Archaic People

The Archaic Period lasted from 8000 - 1000 B.C.E. During the Archaic period, the climate became warmer and the air drier. The people experienced seasons for the first time. The warm temperatures melted frozen water, and the Archaic people began fishing.

The Archaic people ate mussels and clams, and they left the shellfish trash in big piles called middens. A huge midden pile has been found on the Savannah river, which shows where the Archaic people lived in Georgia.

They developed stone knives and scrappers for cutting. The Archaic people made pottery and cookware, and they developed a new tool, a grooved-axe. They began using fire to cook food and stay warm, and they built small simple housing.

Like the Paleo people, the Archaic people used the atlatl for a weapon. They improved the atlatl for hunting.The atlatl was weighted, and the hunters used it to fling the spear farther and more accurately. The new spear helped the Archaic people hunt more effectively. The Archaic people tended to hunt smaller game like deer and rabbits because the big game had become extinct.

For most of the Archaic period, the people migrated when they needed to find food.Near the end of the Archaic period, the people began building more permanent houses and settlements. Scientists think that the Archaic people had a religion because they buried their dead with tools, weapons, clothes, and jewelry. By burying their dead with these items, it makes scientist think they believed in a life after death.