Native American use of the cave entrance

Native American use of the cave entrance. . Native Americans at various times over 12,000 years lived in Dunbar Cave, used it for storage, mined minerals from it, or entered it on a spiritual journey. Artifacts found during an archaeological dig here in 1978 and cave art tell us how it was used during four different periods., Paleo (10,000 to 8,000 BC) , Bands of hunter-gatherers used the cave entrance as a temporary shelter and camp., Archaic (8,000 to 1,000 BC) , The cave was heavily used for shelter as well as food preparation and storage. Most of the artifacts found by archaeologists are from this period., Woodland (1,000 BC to 800 AD) , The introduction of agriculture drew people into the nearby Red and Cumberland, river bottoms for crop production and habitation. Use of the cave was minimal at this time., Mississippian (800 to 1450 AD) , Caves became an important part of Mississippian culture. Native Americans drew religious symbols inside Dunbar Cave. The cave was also used occasionally for habitation., Captions , Top Right: The dance floor sealed and protected archaeological deposits until the dig. , Lower Right: All the soil removed was screened to find tools such as projectile points, bone awls and shell fishhooks (pictured here), pottery, and other objects left by the people who lived here many years ago.