Indians of Alabama

Presentation Created by:

Richelle Garner

Leigh Brown

Prehistoric Indians

• Paleo• Archaic• Woodland• Mississippian

Paleo: The First Families of Alabama

• >10,000 B.C. to about 7000 B.C.• Came to North America 20,000 years ago across

the land bridge• Roamed in small family bands; Nomads• Hunted large animals with stick like spears and

darts

Archaic: Hunters and Gatherers

• 7,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C.• Hunted small game such as deer, turkey, and

rabbit instead of large animals• Established more permanent camps• Used objects such as bones, shells, and stones to

make tools and jewelry; Created the Atlatl

Woodland: Crops, Pots, and Burial Mounds

• 1,000 B.C. to A.D. 800• Cultivated crops and gathered food • Built huts out of trees; Lived in small villages• Used clay in making pottery; Made bone jewelry

and combs• Introduced burial mounds through complex

religious rituals

Mississippian: Temple Mound Builders

• A.D. 800 to A.D. 1500• Grew crops; Used bows and arrows; Fished• Lived in complex community; Class system• Perfected the use of various materials in making

pottery• Introduced trading with other villages; Mound

builders

Historic Indians

• Creek• Cherokee• Choctaw• Chickasaw

Creek

• Lived in central, eastern, and southeastern Alabama

• Joined small tribes together to form the Creek Nation; Ruled by a chief

• Named our state after the Alibamon Tribe• Hunted, farmed, and fought

Cherokee

• Lived in northeastern part of Alabama and the Tennessee River Valley

• Called themselves “the principal people”• Sequoyah created a written alphabet based on the

sounds of the Cherokee language• Trail of Tears

Choctaw

• Lived in Southwestern Alabama • Friendly with the new settlers• First tribe to sell part of their land to the United

States• Very powerful tribe

Chickasaw

• Lived in northwestern Alabama• Skilled warriors and good hunters• Would fight anyone who tried to take their land• Small number of villages in Alabama

Summary

• Prehistoric Indians – Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian

• Historic Indians – Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw