Woodland Indians

Woodland Indians. . Woodland Indians on the Patuxent , American Indians established rear-round settlements along the Patuxent River 3,000 years ago during the Woodland Period (1000 BC-1600 AD). At first, their villages were small and scattered. Over time, large fortified settlements emerged. Each was largely self-sufficient, but linked to the others through marriage and politics. Two village sites near Mount Calvert are shown on Captain John Smith's map of his 1608 explorations of the Chesapeake Bay region., New Ways of Life , The Woodland Period was an era of change for American Indians. Farming replaced hunting and gathering as the main source of food; Indian villagers cultivated beans, corn and other crops. new technologies such as pottery and the bow and arrow were developed., Traces of the Past , Here at Mount Calvert archaeologists have unearthed thousands of artifacts including stone tools, animal bones, smoking pipes and pottery. These artifacts bear witness to the Woodland Indian way of life which flourished here from 1000 BC to the 1600s when European settlers arrived.