Middle Archaic
6000-4000 B.C.
The People
People continue to live in small mobile groups with little discernable social structure. The people of this period are still adapting to the radical climate changes that affected the Early Archaic. They create and utilize a larger tool kit to thrive in the new environment. This kit includes hammerstones, axes, drills, mill stones and pestles. Axes originate and evolve during this period, becoming a common tool used by both men and women.
The Climate
A warm moist climate much like present day marks this period. Deciduous trees dominate providing the people with an ample supply of nuts.
Diet
Food sources and hunting and gathering methods remain the same or similar to their predecessors in the Early Archaic Period. Spears are still used with an atlatl ( spear thrower) for bringing down large game. However, new grinding technology, with mortars and pestles, changes the way food is processed. These new grinding tools make it possible to make flour out of seeds, nuts, berries and dried meat.
