A 17th-Century Iroquois Village

A 17th-Century Iroquois Village. Historic Lima - Settled 1788. , Historic Lima - Settled 1788 , A 17th-Century Iroquois Village , Nearly 400 years ago, a thriving Seneca Iroquois village sat on the ridge just west of here. Set in the midst of a clearing in the endless forest, this densely packed village, and the agricultural fields surrounding it, hummed with the daily activities of an estimated 800 to 1000 people. It was one of two year-round villages occupied by the Seneca for a period between about 1620 and 1640. Haudenosaunee or "People of the Longhouse." This name symbolized the "kin-like" relationships which bound them together as members of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. , Cultivation of the "Three Sisters" - corn,beans and squash - close to the village provided the basic food supply. Traveling farther afield, hunting parties brought back meat and skins used for clothing, moccasins and blankets. , During this time the Senecas were increasingly engaged in the exchange of furs for trade goods with the Europeans, resulting in significant alterations in their lifestyle and culture. , Bark longhouses housed multiple families headed by maternally related women. Iroquois villagers were typically abandoned and relocated every 15 to 20 years as structures decayed, and wood supplies and soils were depleted.