History and Community

History and Community. Machicomoco State Park. In the 1500s, Wahunsenacawh (Chief Powhatan) inherited political authority over six Native communities in eastern Virginia. By 1607 when the English colonists settled Jamestown, Wahunsenacawh had created a chiefdom that encompassed the 32 Algonquian-speaking tribes of Tsenacomacoh. Machicomoco (mah-chee-CO-mo-co) State PArk reflects that history., Starting about 18,000 years ago, Paleoindians (the first humans to inhabit the Americas) lived in small groups throughout the Chesapeake Bay region and across North America. Paleoindians created vast networks of trade and alliance, as indicated by a shared stone tool, the Clovis point. About 8,000 years later, the population increased substantially as they adopted a host of new technologies, including pottery and the bow and arrow. Roughly 900 years ago, Native American groups began to raise corn, adding to a complex diet of foraged plants, hunted animals, fish and shellfish. Algonquian groups in eastern Virginia developed a five-season yearly subsistence cycle focused around riverine ecology. Artistic expression and craft evolved as well; a wide variety of graphic designs found on pottery fragments suggest distinct traditions throughout the Powhatan chiefdom and beyond., (captions) , Clovis Points: Dating to the early Paleoindians period approximately 13,500 to 12,800 years ago. These hand-fashioned projectile points are characterized by shallow grooves called ‘flutes’ and were used for knives, spears, and darts., The ‘Three Sisters’: The main historical agricultural crops of many indigenous people groups in the Americas: winter squash, maize (corn), and climbing beans., Patterns: Representative Algonquian patterns derived from pottery shards. Native people employed a wide variety of patterns in a range of textiles, including pottery, clothing, and other personal items., Colonial Period: Portion of John Smith’s map of the Chesapeake region, first published in 1612.