Existing comment:
From the earliest times, Native North Americans gradually improved their lives. Each culture handed something of the old and new on to the next.
What is Culture?
The culture of a group includes its organization, beliefs and customs, ways in which members interact with each other and with people outside the group, and ways in which the group adapts to its environment.
The descendants of the first Americans developed many cultures in the thousands of years before the rise of Mississippian civilization. Many of these periods of cultural development and traditions are represented at or near Cahokia.
Paleo Indians 10,000-8000BC:
The world was far different for the first prehistoric peoples in America. The Paleo Indians came to the American Bottom at the end of the Ice Ages, perhaps 12,000 years ago. At that time, the earth was much colder than it is today.
The Paleos were big-game hunters, stalking mastodons, stag moose, ground sloths, and sabre tooth cats. They lived in small bands of 20 to 30 people and traveled constantly in pursuit of their prey, perhaps also gathering plant foods along the way.
Archaic 8000-1000BC:
Archaic culture developed as the giant mammals the Paleos depended upon became extinct in North America, about 9000 years ago. Early man adapted by concentrating on smaller animals, such as deer, for prey. Over time, the land warmed, producing more animals and edible plants. Archaic bands set up camps to which they traveled in different seasons to hunt and gather.
Changes in tool making and spear point styles highlighted the Archaic Era. The Middle Archaic Period marked the development of ground stone tools such as axes.
Honoring the dead with material goods was a custom begun by Archaic people -- an idea which took on more importance as time went on. The age of burial mound building was approaching. |