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56-510: Pharr Mounds is a Middle Woodland period archaeological site located near Tupelo in parts of Itawamba and Prentiss counties in northern Mississippi . This complex was made of earthwork mounds. The complex of eight dome-shaped, tumulus burial mounds was in use during the Miller 1 phase of the Miller culture . These were constructed as earthwork mounds between 1 and 200 CE . The complex

112-489: A chronological and cultural manifestation without any massive changes in a short time but instead having a continuous development in stone and bone tools , leather crafting , textile manufacture , cultivation , and shelter construction. Many Woodland peoples used spears and atlatls until the end of the period, when they were replaced by bows and arrows ; however, Southeastern Woodland peoples also used blowguns . The most cited technological distinction of this period

168-526: A dull blackish-brown color....I find it pretty good food for humans." Another plant species at Riverton that can confidently be identified as domesticated was sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ). This is based on the larger size of the seed in the domesticated than in the wild varieties. Remains of plants that were used, but may or may not have been domesticated at Riverton, include bottle gourd ( Lagenaria siceraria ), squash ( C. pepo ), wild barley ( Hordeum pusillum ) and marsh elder ( Iva annua ). Some of

224-588: A few years to the thickness they had been in the wild. By about 500 BCE, seeds produced by six domesticated plants were an important part of the diet of Native Americans in the middle Mississippi River valley of the Eastern Woodlands region. The local indigenous crops were replaced slowly by other more productive crops developed by the Mesoamericans in what is now called Mexico : maize, beans and additional varieties of squash. Maize, or corn,

280-457: A heavy crop of tiny seeds in panicles at the end of every branch. In early winter, when the panicles are dry, it is quite easy to gather these seeds in considerable quantity. Just hold a pail under the branches and strip them off. Rub the husks between the hands to separate the seed and chaff, then winnow out the trash. I have collected several quarts of seed in an hour, using this method. The seeds are quite fine, being smaller than mustard seeds, and

336-400: A natural or man-made event, such as a fire, leaves a bare patch of soil. The process of domestication of wild plants cannot be described with any precision. However, Bruce D. Smith and other scholars have pointed out that three of the domesticates (chenopods, I. annua , and C. pepo ) were plants that thrived in disturbed soils in river valleys. In the aftermath of a flood, in which most of

392-571: A round body, and lines of decoration with cross-etching on rim. The Havana style found in Illinois had a decorated neck. One of the major tools unique to this era was Snyders Points. These were quite large and corner-notched. They were made by soft-hammering percussion, and finished by pressure flaking. Although many of the Middle Woodland cultures are called "Hopewellian", and groups shared ceremonial practices, archeologists have identified

448-526: A variety of mortuary gifts, many of which were not local. Among the traded materials were copper from the Lake Superior deposits; silver from Lake Superior and especially Ontario; galena from Missouri and Illinois; mica from the southern Appalachians; chert from various places including Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois; pipestone from Ohio and Illinois; alligator teeth from the lower Mississippi Valley eastward to Florida; marine shells, especially whelks, from

504-435: A variety of other small and large mammals were hunted also, including beaver , raccoon , and bear . Shellfish formed an important part of the diet, attested to by numerous shell middens along the coast and interior rivers. Coastal peoples practiced seasonal mobility, moving to the coast during the summer to take advantage of numerous marine resources such as sea mammals and shellfish, then moved to interior locations during

560-755: Is Phillips Spring in Missouri. At Phillips Spring, dating from 3000 BCE, archaeologists found abundant walnuts, hickory nuts, acorns, grapes, elderberries, ragweed, bottle gourd, and the seeds of Cucurbita pepo , a gourd with edible seeds that is the ancestor of pumpkins and most squashes. The seeds found at Phillips Spring were larger than those of wild C. pepo . The agency for this change was surely human manipulation. Humans were selecting, planting, and tending seeds from plants that produced larger and tastier seeds. Ultimately, they would manipulate C. pepo to produce edible flesh. By 1800 BCE, Native Americans were cultivating several different plants. The Riverton Site in

616-757: Is believed to have been core to the Meadowood Interaction Sphere, in which cultures in the Great Lakes region, the St. Lawrence region, the Far Northeast, and the Atlantic region interacted. 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 Pottery

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672-834: Is considered to be one of the largest and most important sites from this era. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as part of the Natchez Trace Parkway at milepost 286.7. The site is located at the headwaters of the Tombigbee River , a rugged, hilly area with many broad, swampy streams. It is named for "Pharr Flats", a wide, gently rolling terrace overlooking the confluence of Little Brown and Mackeys creeks. The site features eight dome-shaped mounds of differing sizes, several of which have been nearly flattened by plowing and cultivation during European-American farming. The mounds in

728-459: Is especially true for the middle woodland period and perhaps beyond. C. Margaret Scarry states "in the Woodland periods, people diversified their use of plant foods ... [they] increased their consumption of starchy foods. They did so, however, by cultivating starchy seeds rather than by gathering more acorns." Smith and Yarnell refer to an "indigenous crop complex" as early as 3800 B.P. in parts of

784-638: Is that agriculture in the Eastern Woodlands preceded the import of crops from Mexico and that the Eastern Woodlands were one of about ten cultural regions in the world to become an " independent center of agricultural origin ." In the 1970s and 1980s, new archaeological techniques demonstrated that by 1800 BCE the Native Americans of the eastern woodlands had learned to cultivate indigenous crops independently and that indigenous crops formed an important part of their diets. A major element in determining that plants were cultivated rather than being collected in

840-401: Is the bottle gourd , remains of which have been excavated at Little Salt Spring , Florida dating to 8000 BCE. Squash ( Cucurbita pepo var. ozarkana ) is considered to be one of the first domesticated plants in the Eastern Woodlands, having been found in the region about 5000 BCE, though possibly not domesticated in the region until about 1000 BCE. The squash that was originally part of

896-703: The Archaic hunter-gatherers and the agriculturalist Mississippian cultures . The Eastern Woodlands cultural region covers what is now eastern Canada south of the Subarctic region, the Eastern United States , along to the Gulf of Mexico . This period is variously considered a developmental stage, a time period, a suite of technological adaptations or "traits", and a "family tree" of cultures related to earlier Archaic cultures. It can be characterized as

952-731: The Orange culture and in Georgia with the Stallings culture . Nevertheless, these early sites were typical Archaic settlements, differing only in the use of basic ceramic technology. As such, researchers are now redefining the period to begin with not only pottery, but the appearance of permanent settlements, elaborate burial practices, intensive collection and/or horticulture of starchy seed plants (see Eastern Agricultural Complex ), differentiation in social organization, and specialized activities, among other factors. Most of these are evident in

1008-540: The Riverton Site in Illinois in 1800 BCE were goosefoot ( Chenopodium berlandieri ), sunflower ( Helianthus annuus var. macrocarpus ), marsh elder ( Iva annua var. macrocarpa ), and squash ( Cucurbita pepo ssp. ovifera ). Several other species of plants were later domesticated. The term Eastern Agricultural Complex (EAC) was popularized by anthropologist Ralph Linton in the 1940s. Linton suggested that

1064-782: The Southeastern Woodlands by 1000 BCE. In some areas, like South Carolina and coastal Georgia, Deptford culture pottery manufacture ceased after c.  700 CE . In coastal regions, many settlements were near the coast, often near salt marshes, which were habitats rich in food resources. People tended to settle along rivers and lakes in both coastal and interior regions for maximum access to food resources. Nuts were processed in large amounts, including hickory and acorns , and many wild berries, including palm berries, blueberries , raspberries , and strawberries , were eaten, as well as wild grapes and persimmon . Most groups relied heavily on white-tailed deer , but

1120-555: The Wabash River valley of Illinois, near the present day village of Palestine , is one of the best known early sites of cultivation. Ten house sites have been discovered at Riverton, indicating a population of 50 to 100 people in the community. Among the hearths and storage pits associated with the houses, archaeologists found a large number of plant remains, including a large number of seeds of chenopods ( goosefoot or lamb's quarters ) which are likely cultivated plants. Some of

1176-526: The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeologists distinguishing the Mississippian period, from 1000 CE to European contact as a separate period. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic term for prehistoric sites falling between

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1232-534: 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. Some groups in the north and northeast of the current United States , such as the Iroquois , retained a way of life that was technologically identical to the Late Woodland until the arrival of Europeans. Despite the widespread adoption of

1288-711: The Eastern Woodland tribes integrated maize cultivation from Mayans and Aztecs in Mexico into their own pre-existing agricultural subsistence practices. Ethnobotanists Volney H. Jones and Melvin R. Gilmore built upon Ralph Linton's understanding of Eastern Woodland agriculture with their work in cave and bluff dwellings in Kentucky and the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas . George Quimby also popularized

1344-453: The Mississippian period from c.  1000 –1400 CE and may have continued up to European contact, around 500 years ago. 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,

1400-501: The Northwest/Plains regions widely adopted pottery somewhat later, about 200 BCE. 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". This culture

1456-640: The Pharr Mounds site are found over an area of 90 acres of land. In 1966 Charles Bohannon , an archaeologist for the National Park Service , supervised an excavation of four of the mounds. The excavators found fire pits and low clay platforms at the base of the mounds. They also found human remains, some cremated, as well as various ceremonial artifacts. Many of the artifacts were made from non-local materials, such as Great Lakes copper and greenstone , galena , and mica , demonstrating

1512-548: The bow and arrow during this time, the peoples of a few areas appear never to have made the change. During Hernando de Soto 's travels through the Southeastern Woodlands around 1543, for instance, his expedition noted the groups living at the mouth of the Mississippi river who still preferentially used the spear. Eastern Agricultural Complex The first four plants known to have been domesticated at

1568-430: The chenopod ( Chenopodium berlandieri ) seeds had husks only a third as thick as those of wild seeds. Riverton farmers had bred them selectively to produce a seed easier to access than wild varieties of the same plant. The wild food guru of the 1960s, Euell Gibbons , gathered and ate chenopods. "In rich soil," he said, " lamb's quarters will grow four or five feet high if not disturbed, becoming much branched. It bears

1624-632: The communities and some clans resorted to raiding others for resources. Alternatively, the efficiency of bows and arrows in hunting may have decimated the large game animals, forcing the tribes to break apart into smaller clans to better use local resources, thus limiting the trade potential of each group. A third possibility is a colder climate may have affected food yields, possibly affected by Northern Hemisphere extreme weather events of 535–536 , also limiting trade possibilities. Lastly, it may be that agricultural technology became sophisticated enough that crop variation between clans lessened, thereby decreasing

1680-783: The complex was raised for edible seeds and to produce small containers (gourds), not for the thick flesh that is associated with modern varieties of squash. Cucurbita argyrosperma has been found in the region dated to circa 1300-1500 BCE. C. pepo cultivars crookneck, acorn, and scallop squash appeared later. Other plants of the EAC include The plants are often divided into "oily" or "starchy" categories. Sunflower and sumpweed have edible seeds rich in oil. The seeds of erect knotweed and goosefoot are starches, as are maygrass and little barley, both of which are grasses that yield grains that may be ground to make flour. The archaeological record suggests that humans were collecting these plants from

1736-613: The cultivation of domesticated crops. In fact, it appears that hunting and gathering continued as the basic subsistence economy and that subsistence horticulture/agriculture did not occur in much of the Southeast for a couple of thousand years after the introduction of pottery, and in parts of the Northeast, horticulture was never practiced. This research indicated that a fiber-tempered horizon of ceramics greatly predates 1000 BCE, first appearing about 2500 BCE in parts of Florida with

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1792-805: The development of distinctly separate cultures during the Middle Woodland period. Examples include the Armstrong culture , Copena culture , Crab Orchard culture , Fourche Maline culture , the Goodall Focus , the Havana Hopewell culture , the Kansas City Hopewell , the Marksville culture , and the Swift Creek culture . The Center for American Archeology specializes in Middle Woodland culture. The late Woodland period

1848-435: The domesticated weeds became more productive. The seeds of some species became substantially larger and/or their seed coats were less thick compared to the wild plants. For example, the seed coats of domesticated chenopodium is less than 20 microns thick; the wild chenopodium of the same species is 40 to 60 microns thick. Conversely, when Native Americans quit growing these plants, as they did later, their seeds reverted within

1904-429: The entire region (referred to as the "Hopewellian Interaction Sphere"). Such similarities could also be the result of reciprocal trade, obligations, or both between local clans that controlled specific territories. Access to food or resources outside a clan's territory would be made possible through formal agreements with neighbors. Clan heads would be buried along with goods received from their trading partners to symbolize

1960-412: The following Mississippian period, the beginning of serious cultivation greatly supplemented the traditional gathering of plants. Late Woodland settlements became more numerous, but the size of each one (with exceptions) was smaller than their Middle Woodland counterparts. The reasons for this are unknown, but it has been theorized that populations increased so much that trade alone could no longer support

2016-570: The need for trade. 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. 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 . Although

2072-459: The old vegetation is killed by the high waters and bare patches of new, often very fertile, soil were created, these pioneer plants sprang up like magic, often growing in almost pure stands, but usually disappearing after a single season, as other vegetation pushed them out until the next flood. Native Americans learned early that the seeds of these three species were edible and easily harvested in quantity because they grew in dense stands. C. pepo

2128-535: The plants to make them more productive and accessible. The region of this early agriculture is in the middle Mississippi valley, from Memphis north to St. Louis and extending about 300 miles east and west of the river, mostly in Missouri , Illinois , Kentucky , and Tennessee . The oldest archaeological site known in the United States in which Native Americans were growing, rather than gathering, food

2184-457: The reach of trading through the Hopewell exchange system . These artifacts, which include copper ear-spools and a greenstone platform pipe, show the connection of the local peoples with the larger Middle Woodland period world of the time, reaching to the Great Lakes. Woodland period#Middle Woodland period (1–500 CE) In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America ,

2240-638: The region. The beginning of the Middle Woodland saw a shift of settlement to the Interior. As the Woodland period progressed, local and inter-regional trade of exotic materials greatly increased to the point where a trade network covered most of the Eastern Woodlands . Throughout the Southeast and north of the Ohio River , burial mounds of important people were very elaborate and contained

2296-611: The relationships they had established. Under this scenario, permanent settlements would be likely to develop, leading to increased agricultural production and a population increase. Ceramics during this time were thinner and better quality than earlier times. Examples show pottery also was more decorated than Early Woodland. One style was the Trempealeau phase, which could have been seen by the Hopewell in Indiana. This type included

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2352-594: 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. Pottery, which had been manufactured during the Archaic period in limited amounts, was now widespread across the Eastern Interior, the Southeast, and the Northeast. The Far Northeast, the Sub-Arctic, and

2408-492: The south Atlantic and Gulf coasts; Knife River chalcedony from North Dakota; and obsidian from Yellowstone in Wyoming. The most archaeologically certifiable sites of burial during this time were in Illinois and Ohio . These have come to be known as the Hopewell tradition . Due to the similarity of earthworks and burial goods, researchers assume a common body of religious practice and cultural interaction existed throughout

2464-400: The species cultivated by Native Americans for food are today considered undesirable weeds. Another name for marshelder is sumpweed; chenopods are derisively called pigweed, although one South American species with a more attractive name, quinoa , is a health food store favorite. Many plants considered weeds are the colonizers of disturbed soil, the first fast-growing weeds to spring up when

2520-416: The sunny environment and disturbed soil of a settlement, and those seeds sprouted and thrived. Over time the seeds were sown and the ground was cleared of any competitive vegetation. The seeds which germinated quickest (i.e. thinner seed coats) and the plants which grew fastest were the most likely to be tended, harvested, and replanted. Through a process of unconscious selection and, later, conscious selection,

2576-415: The term "Eastern complex" in the 1940s. Authors Guy Gibbons and Kenneth Ames suggested that "indigenous seed crops" is a more appropriate term than "complex". Until the 1970s and 1980s most archaeologists believed that agriculture by Eastern Woodland peoples had been imported from Mexico , along with the trinity of subtropical crops: maize (corn), beans, and squash. What became accepted by the 21st century

2632-416: The use of fast rotation such as a pottery wheel. Some were slipped or brushed with red ochre. Pottery, agriculture, and permanent settlements have often been thought of the three defining characteristics of the Woodland period. However, it has become evident that, in some areas of North America, prehistoric cultural groups with a clearly Archaic cultural assemblage were making pottery without any evidence of

2688-408: The wild by 6000 BCE. In the 1970s, archaeologists noticed differences between seeds found in the remains of pre-Columbus era Native American hearths and houses and those growing in the wild. In a domestic setting, the seeds of some plants were much larger than in the wild, and the seeds were easier to extract from the shells or husks. This was evidence that Indigenous gardeners were selectively breeding

2744-527: The wild was the larger size of edible seeds and the thinner seed coat of the domesticated plant compared to its wild relative, an attribute of domesticated crops that came about through human selection and manipulation. When cultivation of most indigenous plants ceased in favor of maize agriculture about 900 CE, seed sizes and seed coats of plants reverted to their former uncultivated size and thickness. The earliest cultivated plant in North America

2800-434: The winter where access to deer, bear, and anadromous fish such as salmon could see them through the winter. Seasonal foraging also characterized the strategies of many interior populations, with groups moving strategically among dense resource areas. Recently evidence has accumulated a greater reliance on woodland peoples on cultivation in this period, at least in some localities, than has historically been recognized. This

2856-609: Was a relative latecomer to the Eastern Woodlands Cultures. The oldest known evidence of maize in what is now known as Mexico dates to 6700 BCE. The oldest evidence of maize cultivation north of the Rio Grande in use is by about 2100 BCE at several locations in what later became Arizona and New Mexico . Maize was first grown by Eastern Woodlands Cultures by around 200 BCE, and highly productive localized varieties became widely used around 900 CE. The spread

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2912-464: Was a time of apparent population dispersal, although populations do not appear to have decreased. In most areas construction of burial mounds decreased markedly, as did long-distance trade in exotic materials. At the same time, bow and arrow technology gradually overtook the use of the spear and atlatl . Agricultural production of the " Three Sisters " ( maize , beans , and squash ) was introduced. While full-scale intensive agriculture did not begin until

2968-403: Was important also because the gourd could be made into a lightweight container that was useful to a seminomadic band. Chenopods have edible leaves, related to spinach and chard, that may have also been gathered and eaten by Native Americans. Chenopod seeds are starchy; marsh elder has a highly nutritious oily seed similar to sunflower seeds. In gathering the seeds some were undoubtedly dropped in

3024-431: Was so slow because the seeds and knowledge of techniques for tending them had to cross inhospitable deserts and mountains, and more productive varieties of maize had to be developed to compete with local indigenous crops and to suit the cooler climates and shorter growing seasons of the northern regions. Maize does not flower under the long day conditions of summer north of tropical Mexico, requiring genetic adaptation. Maize

3080-618: Was the widespread use of pottery (although pottery manufacture had arisen during the Archaic period in some places), and the diversification of pottery forms, decorations, and manufacturing practices. The increasing use of horticulture and the development of the Eastern Agricultural Complex , consisting of weedy seed plants as well as gourd cultivation, also meant that groups became less mobile over time and, in some times and places, people lived in permanently occupied villages and cities. Intensive agriculture characterizes

3136-702: Was widely manufactured and sometimes traded, particularly in the Eastern Interior region. Clay for pottery was typically tempered (mixed with non-clay additives) with grit (crushed rock) or limestone. Pots were usually made in a conoidal or conical jar with rounded shoulders, slightly constricted necks, and flaring rims. Pottery was most often decorated with a variety of linear or paddle stamps that created "dentate" (tooth-like) impressions, wavy line impressions, checked surfaces, or fabric-impressed surfaces, but some pots were incised with herringbone and other geometric patterns or, more rarely, with pictorial imagery such as faces. Pots were coiled and paddled entirely by hand without

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