Archaic Period

Archaic Period (6500 – 3000 B.C.). The Archaic Period is the most poorly known time period in all of Delaware prehistory, even though it is not the oldest. There are no well-preserved and excavated sites from this period in the state. Nevertheless, many projectile points from this time period have been found on the surface […]

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Paleo-Indian Period

Paleo-Indian Period (12,000 – 6500 B.C.). The people who lived in Delaware during the Paleo-Indian time period were the region’s first human residents. Descendants of the first Asians to enter North America via the land bridge that linked Alaska and Siberia during the Ice Age, these nomadic hunters and gatherers wandered across the continent and […]

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Woodland I Period

Native American Projectile Point Classification Guide Woodland I Period (3000 B.C. – A.D. 1000). The Woodland I time period is one of profound culture change in prehistoric Delaware. The Archaic period oak-hemlock forests were replaced first by oak-hickory and then oak-chestnut forests which were exceptionally rich in food resources. In the southern parts of the […]

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Woodland II Period

Native American Projectile Point Classification Guide Woodland II Period (A.D. 1000 – 1600.) In many parts of the Middle Atlantic region the Woodland II Period is characterized by the development of settled village life supported by agriculture based on corn, beans, and squash. However, to date we have almost no evidence of any such developments […]

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