I. Paleo-Indians 8500 B.C.

The people of this time period were nomadic and congregated into small bands for seasonal hunting. These bands of seasonal hunters roasted meat over an open fire and hunted with fluted stone pointed spears. They lived in brush and skins type huts and had no permanent dwellings.

The climate of this period was cold ,wet, and had short summers due to the retreating glaciers. The people lived among forest of spruce and fir trees with a large tundra area to the north. The fauna of this period consisted of caribou, mastodon, mammoth, and giant beavers.

II. Early Archaic Indians 5000 - 3000 B.C.

The native people continued to live in small bands and were becoming less nomadic. The bands continued to consume roasted meat along with eating fresh and dried fish. They had also developed notched points, stone scrapers, bone fishhooks, and constructed dugout canoes with stone gouges. The small bands lived in huts constructed of brush, reeds, and animal skins.

The climate was becoming much warmer and the summers were very dry. Pine, oak, and beech trees began to flourish in the forest. The hunters now hunted caribou, deer, turkey and speared a variety of fish.

III. Late Archaic Indians 3000 B.C. - 300 A.D.

During this period, the climate became very warm and dry. It was considered to be much like the climate of present day Virginia. The natives had become family oriented groups like basic homesteaders living in large snail - shell shelters. These houses had a 30-60 foot diameter with a conical shaped roof and were covered with bark shingles. The people began cooking in stone pots along with using roots, seeds, and nuts. Here we begin to see the people making a purposeful attempt in tending plants for food. The forest a mixture of hardwoods housing deer, moose, bear, beaver, and wild turkeys.

In recent excavations of Late Archaic sites, archeologists have discovered that this group was using stone, bone, and copper instruments. Bow and arrows, stone drills, mortar and pestles, and fish weirs were in common use during this time.

IV. Ceramic - Woodland Indians 300 A.D. - 1600 A.D.

The climate in this time period has become very temperate much like today's. We find old growth mixed forest sheltering deer, moose, beavers, and numerous small mammals, along with salmon and other fresh and salt water fish.

The native people were now living in a structured society being family oriented and spiritual. The bands were living more or less in permanent bark covered wigwams. They were only seasonally nomadic now having established winter and summer homes called hunting and fishing camps.

Agriculture now plays a very important role as they began to establish permanent societies and villages. Corn, beans, and squashes were known as the "Three Sisters" and were the basic foods of farming groups. Foods were stored in baskets and clay pots. Birch bark containers were used for cooking, storing, and collecting of wild berries. Birch bark canoes were constructed and sealed with pitch and natural tar. Canoes became the means for local and long distance travel.