The roving existence led by these _Wandering Hunters_ brought them into
the region which is now Georgia at a relatively early date. We do not
know by what route they came here, for it is easier to seek out the
geographic limitations which restricted the first migrants to the New
World to a single point of entry than it is to trace the wanderings of
their descendants over some 8,000,000 square miles of North America.
Nevertheless, we are beginning to get a few hints.
[Illustration: Mammoth Hunters, from Museum exhibit panel.]
Fluted point sites have been found in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and
Virginia; and single fluted points have been found in a number of places
in Georgia, though possibly more often north than south of Macon. One
fluted specimen, however, was actually excavated from the Macon Plateau,
a designation adopted for the hilltop terrain of the Ocmulgee
excavations. The recovery here of other tools of the same greatly
decomposed flint strengthens the likelihood of a true “paleo-Indian”
occupation at Ocmulgee. The inclusion among them of many thumbnail
scrapers of a type recently shown to be distinctive of eastern fluted
point sites is especially significant.
The fluted point, missing the forward one-third of its length, was a
fine specimen of the so-called Clovis type of these artifacts, and so
typical of thousands of such implements which have been picked up at
random in the eastern United States as well as in the West. The Clovis
point is like its Folsom cousin in several ways, particularly in having
a long channel flake removed from one or both of its faces, possibly as
a means of reducing its total thickness, and in the grinding of the edge
along the lower sides and across the base to avoid cutting the lashings
which bound it to the shaft. Like the smaller Folsom point, too, it is
named for a site in the western High Plains, where its position
underlying Folsom on some sites and its association with mammoth bones
give us definite clues to its age west of the Mississippi.
Unlike Folsom, however, the Clovis fluted point is not limited to the
region on the east flank of the Rockies. Instead, it has been found from
Alaska to Costa Rica and from Vermont to Florida. Its use, too, seems to
have been less specialized. Folsom man was a bison hunter; and the
abundant grasses of the Plains probably account for the rather definite
limits of his range. The big Clovis points, on the other hand, were
certainly used on mammoth; but we do not know that this over-sized
quarry was their only target. Possibly the mammoth was more adaptable
than the bison and could seek out other areas as the changing climate
made its accustomed haunts unlivable; or it may have been the Clovis
hunters who were the more flexible and could shift more readily to other
kinds of game when the mammoth disappeared from the scene.
[Illustration: Hunting was hard work. Museum exhibit case.]
The wide geographic range of the point is matched by the variety of
shapes which are included in the type, though all have a family
resemblance built around the distinctive channel formed on one or both
faces. Until it is found in a context permitting direct dating, however,
the real problem in the East hinges on the significance of this family
resemblance. The question is whether this resemblance is a result of
chance, or whether it indicates contact with the makers of the fluted
points in the West whose age is now reasonably well established.
[Illustration: Hunter with atlatl (throwing stick).]
Perhaps the only thing we can say definitely about these early nomadic
hunters would be that their unusual fluted type of projectile point
occurs in the eastern United States and has been found in clearly
defined contexts which suggest a greater age than that known for any
other recognized types in these areas. This distinctive weapon is
thought to be a variety of the western Clovis fluted point, which has
been found in the West beneath Folsom, and therefore antedating 8000 B.
C.
Their simple living was obtained with the aid of a few tools and weapons
of stone and wood. Being constantly on the move, they could erect no
very permanent dwellings; and a rough lean-to shelter was doubtless
their only protection from the elements. Hunting was the major activity
of the men; for, with fish from the streams, the game which they killed
made up the chief element of their diet. The women were not idle,
however; for in addition to preparing the food and caring for the
children, they spent many hours in gathering the nuts, roots, and
berries which made such a necessary and welcome supplement to their
daily fare. It is doubtful that the bow and arrow, which to us are
almost inseparable from our picture of the Indian, had yet been
invented; but the thrusting spear and the thrown javelin were very
effective at close range. At greater distances the hunter could bring
down his game with the dart propelled by a throwing stick. This
increased the effective length of his arm and imparted the resulting
greater thrust to the butt of the shaft.
Also missing in their equipment were the pottery cooking vessels of the
later Indians, which so simplified the preparation of foods by boiling
and thus added variety to the menu. Stone boiling, of course, could be
accomplished by means of heated rocks dropped into some suitable
container, such as a pit in the ground lined with a skin; but the method
was tedious and probably less used for that reason.
Organization for such a life was simple. Since they must move with the
game on which they depended, group size had to be limited; for large
bodies of people could not move easily from place to place. Moreover,
the population was not large, and there was plenty of room to spread
out. For all these reasons the hunting band was probably made up of a
few related families, numbering on the average perhaps 50 people who
habitually camped together. Leadership in such a small group would not
be a matter of too great importance; and the chief might be chosen for
skill in hunting or for an outstanding personality. Possibly he
inherited the office, but in any case his authority is not likely to
have been very great. The band doubtless accepted his choice of
campsite, his direction in the hunt, or arbitration in disputes; but in
doing so it was more likely to be out of respect for his ability than in
recognition of his official position.
Even at this simple stage of culture, though, there were doubtless well
defined rules of conduct. All primitive peoples today share certain
universals of social life. From these we may confidently infer that
every man was part of a clearly defined kin group, that the structure
and relationships of this group determined into what similar group he
might marry, and which were forbidden to him as sources for choosing a
mate. We can also be reasonably certain that while antisocial acts like
murder, adultery, and theft might not be punished by the community at
large, strong measures to hold them in check were generally approved
even though they might have to be initiated privately. In short, the
rudiments of social living were already thousands of years old. The
lives of these early Georgians were different from our own in countless
material ways; but even at this early date their primary problems were
the same as ours. They must have food, shelter, and protection for
individual survival; and the continued existence of the group required
the education of its younger members in the skills and habits and
community organization of their elders. The means to these ends were
crude, and by our standards extremely simple; but they were not
developed without considerable ingenuity; and hard work made up for many
technical shortcomings.