| Copyright 2007 by Dale Cox All rights reserved. |
Native American History
ExploreSouthernHistory.com
 | |  |
Thousands of Years of Culture in the South
For thousands of years before the arrival of the first
European explorers, what is now the southeastern
United States witnessed the rise and fall of culturally
unique and often highly advanced Native American
civilizations.
Although many vestiges of these cultures have been
looted and destroyed, some of the most significant
have been preserved at sites that border on the
astounding. At Poverty Point in Louisiana, for example,
the remains of a highly advanced civilization that
predated the invention of pottery can still be seen and
explored. At Kolomoki Mounds in Georgia and Spiro
Mounds in Oklahoma, massive earthen structures
constructed centuries ago still function as gigantic
observatories to mark the passage of the seasons.
In addition to such prehistoric wonders, public areas in
the South also preserve sites related to the wars that
began when expanding settlement and invasion forced
the Creek (Muscogee), Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw,
Chickasaw and other nations to fight in a centuries
long effort to defend their lands. Battlefields, forts,
village sites and treaty grounds are preserved in every
Southern state.
Also preserved in growing numbers are sites
associated with the American tragedy remembered
today as the "Trail of Tears." An expanding effort is
underway throughout the South to better interpret and
mark the routes over which entire nations were driven
from their homes to new lands in what is now
Oklahoma. Thousands died along the way.
To begin your exploration of the Native American
culture and history of the South, please follow the links
below:
European explorers, what is now the southeastern
United States witnessed the rise and fall of culturally
unique and often highly advanced Native American
civilizations.
Although many vestiges of these cultures have been
looted and destroyed, some of the most significant
have been preserved at sites that border on the
astounding. At Poverty Point in Louisiana, for example,
the remains of a highly advanced civilization that
predated the invention of pottery can still be seen and
explored. At Kolomoki Mounds in Georgia and Spiro
Mounds in Oklahoma, massive earthen structures
constructed centuries ago still function as gigantic
observatories to mark the passage of the seasons.
In addition to such prehistoric wonders, public areas in
the South also preserve sites related to the wars that
began when expanding settlement and invasion forced
the Creek (Muscogee), Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw,
Chickasaw and other nations to fight in a centuries
long effort to defend their lands. Battlefields, forts,
village sites and treaty grounds are preserved in every
Southern state.
Also preserved in growing numbers are sites
associated with the American tragedy remembered
today as the "Trail of Tears." An expanding effort is
underway throughout the South to better interpret and
mark the routes over which entire nations were driven
from their homes to new lands in what is now
Oklahoma. Thousands died along the way.
To begin your exploration of the Native American
culture and history of the South, please follow the links
below:
| Kolomoki Mounds State Park Blakely, Georgia |
| Spiro Mounds State Park Spiro, Oklahoma |
| Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center Fort Mitchell, Alabama |
| Monument to Milly Francis Muskogee, Oklahoma |