Archaic

Archaic. A Time of Change. Warmer climate ends the Ice Age and encourages the growth of different plants. Deciduous trees replace open spruce woodlands. Many Ice Age animals become extinct, and woodland animals such as white-tailed deer are more common. About 7,000 years ago vast prairies replace forests on the level plains in Illinois. Food and other resources are more widely available, and people respond by changing their way of life. , Archaic people hunt and gather, but they invent new tools to do so. By 4,000 BC, Archaic people spend more of the year in one village. By the end of the period, they cultivate native plants to supplement their food supply. , Changes in the sizes of spearpoints are evidence of new weapons. Instead of throwing the spear by hand, Archaic hunters used a throwing stick, called an "atlatl", to hurl stone-tipped darts. , Archaic Indians shaped igneous and metamorphic rocks to make axes by slowly pecking away bits of the surface and then smoothing the stone with abrasive materials such as sandstone. , (photo caption:), By taming wolves, Archaic Period Native Americans found a new companion and workmate - dogs.