Chapter Three Notes

Archaeologists have found evidence throughout West Virginia to support the

existence of prehistoric peoples thousands of years ago. Since prehistoric

cultures existed before recorded (written) history, we must depend on

scientific interpretation of artifacts to give us a picture of who these people

were and how they lived.

Prehistoric peoples include the Paleo, Archaic, and Woodland

cultures. The Woodland culture is further divided into early, middle, and

late periods. Although some artifacts indicate that Paleo as well as Archaic

Indians lived at least for a time in West Virginia, the earliest cultures about

which much information exists are the Adena and the Hopewell, which fall

into the early and middle Woodland periods. Evidence of their existence has

been substantiated in the many mounds found throughout the state.

Cultures of the late Woodland period are believed to be the ancestors of the

eastern Woodland Indians who lived in the area when the Europeans arrived.

1. Archaeologists are scientists who study what is left behind by ancient peoples.
2. The earliest people in West Virginia are thought to have come from Asia during the Ice Age.
3. Geologists, scientists who study the origin, history, and structure of Earth, believe North America and Asia were at one time joined by a strip of land along the Bering Straight.
4. The land called Beringia included the eastern tip of Siberia and  much of Alaska.

5. Many nomads left Beringia when glaciers melted and water began to cover the area.

I.             Prehistoric Cultures

a.    Culture refers to the beliefs, customs, and civilization of a particular people or group.

b.    Prehistoric culture existed before written (recorded) history.

c.    We know how early people lived from artifacts, bits of stone, bone, pottery, tools, and weavings.

d.    Prehistoric cultures included the Paleo, Archaic, and Woodland cultures.

A.           Paleo Culture – very old

a.    The Paleo people followed large animals like mastodons and mammoths.

b.    One of the few artifacts from the Paleo culture is the Clovis spear point.

c.    Evidence of the existence of the Paleo culture in West Virginia has been found in the Kanawha and Ohio valleys as well as at Peck’s Run in Upshur County, Blennerhassett Island in Wood County, and St. Marys in Pleasants County.

B.            Archaic Culture –

a.    In order to hunt smaller animas, early peoples began to make a finer Folsom spear point.

b.    One of the most important new weapons, however, was the atlatl, which allowed the hunter to kill from a greater distance.

The atlatl (pronounced [ät.lät.ŭl], or "spear thrower", is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in spear-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to temporarily store energy during the throw. It consists of a shaft with a cup, in which the butt of the spear rests. It is held near the end farthest from the cup, and the spear is thrown by the action of the upper arm and wrist. A well-made atlatl can readily achieve ranges of greater than 100 meters.

c.    Evidence found along the Ohio River suggests the Archaic people were gatherers as well as hunters.

d.    Because of the change in their lifestyle, the Archaic Indians settled in one place longer than the Paleo Indians did.

e.    Artifacts from the Archaic period have been found at

1.    Globe Hill – Hancock County

2.    Buffalo – Putnam County

3.    St. Albans – Kanawha County

f.     The Archaic Indians wove nets to snare small animals or carry household goods.  They also wove strings for fishing or hanging food.

C.           Early and Middle Woodland Cultures

a.    Anthropologists are scientists who study the origins, development, customs, and beliefs of humans.

b.    The best-known Woodland cultures are the Adena from the early period, and the Hopewell from the middle period.

c.    Both were hunters and gatherers, but the Adena may have experimented with agriculture.

d.    The largest Hopewell mound east of the Ohio River dating from the middle Woodland period is located at Romney’s Indian Mound Cemetery.

e.    The lifestyle of the Adena and Hopewell probably changed when other Indians entered the area and interacted with them

f.     The most lasting remains of the Adena and Hopewell civilizations are the mounds and walls they left behind.

g.    The majority of the identified mounds in West Virginia are found in the Ohio, Kanawha, and Potomac River valleys.

1.     The Mounds

a.    The largest conical mound in the United States is the Grave Creek Mound in Marshall County.

b.    Joseph Tomlinson was the person who discovered this mound.

c.    The mound contained two burial chambers.

d.    Some of the things found in the mound were copper bracelets, three skeletons, shell and bone beads, shells, mica

e.    Next to the mound today is the Delf Norona Museum.

f.     The second-largest mound in West Virginia is the Criel Mound.

g.    This mound was excavated by the Smithsonian Institution.

h.    The mound contained four chambers.

i.     Among the things found was a large skeleton measuring 7 feet, 6 inches.

j.     The mound builders must have had some knowledge of mathematics and measurement in order to construct the mounds.

k.    Mound builders must have been skilled artisans in order to craft their jewelry.

l.     Additional mounds have been found in Mason, Doddridge, Brooke, Hancock, Wayne, Nichols, Harrison, Randolph, Pleasants, Wheeling, Hampshire counties

2.    Other Structures

a.    The remains of many ancient walls have been found in West Virginia. Some believe the walls were built for defense, while others suggest they were sacred areas used to worship

b.    Some remains of ancient walls have been found in Fayette, Kanawha, Raleigh, and Tyler

The following lines were written by Captain William N. Page, and express his conviction as to the antiquity of the relics mentioned in the foregoing article:

"Near the summit of the mountain dividing the waters of Loup and Armstrong creeks, in Fayette county, West Virginia, there is found the remains of a very remarkable stone wall, which was well known by the first white settlers in the Kanawha valley, and to the Ohio Indians who passed along this route in hunting and other expeditions, toward the valley of Virginia, where, according to their legends, the buffalo migrated periodically from the Ohio valley, and further west.

The late Dr. Buster, who was among the first white residents of the Kanawha valley, resided at the foot of this mountain, on the south bank of the river, during a long and active life.  No white man had ever occupied the ground upon which his father built his cabin, according to record; and history of the paleface here, is absolutely complete within this family.  Paddy Huddleston, probably the first white settler within the limits of Fayette county, lived just up and across the river, practically in sight; and from his house Daniel Boone trapped beaver.  In my last interview, about 1877, though a very old man, his mind and body were still active and vigorous.  He remembered talking to the Indian 'medicine men' in his boyhood, as they frequently passed up the river, and discussed this wall with the numerous relics of bones, stone implements and pottery found all over the surrounding bottom lands.  According to his statements the Indians knew of these monuments, but claimed no part in them.  One of their legends sets forth the fact that the Kanawha valley had been occupied by a fierce race of white warriors, who successfully resisted the approach of the 'red man' from the west for a long time, but had finally succumbed, and passed away in death.  The Indians claimed never to have occupied the valley, except for hunting expeditions; that they found these relics old when they first entered; and that their origin was beyond their records.

D.           Late Woodland Cultures – is considered to be the ancestors of the American Indians who lived in western Virginia when the Europeans came.

a.    The late Woodland people changed from a hunting-gathering culture to a farming culture.

b.    Some Indians lived in wigwams, which were made by bending together and tying small trees.

c.    Some of the tools of the Woodland Indians were axes, hammers, digging implements, and needles.

d.    The Indians produced fire by friction or the spark method.

e.    Farming was done in old fields, which were clearing made by burning off the existing ground cover.

f.     The only domesticated animal of the Woodland Indians was the dog.

g.    The late Woodland Indians made clothing from tanned deer hide or buckskin.

h.    The late Woodland Indians gained an appreciation for their heritage from stories that were handed down from generation to generation.

II.           Historic Indians

a.    Two theories as to why there were few Indians in WV when Europeans arrived are hunger and famine caused them to move and disease reduced their population.

b.    The most likely reason the Indians moved was that the powerful Iroquois Nation drove them away.

c.    The Iroquois nation included five tribes

1.    Cayuga

2.    Onondaga

a.    Onoñtǎ’′ge‘,'on, or on top of, the hill or mountain'

3.    Oneida

4.    Mohawk

5.    Seneca

d.    When the Tuscarawas were added, the Indian league became known as the Six Nations

e.    Some small groups of Indians from the Shawnee and Delaware tribes as well as a Moneton village existed in western Virginia until the middle 1700s.

Life in West Virginia today is quite different than when the early prehistoric

peoples lived here. Because these early peoples left no written records, we

depend on archaeologists and anthropologists to study the artifacts they left

behind and tell us what they might have been like. The prehistoric cultures

that inhabited West Virginia included the Paleo, Archaic, and Woodland

peoples. The Woodland period is usually divided into early, middle, and late

eras. The Adena and Hopewell cultures, which fall into the early and middle

Woodland periods, have provided us with the most information about past

times. The cultures in the late Woodland period are believed to be the

ancestors of the eastern Woodland Indians.0