|
| 
Gallery of outstanding arrowheads & artifacts found around Kentucky! We are in search of photos for the best of the best.Arrowheads,Axes, Celts,etc. Show us what you have.
Click - Arrowheads - Hardstone - Slate - Bone - Other
Email Us : If you have an arrowhead or artifact you think should be here.
All donated photos and information will have doners name listed!
ARCHAEOLOGY AND KENTUCKY’S PREHISTORIC PAST
Kentucky has a rich and varied archaeological heritage, with archaeological sites being located in every county of the Commonwealth. To date, archaeologists have recorded more than 19,000 archaeological sites in Kentucky.
Prehistoric sites include seasonal camps, villages, burials mounds, and earthworks. Native Americans occuppied some of these sites more than 12,000 years ago, while they occupied others less than 300 years ago.
Paleoindian (?12,000 to 8,000 B.C.) groups are thought to have arrived in Kentucky at the end of the last ice age at least 14,000 years ago. The climate in Kentucky was much colder and wetter then. Perhaps they came into the area on the trail of large game such as mammoth, mastodon, or bison. These animals not only provided meat, but skins for shelter and clothing. During this time period, people lived in small groups, which moved frequently. They often carried their belongings in skin bags and built temporary shelters poster for protection from the elements.
The Paleoindian toolkit consisted of well-crafted spear points. The size of these spear points reflect an extensive knowledge of how to work and shape stone. In addition to projectile points, flint knappers also tools for scraping hides and wood. It seems likely that Paleoindians also made tools from wood and animal bones, but evidence for this has not survived in the archaeological record. Little is known about the ritual or ceremonial life of Paleoindians.
By the Archaic (8,000 to 1,000 B.C.) period the climate had become more like it is today. Climatic changes led to the extinction of large animals, such as the mastodon and giant bison. With the extinction of these animals Archaic hunters turned their attention to smaller game such as deer, turkey, and rabbit. They also collected wild plants for food and medicine and began to grow small gardens. Archaic groups made baskets for collecting, transporting, and storing their food.
During the Archaic period people tended to live in one place for longer periods of time than they had during the Paleoindian period. However, they continued to have a mobile lifestyle, never staying in one place for more than a few months. These camps were located in areas where they could exploit a variety of resources. Smaller seasonal camps also were located in rockshelters.
Archaic hunters tipped their spears with notched and stemmed, not fluted, stone spearpoints. These used a spearthrower (atlatl) to improve the accuracy of their throwing. Sandstone nutting stones found at their camps imply that, as time based, they came to rely more on plants for food. By 1,000 B.C., some Archaic peoples had begun to experiment with growing their own food. They let squash and small-seeded plants like goosefoot grow on the trash heaps near their base camps. Before long, Archaic women were planting seeds in areas cleared especially for that purpose.
The Woodland (1,000 B.C. to A.D. 1000) period is marked by the introduction of pottery. Early pottery was anything but portable. It was thick, heavy and fragile. However, pottery had definite advantages. It could be used for cooking, and could be made water tight. Surplus food could be sealed into it to protect it from pests. The use of baskets, gourds and other containers continued.
During the Woodland period, more time was devoted to gardening and cultivated plants became an important component of the diet. Plants, such as squash, sunflower, goosefoot, and maygrass are shown growing. Woodland peoples also hunted a variety of animals and collect wild plants. They also tended to build bigger houses and to live in larger communities.
Woodland religious and ceremonial life is reflected by the construction of large earthen enclosures and mounds. Religious ceremonies were often performed within circular earthen enclosures. Burial mounds were constructed over several decades. Within these mounds some individuals were placed in logs tombs. Copper bracelets and mica cresents placed with some of these individuals reflects their status within Woodland society. It also indicates that Woodland peoples participated in long-distance exchange networks. Tobacco, which was grown by Woodland garderns was smoked at important events. During the Woodland period people also began to explore caves, such as Mammoth Cave.
Late in the Woodland period, the bow and arrow was developed. For the first time small, true arrowheads replaced spear points, although spears continued to be made and used. The use of groundstone tools continued, and was especially important in the processing of corn. Stone celts were an improvement on the grooved axe.
By the Late Prehistoric (A.D. 1000 to 1750) period, village life revolved around the planting, growing, and harvesting of corn and beans. These plants supplied the Mississippian people of western Kentucky and Fort Ancient peoples of eastern Kentucky with as much as 60% of their diet. Late Prehistoric peoples added the hoe to their tool kit to work their agricultural fields.
New pottery vessel forms were developed during this period. They included jars, bowls, plates, bottles, and colanders. Handles were added to jars and human and animal effigies were attached to some bowls and bottles.
During the Late Prehistoric period people began to construct rectangular houses. They also began to live in large year-round settlements, many of which were stockade. As many as 2,000 people may have lived in some of the large towns. These communities were ruled by hereditary chiefs, who lived on large platform mounds near the center of the community.
Late Prehistoric religious and ceremonial life is reflected in part by the figures depicted on engraved shell gorgets. It also is reflected in the placement of whole ceramic vessels with shell spoons, pipes, and shell necklaces with the dead.
The arrival of Europeans on America's eastern shores brought this story to a close. Long before the first explorers and traders arrived, items of European manufacture filtered through the trade networks. Diseases, many previously unknown to the native residents, also outraced the Europeans arrival in Kentucky. These diseases often wiped out entire villages, and native population levels rapidly decreased. By the mid 1700's only a handful of native settlements survived in Kentucky. By the early 19th century, the Native American had all but disappeared from Kentucky. Their tradition lives on in descendants who were exiled to other states when the area was settled by Euro-americans and those who continue to live in Kentucky today. Their heritage survives in Kentucky's rich archaeological record.
ARCHAEOLOGY AND KENTUCKY’S PREHISTORIC PAST
Archaeology is one branch of anthropology, the discipline devoted to the study of
human beings. Specifically, archaeology is the study of past cultures through their material
remains. Archaeologists rely on the items that people left behind and other evidence of behavior
to help them interpret past lifeways. Material remains are referred to as artifacts, which may
consist of stone projectile points (commonly called arrowheads), fragments of pottery vessels,
bones from animals that were eaten, or shell beads that would have been part of a necklace, to
name a few. Through many years of research, archaeologists have developed a sort of timeline of
Kentucky’s prehistory and early history that allows us to better understand what these past
cultures were like and how they changed through time. The following is a brief account of five of
the major points of interest of each of the five periods of Kentucky’s culture history as
developed through the study of archaeology.Paleoindian Period (ca. 12,500-8,500 B.C.)Archaic Period (ca. 8,500-1,000 B.C.)Woodland Period (ca. 1,000 B.C.-A.D. 900)Late Prehistory (ca. A.D. 900-1650)Contact Period/Historical Period (ca. A.D. 1650-present)
1. History refers to the time period for which we have written records and accounts.
Prehistory is the time period that precedes history; our understanding of prehistory is
dependent upon people like archaeologists who can interpret past cultures without the use of
written records, since the native peoples of North America did not have a known system of
writing. In Kentucky, the historical period began with the arrival of the Europeans.
2. Contact Period refers to the time when European settlers first came into contact with the
native inhabitants of the place we now call Kentucky. This period began around A.D. 1650.
3. During this time there was an exchange of ideas, technology (e.g. guns, metal), material goods
(trade beads, gun flints, clothing), and cultural attributes between the settlers and the native
peoples. Some of these exchanges were voluntary, while others were forced.
4. This was the time when the myth of the Dark and Bloody Ground was begun. This myth
contended that native peoples never lived permanently in Kentucky, and that it was simply a
territory over which Indians fought, but never claimed. European settlers and land speculators
had a lot to gain from perpetuating this myth; if there were no recognized permanent native
inhabitants and if the land was thought to be unclaimed by native groups, then there was
nothing to stop these newcomers from claiming the territory of Kentucky for themselves. As
was the case throughout the rest of this nation, the land of Kentucky’s native peoples was
stolen. It is unfortunate that the myth of the Dark and Bloody Ground continues as a means
of rationalizing this theft.
5. Just as descendants of European settlers continue to live in Kentucky today, so do
descendants of the state’s first true inhabitants: Native Americans.
Mississippian and Fort Ancient Cultures
1. By this time, people were no longer just part-time gardeners; they had become full-time
farmers. Since farmers have to spend so much time working with their crops, they could not
move around as much as people once had. They became more sedentary than the Woodland
peoples and began living in permanent towns and villages. Corn, or maize, was one of the
most important crops.
2. Two regional farming societies (Mississippian and Fort Ancient) were present in Kentucky,
with different social and political organization and settlement patterns. Mississippians lived
in western and southern Kentucky, while Fort Ancient peoples inhabited the eastern and
central parts of the state.
3. Large, flat-topped earthen temple mounds were built in western and southern Kentucky; low
earthen burial mounds were built in central and eastern Kentucky.
4. Late prehistoric peoples developed extensive trading networks of shell, pipes, and stone hoes
with Southeastern and Midwestern peoples.
1. Manufacture of pottery begins during this period and the bow and arrow are developed.
2. People constructed earthen mounds for the burial of certain individuals. They also built
square and circular earthworks that would have been used in certain ceremonies or rituals.
3. During the Middle Woodland period (ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 500) they traded in non-local
goods that were used for ritual purposes (some of these items can be seen in Case No. 5 on
the Adena—see the Program for Self-Guided Tour for more information)
4. They began to garden part-time during the Woodland period. This meant that they were not
quite as reliant on gathered wild plants as they had been during the Archaic and Paleoindian
periods.
5. Woodland peoples were becoming more sedentary, which means that they lived in one place
for longer periods of time, rather than moving frequently like their Archaic and Paleoindian
ancestors.
1. This is the longest period in Kentucky prehistory; it lasted about 7,500 years.
2. Kentucky’s climate became more like that of today.
3. The atlatl (spearthrower) and groundstone tools were developed during this time. The atlatl
was a device that acted as an extension of a person’s arm, giving the hunter more power and
greater accuracy for throwing spears. Groundstone tools refer to artifacts made of stone that
were shaped by grinding with other stones, rather than by chipping, as was the technique
used to make many of their other stone tools. Mortars and pestles are examples of
groundstone tools that were used to process nuts and other foods. The mortar was held in the
hand and was used to crush the nut against the pestle. Axes were also groundstone tools
made during this time that would have been used to cut down trees.
4. Archaic peoples had "home" territories in which they hunted, gathered, and fished. They
were still mobile, like their Paleoindian ancestors, but they generally moved with the seasons
and stayed within their territories.
5. Like their Paleoindian predecessors, Archaic peoples were nomadic and would have lived in
huts that were easy to construct and did not have to last for long periods of time.
Unfortunately, this also meant that these structures did not survive well in the archaeological
record. For the most part, we can only assume what their houses might have looked like.
1. Paleoindians were the first people to arrive in Kentucky.
2. Very few people lived here during this time.
3. The climate was colder and moister than it is today.
4. The Paleoindians were nomadic, meaning that they moved around frequently and did not
settle in one place for very long. They hunted many types of animals, including some that are
now extinct (mammoths, mastodons), and gathered various plant foods.
5. Most of the artifacts from this period consist of chipped stone spearpoints and other stone
tools. Other cultural remains have since deteriorated or simply did not preserve as well as the
stone artifacts.
While other types of anthropological tours may be arranged, the tour most frequently
given to schoolchildren is about archaeology and past peoples of Kentucky. Basic information
about the lifeways, social organization, technology, diet, and economy of the prehistoric people
of this region will be discussed. Culture history refers to the study of culture through time to
see just how these cultural characteristics have changed. Kentucky’s culture history is divided
into five major periods: Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, Late Prehistory (Mississippian
and Fort Ancient), and the Historical Period.
Site Designed & Maintained By: Bruce Hudson - Hudson Artifacts / B.A.C.A. : ( Since 1974 - Online 2000 ) Providing education, identification and other information for authentic North American Indian Artifacts & Native American History.
|
|
