C. Margaret Scarry (2003). 106, no. Pots were usually made in a conoidal or conical jar with rounded shoulders, slightly constricted necks, and flaring rims. As communities became more isolated, they began to develop in their own unique ways, giving rise to small-scale cultures that were distinctive to their regional areas. The Adena culture built conical mounds in which single- or multiple-event burials, often cremated, were interred along with rich grave goods including copper bracelets, beads, and gorgets, art objects made from mica, novaculite, hematite, banded slate, and other kinds of stone, shell beads and cups, and leaf-shaped "cache blades". Pottery, which had been manufactured during the Archaic period in limited amounts, was now widespread across the Eastern Interior, the Southeast, and the Northeast. And, in some regions, pottery predates the onset of Woodland cultures by over 1000 years. The use of these divisions has diminished in most of North America … Other items included projectile points, natural pigments like ocher, or a few special trade items. Cambridge University Press. Examples also show pottery also was more decorated than Early Woodland. The name we use comes from Mordecai Hopewell, a Chillicothe landowner on whose property mounds were excavated in the 1800s. The Hopewell culture flourished in Ohio and other parts of eastern North America during the Middle Woodland Period, possibly as early as 100 B.C. Historic Occupation I. The oldest mound associated with the Woodland period was the mortuary mound and pond complex at the Fort Center site in Glade County, Florida. "Hopewell, Middle Woodland, and the Laurel Culture: A Problem in Archaeological Classification". People continued to make stemmed points with broad blades, but they were slightly smaller. Because they now grew food that could be stored, people developed large, rounded jars used for storage. Early Woodland Period – 1000 BC to 200 BC. Although the 1000 CE ending of the Late Woodland period is traditional, in practice many regions of the Eastern Woodlands adopted the full Mississippian culture much later than that. The vast m… Oxford University Press. As a result, the long-distance exchange networks that developed during the Late Archaic broke down. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Intensive agriculture characterizes the Mississippian period from c. 1000–1400 CE and may have continued up to European contact, around 500 years ago.[4]. [13] The most archaeologically certifiable sites of burial during this time were in Illinois and Ohio. Intensive cultivation of native food crops such as chenopodium, sunflowers, and gourds was widespread by 1000 BC. These mounds, varying in size and shape, were generally were built on top of burial pits or tombs of important individuals. and cooking containers. to 400 A.D., is perhaps best known in the Ohio River Valley as the era during which the Hopewell culture flourished. These were quite large and corner-notched. Pottery, agriculture, and permanent settlements have often been thought of the three defining characteristics of the Woodland period. (1992). Woodland trade networks distributed exotic raw materials and finished ceremonial artifacts all across eastern North America. During this time, people widely adopted horticulture, pottery-making, the bow and arrow, and complex ceremonies surrounding death and burial. Our cookies are delicious. Examples include the Baytown, Troyville and Coles Creek cultures of Louisiana, the Alachua and Weeden Island cultures of Florida, and the Plum Bayou culture of Arkansas and Missouri. Many aspects of daily life during this time were not much different from those of the preceding Archaic Period. This archaeological designation is often mistakenly conflated with the eco-cultural delineation of the continent’s eastern culture areas: the term Eastern Woodland cultures refers to the early … (1955). Pottery first appears in Illinois during the Early Woodland. Though this practice seems to have originated in the Archaic Period in what is now, Louisiana, by about 1000 BC the tradition was adopted by people all over eastern North America. Your email address will not be published. People like the Pueblo people settled down more in permanent villages and towns. Ceramics during this time were thinner and better quality than earlier times. Woodland. The Woodland period is marked by the manufacture of ceramic vessels, construction of mounds, the rise and fall of a vast exchange network, unequal distribution of exotic raw materials and finished goods, and horticultural activity. Woodland Periods in North America. Due to the similarity of earthworks and burial goods, researchers assume a common body of religious practice and cultural interaction existed throughout the entire region (referred to as the "Hopewellian Interaction Sphere"). One style was the Trempealeau phase which could have been seen by the Hopewell in Indiana. They divided the archaeological record in the Americas into 5 phases, only three of which applied to North America. This was the last major prehistoric culture in North America prior to … The Hopewell culture first developed in what is now the Ohio Valley and other parts of the Midwest and gradually spread southward. Adena Culture – 1000 BC to 1 AD. Late Woodland Period – 500 to 1000 AD. This was followed two thousand years later by North America's first sedentary town, at Poverty Point, Louisiana, unmatched in scale or integration even by most subsequent Woodland-period places (500 BC-AD 1050). During the Middle Woodland period, these networks were part of an interregional "ceremonial cult" represented by the Hopewell culture, which originated in the Ohio River valley around 200 B.C. The late Woodland period was a time of apparent population dispersal, although populations do not appear to have decreased. People began making stone projectile points that were shorter, thinner, and more triangular so they could be attached to arrows. Organined by geographical and chronological divisions, each chapter focuses on trade in one of nine regions from the Arachiac through the late prehistoric period. Woodland Period The Woodland period is a label used by archaeologists to designate pre-Columbian Native American occupations dating between roughly 600 BC and AD 1000 … The term “Woodland Period” was introduced in the 1930s as a generic term for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the agriculturalist Mississippian cultures. One of the major tools unique to this era was Snyders Points. Houses, tools, clothing, and foods were similar. By the beginning of the Woodland period, climatic conditions had reached an approximation of the modern-day climate. In North America, recognition of the ecological benefits of prescribed burning was slow in coming and varied geographically. Stone was used from nearby sources for making tools and tubular stone pipes first appeared during his period that were likely used for ritual and ceremonial smoking. The Far Northeast, the Sub-Arctic, and the Northwest/Plains regions widely adopted pottery somewhat later, about 200 BCE. in eastern North America at 3800 B.P. In Paul E. Minnis, People and Plants in Ancient Eastern North America, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, Bruce D. Smith and Richard A. Yarnell (2009). in parts of the region.[12]. The most remarkable aspect of Middle Woodland culture is the development of the Hopewell Culture.which was characterized by large, geometric earthworks and conical mounds that contained elaborate tombs with many exotic grave offerings including jewelry and art pieces made of copper, mica, obsidian, and ocean shells, as well as long, stemless, stone projectile points. By this point, the people were tending gardens and gathering shellfish from the local rivers, which enabled them to live in one place for long periods of time without having to hunt for food as often. The Woodland period is a label used by archaeologists to designate pre-Columbian Native American occupations dating between roughly 500 BC and AD 1100 … The Woodland Period began about 3,000 years ago. 16, 6561–6566, Behm, Jeffrey (2007 March) Middle Woodland. These have come to be known as the Hopewell tradition. The Early Woodland period continued many trends begun during the Late and Terminal Archaic periods, including extensive mound-building, regional distinctive burial complexes, the trade of exotic goods across a large area of North America as part of interaction spheres, the reliance on both wild and domesticated plant foods, and a mobile subsistence strategy in which small groups took advantage of seasonally available resources such as nuts, fish, shellfish, and wild plants. Many of the groups of North America became agriculturalists, relying primarily on the Mesoamerican triad of corn, beans, and squash. Woodland Period by Dean Quigley, National Park Service. Paleoindian Period: 12,000-10,000 BC. People continued to live in base camps, but their increased numbers led to competition for resources and an increase in warfare. Many of the graves included rich goods such as copper bracelets, beads, art objects made from mica, hematite, banded slate, and other kinds of stone. The Late Woodland period began about AD 500 and lasted about 500 years, until AD 1000. 2000 B.C. [1] The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic term for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the agriculturalist Mississippian cultures. The large area of interaction is indicated by the presence of Adena-style mounds, the presence of exotic goods from other parts of the interaction spheres, and the participation in the "Early Woodland Burial Complex" defined by William Ritchie [5], Pottery was widely manufactured and sometimes traded, particularly in the Eastern Interior region. The stone tools of this period were similar to those made during the Archaic. Oshkosh, WI, List of archaeological periods (Mesoamerica), "The Woodland Period (ca. In some areas, like South Carolina and coastal Georgia, Deptford culture pottery manufacture ceased after c. 700 CE. 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