Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Alabama's First Peoples ⎯⎯⎯ Creek Country
Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2021
1. Alabama's First Peoples Marker
Inscription.
Alabama's First Peoples, also, Creek Country. .
Alabama's First Peoples. Humans arrived in what is now Alabama near the end of the last Ice Age. Waves of people migrated through the area for centuries before some of them established settlements. Over time, their culture advanced through the development of agriculture and trade., By around 1000 AD, improvements in agriculture supported a sophisticated society spread across much of eastern North America. Artisans created pottery and tools that were functional as well as beautiful, often inspired by nature or their interpretation of the cosmos. Seasonal and harvest celebrations created a rich ceremonial life. , At Moundville, near Tuscaloosa, they built the second-largest mound city in North America. It held influence over towns and villages for hundreds of miles in every direction. By the mid-1500s, war and disease introduced by Europeans devastated the native population., On a busy summer day in Moundville, ca. 1200, women worked in the cornfields, men returned from a hunt, and travelers arrived with tribute and trade items. ,
Creek Country. Descendants of the mound builders formed community networks that the Europeans would call tribes. The most prominent of these in Alabama were the Creeks, a confederation of many towns and families with similar language and traditions. Throughout the 1700s, the Creeks had a vibrant trade with Europeans, exchanging deerskins for manufactured goods. , In the Creeks' matrilineal society, clan affiliation passed through the mother's line. The bicultural children of Creek women and white men were considered fully Creek by their Indian families. They served as mediators between Creek and white society during a time of rapid cultural and economic change., As the deerskin trade declined, some Creeks established cattle ranches and cotton plantations. Departure from the tradition of communal land ownership created division in Creek society. , "The Lands are not the Property of the Head Warriors, but of the whole Nation in common." Emisteseguo, chief of Little Tallassee, to British Officials, 1771
Alabama's First Peoples
Humans arrived in what is now Alabama near the end of
the last Ice Age. Waves of people migrated through the area
for centuries before some of them established settlements.
Over time, their culture advanced through the development
of agriculture and trade.
By around 1000 AD, improvements in agriculture supported
a sophisticated society spread across much of eastern North
America. Artisans created pottery and tools that were
functional as well as beautiful, often inspired by nature or
their interpretation of the cosmos. Seasonal and harvest
celebrations created a rich ceremonial life.
At Moundville, near Tuscaloosa, they built the second-largest
mound city in North America. It held influence over towns
and villages for hundreds of miles in every direction. By
the mid-1500s, war and disease introduced by Europeans
devastated the native population.
On a busy summer day in Moundville, ca. 1200, women worked
in the cornfields, men returned from a hunt, and travelers
arrived with tribute and trade items.
Creek Country
Descendants of the mound builders formed community
networks
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that the Europeans would call tribes. The
most prominent of these in Alabama were the Creeks,
a confederation of many towns and families with similar
language and traditions. Throughout the 1700s, the Creeks
had a vibrant trade with Europeans, exchanging deerskins
for manufactured goods.
In the Creeks' matrilineal society, clan affiliation passed
through the mother's line. The bicultural children of Creek
women and white men were considered fully Creek by their
Indian families. They served as mediators between Creek
and white society during a time of rapid cultural and
economic change.
As the deerskin trade declined, some Creeks established
cattle ranches and cotton plantations. Departure from the
tradition of communal land ownership created division in
Creek society.
"The Lands are not the Property of the Head Warriors, but
of the whole Nation in common." Emisteseguo, chief of Little Tallassee,
to British Officials, 1771
Erected 2019 by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission.
86° 18.096′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It can be reached from the intersection of North Bainbridge Street and Dexter Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Located in Alabama Bicentennial Park in front of the Lurleen B. Wallace Office Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 Dexter Ave, Montgomery AL 36130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 26, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 438 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 26, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
