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During this period , social organization most likely consisted of small , egalitarian independent groups called bands and slightly larger groups subsisting , like their ancestors before them , through exploitation of seasonal resources . Archaeological research has shown that the Archaic was a time of increasing population (Gardner 1980 * 24) . This increase seen during the Archaic was probably tied to the warmer climate and increasing variety of plant and animal resources . In the southeastern United States, Earlyand Middle Archaic settlements were generally small , temporary camps where Archaic peoples hunted or collected food (Steponaitis 1986 : 371 , Willey 1966 : 60) , in addition to some larger long-term base camps (Hunter and Higgins 1986 : 46) . Archaic period sites have generally been located on the floodplains of rivers and streams , with smaller , temporary procurement camps situated on upland knolls and terraces . By the Late Archaic Period , the climate was probably very similar to that of today (Herbert 1992 : 8) . This period was marked by the beginnings of a transition from seasonal hunting and gathering to a more sedentary settlement pattern . Late Archaic sites floodplains and low ridges . Rivers provided food and are generally located on river transportation , in other parts of the southeast , items made from materials from the Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes regions were traded long distances . Around 80 sites with identifiable Archaic components have been recorded in Orange County . The majority of these sites date to the Middle and Late Archaic . This pattern is perhaps related to the increased population levels during this period . Most of the Archaic sites are represented by scatters of flaked stone and stone tools found during limited-scale archaeological survey . Of these sites , only one has been examined at a greater level of detail. In later periods , as Native-Americans took up a more settled lifestyle , they adopted practices that left more of an imprint on the land . Sedentism , agriculture , and population increases went hand4n:-hand . A number of changes , including increased population, the adoption of horticulture and agriculture , the production of ceramics , bows and arrows and settlement in semi-permanent villages , marked what is known as the Woodland Period ( 1000 B . C . to 1000 A . D . ) in North Carolina (Herbert 19929) . During the Early Woodland and continuing throughout most of the Middle Woodland , hunting and gathering appeared to remain a more important subsistence strategy than farming . During this period , the development of corn , squash , and bean agriculture (Yarnell 1976) and the concomitant increasing population required that larger , more permanent settlements be established on fertile soil . The floodplains of rivers and larger creeks provided just such an environment and it is here that Late Prehistoric sites can be expected . The creation of surplus crops and the need to store them helped give rise to new technologies , such as pottery production and the use of storage pits . Archaeological research indicates that agriculture came to the North Carolina Piedmont slightly later , as late as A . D . 1000 (Ward 198172-73 ) , at the beginning of the Late Prehistoric Period . Around 40 Woodland and Late Prehistoric Period sites have been recorded to date in Orange County . Interestingly , these sites number around half those of the earlier Archaic . This pattern may be due partially to the more sedentary lifestyle of the 4