Chpt. 5 Native People and Early European Explorers

What are artifacts?

An object made by humans in their daily lives that has survived, often buried deep in the ground

When is the prehistoric time?

The time before written history

Who are archaeologists?

Scientist who uses artifacts from the past to try to understand prehistoric people

What are middens?

an ancient garbage groups

Describe the Paleo Era

Migrated from Asia beginning in 30,000 BC. They were nomadic. They traveled in small groups and based their movements on the migration patterns of the animals they hunted.

Describe the lives of people in the Meso Era.

People were nomadic, but they stayed in the same places for long period of time. They were hunters and gathers.

What is the atlatl?

A throwing stick used as a weapon in the Meso era

When did prehistoric people first build mounds?

During the Meso Era

Describe the early neo era

began around 2000 BC. Large amounts of pottery have been found during the era. The bow and arrow were developed during this period and villages were established.

Describe the late Neo Era.

people built more permanent homes and built temples on mounds for sacred ceremonies. They switched from gathering to agriculture.

What is intercropping?

invited during the late neo era, when two or more plants wit different harvesting harvesting times are planted in the same plot of land

What marks the shift from prehistoric time to historic cultures?

the arrival of the written word

How do we know abt historic native American culture?

Explorers from Spain and France kept written records of their observations of the life and customs of Native Americans.

Why did Spanish explorer Hernando de soto travel to North America

he was looking for gold

what impact did the early Spanish explorers have on Native Americans?

They brought dieases with them that the Native Americans had not build up immunity against. Nearly half of the Native American population died

What is a tribe?

A group of native people who share a name, common ancestry, language, and way of life.

How many tribes did the French encounter when they arrived in present-day Lousiana

seven

Describe the Atakapa tribe?

lived in the southwest Louisiana. They were cannibals (they ate their enemies). Many died from European diseases, and the few who survived were driven out of Louisiana by the new European settlers.

Describe the Natchez tribe.

Lived in the east of the Mississippi river. They were fearsome warriors with a highly developed class structure. The French ordered them off their land.

Describe the Caddo tribe

lived along the red river. They were farmers and traders. They made a treaty wit the United States trading their land for money and good.

Describe the Chitimacha tribe

Lived along the gulf coast. they had a huge population, but it dwindled due to illness and conflicts with the French. The Acadians settled near them, and over time the two groups intermarried and Spoke French.

Describe the Choctaw tribe

They occupied a large area. An internal tribal war arose after the Choctaw split alliances between the French and British during the French and Indian War. They ceded their territory to the U.S.

Describe the Houma tribe

Lived in the swamps and marshes of southeast Lousiana. They learned to hunt,fish,and trap local animals

Describe the Tunica-Biloxi tribe

Originally lived in the Mississippi but were forced inland by the French. They used their trading skills to control their relationships wit the European settlers

Describe the Coushatta tribe

Originated in Tennessee, but they moved east to avoid further contact with the Spanish and English. They eventually migrated to Louisiana. They purchased and settled land in the 1880s and remain there today

What is poverty point. Is it only one in Louisiana?

The largest earthworks site found in Louisiana. No it is not

Who constructed Poverty Point. How many years ago?

Indians constructed it 3500 years ago.

How did Poverty point get its name?

Named after Poverty Point Plantation

Why is Poverty Point the most significant mound site we study in Louisiana?

it has unusual artifacts and once a major regional culture