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Paleoindians in Vermont, 9000-7000 B.C. : Recent Research Concerning the Original Vermonters

September 18, 2001

Participants:
  • Dr. James Peterson, Anthroplogy, UVM
Length: 1:17:44
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Tags:

paleoindian sites, Paleoindian Period, Native American lifeways, Ice Age, CAP, archaeological research in VT

Program Description:

Native Americans have lived in Vermont for a very long time, minimally spanning 11,000 years. Although some Native Americans believe that they have "always" lived here, the scientific perspective of archaeology recognizes that they colonized North America from Eurasia before 12,000 years ago. Native Americans arrived in Vermont after that during the early portion of the so-called Paleoindian period, which is dated overall from 9000 B.C. to 7000 B.C. In geological terms, the Paleoindian period occurred in North America generally and Vermont specifically during the latest stages of the Pleistocene epoch, or the "Ice Age." This talk summarizes recent and ongoing archaeological research in Vermont and elsewhere in northern New England concerning the Paleoindian period. Paleoindian evidence has been long known from Vermont, but only recently several Paleoindian sites were systematically investigated in Williston and Ludlow, Vermont, and elsewhere. Conducted by the University of Vermont Consulting Archaeology Program, these archaeological studies contribute to an evolving (but still woefully incomplete) record of Paleoindian lifeways in Vermont and the broader region. A two-part chronology for the Paleoindian period is proposed and available information about these two subdivisions is summarized in this talk. Finally, the implications of these discoveries for understanding the earliest Native Americans in Vermont are explored in a preliminary fashion. Presented by James Peterson, anthropology, UVM.