone needle, copper creel, awl. Most Woodlands lived in deer hide tents. They made clothes. They began to use a bow and arrow. They lived in small villages.

• They lived in chiefdoms that included a large town (chiefs and priests lived) and smaller communities around it. • The towns included large mounds (larger than woodland mounds). • They built mounds to bury their dead. On top of the mounds were homes for the priests and chiefs. They also built temples on the mounds. • In the temples they held ceremonies for marriages, burials, good crops, and successful battles.

• In the smaller communities outside the town, they grew corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. The crops were sent to the town to feed the families of the priest and chief. • They still hunted and fished, but farming was most important. • The Mississippians traveled in dug out canoes that could hold up to 20 – 30 people. • They made beautiful pottery. Effigy pots(animal/human faces or bodies) • They had nobles(related to chief/priest) and commoners (majority) • Nobles were buried in large temple mounds/commoners were buried under the floors of their houses.

The Mississippian Indians (Mound Builders) • Two of the most important sites in Alabama are MOUNDVILLE and BOTTLE CREEK

MOUNDVILLE • located on a bluff above the Black Warrior River, and began as a Woodland village (trading center) • started building mounds by carrying in baskets of dirt and dumping them into a pile (no wheel) • continued to build for 200 years, 20 mounds, the largest was almost 60 ft tall and covered 2 acres

What were the mounds used for? • bury the dead • ceremonies and celebrations • Houses were built for chiefs and priests on top of the mounds. When they died, their house would be torn down, burned, a new layer of dirt would be added, and a new house for the next chief or priest would be built.

BOTTLE CREEK • located on an island in the delta of the Mobile and Tensaw Rivers • being surrounded by water was good and bad! “Good” because it gave protection from vandals. “Bad” because the water eroding it makes it hard to be preserved. • They began building this site right after Moundville was started and continued after Moundville was complete. • 18 mounds when completed • Social and governmental center of the region

The End of the Mississippian Period • Why did the Mississippian culture decline? Why were important sites like Bottle Creek and Moundville abandoned? • We do not know for certain, but scientists suspect that an increase in warfare may have disrupted society. They also think that diseases brought by Europeans, who were by now coming to the New World, had a devastating effect on the Native American population.

The End of the Mississippian Period • We do know that as the mound sites declined, new towns built with strong walls (palisades)began to appear. Also, burials from this time period contained fewer fine ornaments which may mean less trade was going on. • Something caused these Native Americans to have less contact with Indians outside the region and to spend more time protecting what they had. We know this because this is what Alabama Indians were doing when the Europeans arrived.

To learn more about the Prehistoric Indians of Alabama you can visit: http: //bama. ua. edu/~alaarch/prehistoricalabama/index. htm

Lesson Review 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. When did the Mississippian period begin? What was an important feature of the Mississippian towns? Name 3 crops that were staples during the Mississippian period. What do archaeologists think the large mounds were used for? Name 2 possible causes for the decline of the Mississippian period.

Lesson Review (Answers) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The Mississippian period began after the Woodland Indians (700 AD-1500 AD) Chiefdoms containing large mounds were an important feature of the Mississippian town. 3 crops that were staples during the Mississippian period were corn, beans, and squash. Archaeologists think the large mounds were used for burying their dead, ceremonies, and celebrations. 2 possible causes for the decline of the Mississippian period are increase in warfare and disease.