| PaleoIndian | ||
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| People have lived in Minnesota for at least 12,000 years. While we have little direct evidence of the earliest inhabitants, PaleoIndian peoples, we can learn about their lifeways by studying the tools they left behind, evidence about the changing environment, and the resources available to them at the end of the last Ice Age. | ||
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| The culture history of the region begins with PaleoIndian (ca. 10,000–6,000 B.C.). As glaciers receded from the Upper Midwest, migratory groups of people settled throughout the area's open woodlands and succeeding grasslands, hunting native herding animals such as caribou, bison, and mammoth, and likely exploiting available small-game, fish, and plant resources as well. Through this period, the climate became increasingly warmer and drier. In addition to distinctive projectile points (fluted Clovis, Folsom, and later, non-fluted Plano point types), the tool kits included large, bifacially flaked knives, simple choppers and large scrapers. The settlement pattern for these people is poorly understood. | ||
| PaleoIndian Projectile Points | ||
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| This information was taken from a poster created by the Office of the State Archaeologist; University of Minnesota, College of Liberal Arts Scholarly Events Fund; Institute for Minnesota Archaeology; Science Museum of Minnesota
The above information was used with the permission Mark Dugzik, State of Minnesota Archeologist. Call 612-725-2411 for more information. |
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