HPC agenda 092398 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Overview of Prehistoric Sites Prehistoric sites in the county range from isolated finds and small surface scatters of artifacts that could represent the remains of a hunting kill , to large palisaded villages occupied for decades and containing numerous subsurface features (Dickens , Ward and Davis 1987) . The prehistory of the North Carolina piedmont , as well as for most of the East Coast , is divided into several major periods that correspond with patterns of subsistence , settlement and technology . These periods are the Paleo4 dian ( 12 ,000 B . C . to 8 , 000 B . C . ) , the Archaic (8000 B . C . to 1000 B . C . ) , the Woodland ( 1000 B . C . to A . D . 1000) , the Late Prehistoric (A . D . 10004600) , and the Contact ( 16004710) . The following pages describe each of these periods , their defining characteristics , and their presence in Orange County . Based on current archaeological data , it appears that Piedmont North Carolina was first settled approximately 12 ,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age (Hargrove 1992 : 4) . L Climatic conditions were much cooler than those of today , with a higher percentage of evergreen conifers such as spruce , hemlock, pine , and fir (Herbert 1992 : 7) . While the Paleo4ndian period is poorly understood , these first inhabitants were most likely hunter-gatherers , moving around in small bands or groups in order to exploit seasonal resources of large game , as well as other plants and animals . Food resources in particular were a critical factor in settlement strategies and changing populations of game and people would have had reciprocal effects upon one another . There are no recorded archaeological sites from this period in Orange County , although a few fluted projectile mg to this period have been found in plowed fields or similarly disturbed points dat contexts . Archaeological research has suggested that during the following Archaic period , the peoples of eastern North America developed new adaptive strategies to the warmer , moister climate and changing plant and animal resources (Hargrove 1992 : 4) . People living in the Early Archaic Period (8000 B . C . to 5000 B . C . ) continued many of the same subsistence strategies used in the Paleo4ndian period . The Early Archaic was a time of climatic transition as a warming trend began . Pollen , faunal , and soil studies have shown that the Middle Archaic Period (5000 B . C . to 3000 B . C . ) was drier and warmer , conditions that encouraged the development of deciduous forests (Hunter and Higgins 1986 : 44) . These hardwood forests provided numerous resources for Native Americans . The acorns and nuts of oak and hickory provided food , and these and other trees furnished source materials for shelter , tools , and fuel . The more modern environment also meant that modern animal communities developed as well ; by the Late Archaic Period (3000 B . C . to 1000 B . C . ) deer and turkey had become the primary game sources . Changing patterns in the stone tool assemblages during this time , including the appearance of grinding implements for processing nuts , also indicate an increased reliance on plant resources (Hunter and Higgins 1986 : 45) . 3 -