Paleoindian

Paleoindian. The First Illinoisans. People arrive in North America from Asia more than 14,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age. The formation of glaciers lowers sea level and exposes a wide land bridge connecting Asia and North America where the Bering Sea is today. , In Illinois, the climate is cooler and wetter than today. The growing season is shorter, and there is more snow during winter. Forests of spruce and black ash are home to mastodon, stag moose, giant ground, sloth and white-tailed deer., Paleoindians live in small family groups. They hunt, fish, and gather plant foods, moving often in search of food and other resources. They leave little trace of their lives - only a few spear points, knives, and other stone tools. , They shape spear points and knives by flaking a piece of chert with a bone or stone hammer. The groove at the bottom of the point makes it easier to fasten it to a wooden spear shaft or a knife handle. , In 1980, when archaeologists unearth the pelvis of a Mastodon near Kimmswick, Missouri, they find a Paleoindian spear point lying next to the bone. This discovery is evidence of mastodon hunting.