Corridor Native People Origins

For a map of Native American cultures see: http://www.u-s-history.com/natammap.html

We will begin our "origins" review with what is commonly called the Eastern Woodland period. This culture evolved into / was replaced by the Mississippian. The final Native culture was the "civilization" or Anglo-European phase.
  • 800 B.C. - 800 A.D.
The Adena and Hopewell were the earliest historic Eastern Woodland inhabitants. They lived in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys. Both societies are noted for their prominent burial mounds, frequently graced with sophisticated grave goods. Like earlier archaic groups, the Adena were hunters and gatherers who erected seasonal camps. The Hopewell also were hunters and gatherers, but like later Woodland tribes, they lived in villages and supplemented their diet with cultivated plants.

Note: Eastern Woodlands…… Swift Creek Culture.
Swift Creek archaeological culture refers to Woodland prehistoric cultural groups in Georgia who manufactured a distinctive pottery type. This pottery, generally termed Swift Creek Complicated Stamped, is noted for its distinctive decoration. Complex curvilinear patterns were first carved into a wooden paddle, which was used to stamp the design into the soft clay walls of the pottery before it was fired. Radiocarbon dates from a number of sites suggest the time range of approximately 20 B.C. to A.D. 805. Archaeological excavation of Tugaloo Corridor sites indicate Swift Creek Culture was present in this area.
  • 800 A.D. - 1600 A.D.

In Georgia the Mississippian Period is divided into Early, Middle, and Late subperiods.

· The Early Mississippian subperiod (A.D. 800-1100) was the time when the first chiefdoms developed in the state.

· During the Middle Mississippian subperiod (A.D. 1100-1350), large and powerful chiefdoms centered at imposing mound towns dominated the landscape. By far the largest and most impressive chiefdom capital at this time was the Etowah site, located in northwestern Georgia near Cartersville.

· By the Late Mississippian subperiod (A.D. 1350-1600), the large chiefdoms of the Middle Mississippian had broken apart into smaller chiefdoms whose centers were evenly distributed across Georgia's river valleys.

for a map of SE US Mississippian sites: http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/outline/05-mississippian/sites.htm
  • 1600 A.D. - 1780 A.D.

European (English and French) influence in the Tugaloo Corridor was extensive and overwhelming during this period, and changed everything.

In 1663, England began to "claim" the area when Charles II granted rights in greater Carolina to the eight “lords proprietor.” In 1670, the new "owners" established a settlement at Charles Town in present-day South Carolina.

The Tugaloo Corridor area was virtually abandoned by all Native People by the end of the Revolutionary war, so we end our history time-line here.

Note: For a complete archeological time-line up to the present day, see The Society for Georgia Archaeology
[http://www.thesga.org/ga_seq_line.htm]