Prehistoric Arkansas

1. Prehistoric Arkansas • I The First People • II The Arkansas Land • III The Archaic Tradition • IV The Woodland Tradition • V The Mississippian Tradition • VI Arkansas’ Indian Tribes

2. I. The First People “Paleo-Indians” • First people were hunters • Hunted the mastodon • Hunted in small groups or bands • Here some 10,000 to 12,500 years ago • We know this because we can date tools, weapons, and burial mounds. • Lived in small groups of about 20 people and had to be very strong to survive the climate and wilderness. • Used tools, teamwork, fire, had pets, • Ancestors of the American Indians • Traveled to what we know as North America by using the “land bridge” between Russia and Alaska. Then moved south across the land, including our area.

3. II. The Arkansas Land • Story begins some 600 million years ago, when our state was underwater. • As time passed, the land moved and mountains were forced up from the water. • By 230 million years ago, parts of what would become Arkansas’ S.W. and Delta areas became dry land. • YES!!! There were dinosaurs here! We have found their footprints in the rock. • After the dinosaurs disappeared, the planet grew colder and we had many ice ages over the years. • During the most recent ice age (only 40,000 years ago), the paleo-indians came across the land bridge and began spreading out. • When they arrived in Arkansas, the land looked much as it does today.

4. Arkansas’ Regions • Our state is divided into 6 regions. • The Ozark Plateau (call it the Ozark Mtns) • Oldest land form in the state • The Arkansas River Valley • Sandwiched between the Ozark and Ouachita Mtns • The Ouachita Mountains • Some of the oldest mountains in North America • WE LIVE HERE! • Gulf Coastal Plain • Flat area across most of southern part of state.

5. Arkansas’ Regions con’t • Mississippi Alluvial Plain (Delta) • Covers most all of eastern part of state • Rich Fertile soil left by the Mississippi River. • Some of the best farmland in America here. • Crowley’s Ridge • Created long ago by water flowing from the Ohio and Mississippi washing away the soil on both sides, leaving only a thin exposed ridge in middle.

6. III. The Archaic Tradition • Began about 8,000 B.C. • Glaciers retreated, warming the climate, leaving only smaller animals in the forests after the larger, more cold tolerant animals die out. • Indians, because of great adaptability, and better living conditions, grew in numbers. • They settled down and lived in one spot for part of the year. This gave them more time…

7. And with more time… • They improved their tools and weapons. • They improved their cooking technology by actual making a primitive oven and baking bread. • They began taking time to bury their dead with care in individual graves. • They continued to travel to seasonal meeting grounds to hunt, pick berries or nuts, and most important, to speak and share ideas with other Indian tribes to improve their own lives even more.

8. IV. The Woodland Tradition • Began about 1,000 B.C. • Most important advance during this time was the widespread use of agriculture. • Early crops were gourds, squash, and grains that we no longer eat. (Goosefoot, marsh elder, sumpweed)

9. Changes to the tribe • Farming created many changes in tribal lifestyle • Now had to stay in one place to protect and grow crops. • Tribal government had to grow and evolve gaining power to decide when and where to plant crops. • Tribal artists now began painting or carving images on or into rock • Images may have been early maps telling where to hunt or where to plant and what you might find or try to grow in a particular area.

10. Dealing with the DEAD! • With more time on their hands, many tribes began setting off a dedicated place in the settlement as a burial place. • They formed mounds (small hills of dirt) where the dead were buried and sometimes important items were placed in the graves.

11. I’ll trade you… • Trading seems to have increased during the woodlands tradition. • Some tribes had extra (surplus) food stores to trade. • Arkansas Indians also had rocks, minerals, and salt that other tribes wanted. • Hematite (containing iron) • Novaculite for tools or weapons with edges • Quartz crystal • Arkansas Indians in return might get seashells from Gulf Coast or copper from Indians in Missouri or Tennessee.

12. Art and Artistic Design • In addition to cave paintings, one of the most important additions to Indian culture was the making of pottery. • It evolved over time from simple clay pots with straight sides to more decorative designs with carved lines and other designs.

13. V. The Mississippian Tradition • Starts around the year 700A.D. • The small tribal villages became much larger, more densely populated villages and people also lived in large farmsteads. • These larger villages had a large open plaza (field for gathering) with a very big mound built for public buildings. • These buildings served as religious centers, tribal government sites, and homes for tribal leaders, called chiefs • When a meeting was needed for harvest festival, tribal or religious reason, this is where everyone met.

14. Mississippian Advances • Indians now began cultivating corn • First grown only in Americas then spread to world. • Allowed children greater ability to help family with planting • Pottery became stronger and more advanced in design and decoration. • In this time period we begin to see tools, pottery, and houses made by the ancestors of today’s Caddo Indians.

15. VI Arkansas’ Indian Tribes • Three main tribes • Caddo, Osage, Quapaw • We have only limited information on the way these people lived. • Information is based on the few relics and physical features (like mounds and paintings) we have found. • Covers a 10,000 year span of time that only became clearer after the year 1500 A.D. when European explorers began to arrive and kept written records.

16. The Caddo Indians • Lived on small family owned farms in the southern and western portions of the state. • Grew tobacco which was smoked only on special occasions. • Tribe was responsible for one of Arkansas’ first industries…salt. • Very productive farmers who grew mostly corn and beans. • May have been up to 8,000 Caddo living and organizing in Arkansas at this time. Caddo also lived in Texas and Oklahoma as well. • Built mounds where important leaders were buried. • Thought tattoos were cool and made them better looking.

17. The Quapaw Indians • Lived in the eastern part of Arkansas • First Indians to be “discovered” by Europeans. Why? • May have started as part of the Sioux nation in middle North America or from the Mississippian tribal tradition…we don’t know for sure…what we do know is… • Quapaw means “Downstream People” so they must’ve moved here from somewhere else. They were also called “the Arkansas”. Why? • In Arkansas, they lived in the river valleys of the eastern part of the state. • Described as tall and handsome…and most importantly…peaceful.

18. The Osage Indians • Came to control the northern part of the state around 1700 A.D. • Major hunting tribe with only some agriculture in villages. • Did not actually live in Arkansas, but hunted here. Lived in southern Missouri. • Sometimes attacked Caddo or Quapaw tribes over territorial hunting disputes. • Homes were rectangular and many families lived there. • Villages were based on family ties.