Warren’s Heritage: Native American History-Part 6

The Warren Heritage society exhibit “Native Warren” tells the history of the Native American history and heritage of the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia, and to accompany this exhibit Warren’s Heritage will run be running a series of articles based on topics covered in the exhibit itself. Laura Wahl, a member of the exhibit committee, contributed much of the background research to this series. Enjoy reading, and we look forward to seeing you this year in the museum to appreciate the real thing!

The Peopling of the New World: Native Americans were the first people to inhabit Virginia thousands of years ago. In fact, Native Americans had been living in Virginia possibly as long as 17,000 years before European contact. These “first peoples” have no written language, and therefore are referred to as prehistoric Native Americans. Archeologists have studied the ancient past of Native Americans through artifacts such as tools and bones left behind from food sites. Archeologists have divided early Native American prehistory into three main time periods: Paleoindian, Archaic, and Woodland.

The Paleoindian Era: 13 thousand years ago — 7 thousand 900 years ago: The three periods of Native American prehistory represent the development and growth that the early Native Americans experienced throughout time. This development and growth can mostly be seen through changes in the Native American technology, particularly in stone tools. Paleo-Indians have been extensively studied by archeologists for use of what is referred to as the Clovis point. The Clovis point is a lance-shaped fluted point, first found in Clovis, New Mexico in 1927, and has also been discovered throughout Virginia and extensively throughout Warren County. The Thunderbird Site, a 12,000 year old Paleoindian site in Warren County, Virginia, was excavated in the 1970s and revealed extensive Clovis technology.

Native Americans relied upon the area of Warren County because of its availability in stone, but also because of its abundance in wildlife and water. Paleoindians set up a base camp at the Thunderbird site, and this site was in use for 2,000 years, thus suggesting that it was one of Virginia’s first industrial sites. The site also revealed that the Paleoindians of Virginia were well-traveled hunters who interacted with many people. The Paleoindians used the Clovis point in hunting large game, such as the mastodon.

The Archaic Period: 7 thousand 900 years ago — 1 thousand 500 years ago: As time went on the Archaic Period evolved. The climate began to warm, and produced forest with fruits and nuts. Large animals such as the mastodon became extinct. The climate change caused early Native Americans to hunt smaller animals, such as deer. The large Clovis point was replaced with a smaller, more rounded point, and families began to settle specific village sites in the forested area, developing permanent hunting grounds. Unlike the Paleoindians who mosdy traveled to Virginia to make Clovis point tools, the warming of the environment created stability in the Archaic Period, leading to an increase in population. As Virginia’s population grew, early Native Americans began to settle in different regions of Virginia: Blue Ridge Mountain, Shenandoah Valley, Piedmont, and Coastal/Tidewater.

The Woodland Period: 1 thousand 500 years ago — 1492: The coming of the Woodland Period can be explained by the appearance of cord-marked or fabric-marked pottery, early agriculture, and burial mounds. It also brought with it the use of the bow and arrow, houses, and other aspects of material culture. The people of the Shenandoah Valley during this time were building mound burials and living in villages along the rivers. Corn and squash were an important part of their diet. The mound burial culture grew, and by the middle of the Woodland Period, Native Americans were creating specialized items, such as animal carvings. These creations helped accord social status among some people. By the late Woodland period, the Native American culture had bursting economies and village based agriculture. Tribal leaders appeared, along with beads, fishhooks, larger houses, and a proliferation of ceremonial objects.