EP - Early People of Georgia Module Overview

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Early People of Georgia

Introduction

Georgia’s population is booming thanks to strong industries and attractive climate, but our population has vastly changed over the past 13,000 years. The first humans in Georgia were called Paleo Indians and lived roughly 13,000 years ago. The Archaic Indians arrived approximately 10,000 years ago and survived until nearly 3,000 years ago. The Woodland Indians then lived in Georgia from 1000 BCE to 1000 c.e. and were ultimately replaced with the Mississippian Indians who inhabited Georgia from 800-1600 c.e.. These Native Americans developed distinct cultures across the regions of Georgia. In the 16th century European explorers began to discover the “New World”. A fierce competition between France, England and Spain took place across North and South America as Europeans fought for the wealth of resources and control of the land and its indigenous people. Ultimately the Native American populations across these two continents were profoundly changed as a result of European exploration and colonization.

 

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

Early Native American Cultures: Discover Georgia's prehistoric cultures and see what clues about their lives they left behind.

European Exploration and the impact on Native American Cultures: Find out more about which nations explored North America and how those countries changed life in the New World. 

European Exploration and Settlement of North America: Learn about the explorers who came to North America and where they explored. 

 

Key Terms

  • Archeologist - Digs into the earth to find artifacts that will tell us something about early inhabitants.
  • Artifact - Pottery shards (pieces), weapons, tools, jewelry, or any item made by people.
  • Anthropologist - Uses artifacts along with cave drawings, well-traveled pathways, and oral history to study the culture of a group of people.
  • Culture - Beliefs, traditions, music, art, and social institutions.
  • Tribe - A subset of a population linked by blood, language, and common culture.
  • Nation - Multiple tribes who group together due to common language and culture.
  • Antiquities - Ancient relics.
  • Shale - A type of rock that is formed in successive layers.
  • Mercantilism - a type of economic policy designed to maximize trade of a nation.
  • Colonies - an area under the control of a distant country.

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