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The First Inhabitants

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The First Inhabitants Chapter 4 Prehistoric Cultures The story of the past is the story of the earliest people in LA. Today we know these stories from our ancestors. – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The First Inhabitants


1
The First Inhabitants
  • Chapter 4

2
Prehistoric Cultures
Chapter 4 1
3
  • The story of the past is the story of the
    earliest people in LA. Today we know these
    stories from our ancestors.
  • The prehistoric period of LA is the time before
    written or recorded history.
  • Although the first people did not leave written
    records of their culture, they did leave behind
    clues about their lives.

4
  • Archaeologists are scientists who study the items
    left behind by ancient people. They even dig
    through ancient garbage dumps, called middens.
  • The middens included discarded food, garbage, and
    artifacts built up over the years created small
    mounds.
  • Their findings explain who left the items, when
    they were left, and what happened at those
    places.
  • These findings are known as artifacts.

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middens
7
Paleo Indians
8
  • The Paleo Indians are the oldest known Indians in
    LA. These first people came to N. America from
    Asia walking across the Bering Strait.
  • Also known as Archaic Indians.
  • When these nomads reached LA, they found a good
    hunting area with a good source of food and
    migrated often searching for food.

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Meso Indians
B/c they did not move around as much, the Meso
Indians built more permanent houses, because they
hunted small animals
11
  • Meso Indians also built mounds. These mounds
    were probably used during special ceremonies, but
    they were not used for burials.
  • The Meso Indians made different kinds of
    artifacts.

12
Early Neo Indians
One of the things that distinguishes the early
Neo Indian period from earlier ones is pottery
making.
13
Late Neo Indians
14
Late Neo Indians
  • The late Neo Indian period refers to the time
    right before the Europeans arrived in LA.
  • At this time, villages were larger and were
    located near waterways, which were used for
    travel and a source of food.
  • People built more permanent houses.
  • The late Neo Indians switched from gathering to
    agriculture.

15
  • The major crops grown were
  • Maize (corn)
  • Beans
  • Squash
  • Pumpkins
  • During this time, the Indians built temples atop
    their mounds. These temple mounds were used for
    religious ceremonies.

16
Poverty Point Indians
  • Located in Epps, Louisiana
  • Northeastern LA

17
  • Known for its mound construction it is an
    archaeological site
  • 6 concentric earthen ridges

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19
  • The people of Poverty Point acquired stones from
    the Ouachita, Ozark and Appalachian mountains and
    even copper from the Great Lakes1,400 miles
    away.
  • Traded for Food with other groups through
    bartering.

20
Poverty Point
  • An Ancient Native American Culture in Louisiana

21
Poverty Point
  • Poverty Point is located in the lower Mississippi
    Valley of Louisiana near many major rivers.
  • Strategically placed on many rivers, Poverty
    Point was large and influential.

22
Poverty Point Artifacts
  • Artifacts found at Poverty Point include
  • chipped stone projectile points and tools
  • shell and stone beads
  • modeled clay objects
  • Figurines
  • Materials used to make these objects came from
    many different locations!

23
The people of Poverty Point used materials from
faraway places to make different objects.
Lets look at these locations on a map
24
Materials like copper came from as far away as
the Great Lakes region.
25
  • Gemstones for jewelry came from the Ozark and
    Ouachita Mountains.

26
  • Flint, used to make spearheads, came from as far
    away as the Ohio River Valley.
  • Soap stone, for making pots and bowls, came from
    the Appalachian Mountains.

27
  • Why would the Poverty Point people be interested
    in obtaining these types of materials from
    faraway places?
  • How do you think the Poverty Point people
    acquired these foreign materials?

28
YES! The Poverty People would Trade/Barter!
  • Barter trading goods and services without money

29
Historic Indians
Chapter 4 2
30
Historic Indians
  • The historic Indian period began when the
    Europeans came to N. America.
  • In 1539, Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, set
    out to explore the southern part of the US. He
    brought along with him European diseases.
  • The lack of immunity (natural resistance) to
    these diseases brought a sentence of death to
    many who never even saw him.

31
Hernando de Soto
32
  • The Native American population had be reduced by
    80 due to influenza, measles, and smallpox.
  • The early French explorers and trappers
    identified a of tribes.
  • Today historians categorize the Indians of LA
    according to 6 major language families Atakapa,
    Caddo, Chitimacha, Choctaw, Natchez, and Tunica.

33
Natchez
34
Natchez
  • The primary village of the Natchez people was
    located near Natchez, MS.
  • The Natchez had an unusual social structure
  • Common people (stinkards)
  • Nobels
  • Chiefs
  • Everyone in the society, both men and women, wore
    tattoos indicating their status.

35
  • Their ruler was known as the Great Sun. The
    Great Sun was a king and religious figure who
    controlled life and death.
  • They also liked to decorate their clothing w/
    accessories.

36
Tunica-Biloxi
37
Tunica-Biloxi
  • The Tunica-Biloxi lived in MS. The Chickasaw
    drove them into LA near Avoyelles Parish.
  • The Tunica were great traders. They became major
    distributors of salt, arrow points, and horses.
  • They were governed by both a war chief and a
    peace chief.
  • Their totem (symbol) was the rattlesnake.

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Houma
40
Houma
  • The Houma Indians lived near a river at Angola in
    W. Feliciana Parish. They lost their land after
    a battle w/ the Tunica and moved to Terrebonne
    Parish.
  • Driven from their farmland, they had to give up
    their agricultural way of life and had to learn
    how to hunt, fish, and trap.
  • The crawfish was their totem.

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42
  • Another symbol of the Houma was the Istrouma, the
    tall red pole on the banks of the Mississippi
    River marking the boundary between the hunting
    grounds of the Houma and the Bayougoula.
  • The French explorer, Iberville, called the marker
    baton rouge, French for red stick. The name of
    Louisianas capital city come from this story.

43
Chitimacha
44
Chitimacha
  • Chitimacha lived in villages along Bayou Teche.
  • They were ruled by one male chief. The chiefs
    position was an inherited one.
  • Women could also hold political power and serve
    as healers, but they were not permitted to hold
    any powerful religious position.
  • They lost all of their land to European invaders.

45
Caddo
46
Caddo
  • The Caddo settled along the Red River and its
    tributaries. The lived in AK before moving into
    NW LA.
  • The Caddo shared this home w/ herds of bison,
    hunting them from horseback.
  • The Caddo traded their surplus horses to their
    eastern neighbors, the Tunica.
  • The Caddo were an agricultural people and good
    fishers.

47
Coushatta
48
Coushatta
  • The Coushatta left their home on the Tennessee
    River after Hernando de Soto tried to force them
    to give him goods they did not have.
  • They then settled in south-central LA.
  • The Coushatta lived in clans made of many
    families. A clan is a group of people who
    believed themselves related by blood.
  • They were good craftsmen and farmers.

49
Choctaw
50
Choctaw
  • The Choctaw were the 2nd largest tribe in the SE
    US. In Louisiana, they were known as the
    Muskogean.
  • They were farmers living in permanent towns and
    they also had extensive trade routes.
  • They fought in the French and Indian War,
    American Revolution, and the War of 1812.
  • Culture was greatly influenced by the Spanish.

51
or
Choctaw
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