Connecting the environment of the ancient past with the natural and cultural history of yesterday and today.

Archaeology

Archaeology (also spelled archeology) is the study of ancient cultures through the artifacts people left behind. It is sometimes confused with paleontology - the study of ancient life preserved as fossils. Native People lived in and around the Falls of the Ohio for nearly ten thousand years. The first people, Paleoindians, left few clues of their time here. Those that followed - the people of the Archaic, Woodland or Mississippian cultures - left plenty of evidence.

Because of this significance, life of Native People at the Falls is one of four themes in our exhibit gallery. The Falls of the Ohio State Park has obtained several important local collections of artifacts from our general area that date back to over 8000 BCE. These tools help us understand how people lived and thrived.

Like almost all museums, we do not buy artifacts. Everything in our collections have been obtained through donations or small-scale archaeological digs related to projects within our property boundary. We can assist with identification of some artifacts and can refer individuals to the Falls of the Ohio Archaeological Society for a more accurate assessment.

Early people at the Falls: An Introduction

People first came to the Falls of the Ohio near the end of the last ice age, between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago. These hunters and gatherers pursued mastodonts, mammoths and other ice age mammals migrating south in front of the glacial advance. Some of the people stopped at the Falls, attracted by the abundance of fish and freshwater mussels to be found near the whirlpool in the great river.

As the region warmed and the seasons changed deep forests and open fields flourished and native plants and animals slowly became plentiful. Readily available fresh water and fertile lands allowed people to begin growing plants for food. Gradually they became dependent upon cultivated maize, gourds, squash, pumpkin, native berries and grains. They made pottery which allowed the storage and preservation of their harvest. Eventually large farming communities settled along the river. Traders from the north and south travelled on the river bringing new ideas, culture and technology to the farmers.

Around 700 years ago, a lengthy drought caused the farmers to return to a hunting and gathering lifestyle. Living in small bands they resumed their ancient nomadic ways. The Falls and the great forest surrounding it became a place of legend and spirit and was called the “Dark and Forbidden Land.” No one group of people governed it. Instead, the lands near the place of the giant whirlpool were deemed sacred ground, to be used only for hunting, fishing and trading by the tribes living in the surrounding region. The Falls would never again be called home by Indian people.

Technologies developed by these people were not destroyed by the centuries. Spear points, atlatl weights, delicate bone fish hooks, pottery pieces and other examples of their craftsmanship exist today to tell the story of the first people who lived at the Falls.

To explore these cultures, click Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, or Mississippian.

Artifact Identification Guide:

Archaic Tools Woodland Tools Mississippian Tools

NEW! Photo Album - E. Y. Guernsey Collection (Old Clarksville, 1930s)

Scale = 2 cm in all photos.

Below is an assortment of tools from Native Peoples in the Falls of the Ohio State Park collections.