Name: Caple, Bonnie
E-mail: bonniecaple@yahoo.com
Topic: Paleo-Indian Traditions
Grade: 7th grade
Time: Two class periods
Ark. Hist. Framework: 1.1.12,  1.1.13,  1.1.15,  2.1.2

Objective: The student will be able to name and describe the three traditions of the Paleo-Indian period.

Set: The student will be able to name and describe the three traditions of the Paleo-Indian period.

Materials: Arkansas History text book, Historical Atlas, Overhead projector and transparencies.

Key Terms:  Archaic Tradition, Gourd, BC, Woodland Tradion, Toltec Mounds, AD, Mississppi Tradition, Hematite, Atlatl, Plaza, Caddo, adze, Novaculite, Quapaw, Osage
 
Key Facts: 1.   The Archaic Tradition began around 8,000 BC.
2.      BC means Before Christ.
3.      AD means Anno Domini ( which is Latin for ­ in the year of the Lord).
4.      A Western Christian calendar is used to date events.
5.      Mastodons began to die out or move north (weather becomes warmer and drier).
6.      Hunters now hunt smaller prey such as bear, deer, elk, wolves, raccoons, rabbits and squirrels.
7.      Man prospered and became more numerous and wide spread
8.      Man used efficient tools and weapons to hunt
9.      Man’s homes were high on ridges
10.     They would dig pits in the ground to be used as their garbage dumps.
11.     They learned to bake bread and cook mussels and crayfish.
12.     Indians of this time buried their dead in individual graves.
13.     Indians would ravel to lowlands to hunt big game.
14.     An Atlatl of throwing stick, was used to make a spear go farther and faster.
15.     An adze was an axe like blade used to dig out logs.
16.     The Indians had many hand made objects such as beads.
17.     The Woodland Tradition starts around 1,000 BC.
18.     There is a widespread practice of agriculture.
19.     They learned to borrow and share seeds and planting ideas.
20.     Their first crops were gourds, squash, and wheat like grains.
21.     They still hunted small prey, fished and gathered berries and nuts.
22.     They became farmers, staying in one place.
23.     Tribal governments had to decide when and what to plant.
24.     Indians drew pictures on rocks. (Maybe as a form of a calendar).
25.     Some Indians made their homes in cliffs.
26.     They used fire for warmth and preparing food.
27.     They began to weave baskets and make moccasins.
28.     They set aside one section of the village as a burial place for their dead.
29.     Trade with other tribes increased.
30.     Arkansas Indians had rock, minerals, and salt to trade.
31.     Hematite is a mineral containing iron, which is used as weights for fishing nets.
32.     Novaculite was used to make tools with a fine edge.
33.     Quartz crystal was used to make small sharp points.
34.     They made pots out of pottery.
35.     The Mississippian Tradition began around 700 AD.
36.     Large numbers of Indians lived in villages and farm lands.
37.     Villages were built around a Plaza (large open field).
38.     At on e end of the Plaza would be mounds used to build their public buildings upon.
39.     The Plaza and temple mounds were used for special events.
40.     They made wells and ditches (made to look like a fort).
41.     They were very skilled and began to use bows and arrows for hunting and protection.
42.     Corn became and important crop.
43.     Children began to help with the crops and planting.
44.     Pottery mixed with crushed and burned Mussel shell was used to make the pots stronger, lighter, and larger.
45.     Southwest Arkansas Indians were ancestors of today’s Caddo Indians, now in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
46.     Mount burial and temples were built for the dead leaders.
47.     Caddo Indians lived on small family farms.
48.     They had their own fireplace and a garden.
49.     They raised tobacco ad smoked on special occasions.
50.     They made salt by pouring water through sand.
51.     They traded salt for products they needed.

Activities: 1. Have the students bring an object to class for show and tell and discuss the object.
2. Take large drawing paper and markers to draw an Indian village.
3. Divide the class into three groups and have each draw a different Indian Traditional period.
4. The group will display and discuss their picture to the other groups.


Closure: Only a few objects have been found to prove the many facts we have discussed. We can only speculate or guess what the Paleo-Indians were really like and how they lived.

Assessment: Check to see if the group’s pictures of their assigned Indian Tradition are accurate.  Take a multiple choice and short answer test over the Archaic, Mississippi and the Woodland Tradition Indians.

Resources: An Arkansas History for Young People by T. Harri Baker and Jane Browning.

 

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