By Savanna Agardy
11,000 BC — 7,000 BC
A Picture of the Paleoindian Period
The Paleoindian Period began when humans first came to the Americas. This happened more than 13,000 years ago! People most likely migrated over a land bridge from Siberia and settled all over North and South America. During this time, the environment was much different than it is today. It was wetter and cooler, and much of North America was still covered in glaciers. The animals were also much different than we see today. Large animals like mammoths, giant sloths, camels, and extinct horses roamed the land. Scientists call these big animals megafauna.
Most of Utah was covered by Lake Bonneville thousands of years ago. However, Lake Bonneville started to shrink in the Paleoindian Period. This created smaller lakes and lush wetlands all over the Great Basin, including western Utah. Even though western Utah is a desert today, the wet environment at that time created a perfect place for Paleoindian people to live.
What Was Life Like?
Paleoindian people were very mobile — they spent their time walking across the land following seasonal food sources and living near water. They traveled in small family groups, much like how you live with your family today! They hunted megafauna, like mammoths and mastodons, but also smaller animals like rabbits and ducks.
There are many caves in western Utah where Paleoindian people lived because caves provided good shelter from rain and snow. These caves were also near the wetlands where people could easily hunt, gather, and get fresh water. Paleoindians didn’t live in the same caves all the time. Instead, they traveled around hunting and gathering different foods, and came back to the same caves during different seasons of the year.
Just as we live by seasons today, like how you have school in the fall, winter, and spring, and have a summer vacation, Paleoindian people traveled to different places and ate different things at various times of the year.
What Did Paleoindian People Leave Behind?
Archaeologists have found old fires Paleoindian people made, bones from the animals they ate, and the stone tools they crafted. The Paleoindian Period is known for a very specific type of artifact called a Clovis projectile point (also known as an arrowhead). Clovis points have a specific shape that tells archaeologists that they were made by Paleoindian people through artifact typology and stratigraphy. Learn more about how archaeologists know stuff. The coolest thing about Clovis points is that they are found everywhere in the Americas, including Utah!
Ending the Paleoindian Period
Around 9,000 years ago (7,000 BC), the climate started to change. Instead of being very cool and wet, it became hotter and dryer. This caused a lot of the animals to die off and the plants to change. Because people depended on animals and plants for food, this also changed the way people lived. As people found ways to adapt to the changing environment, their culture, tools, and lifestyles changed as well. When peoples’ way of living changes this much, it looks different to archaeologists, who give the era a new name.
The next era is called the Archaic Period, and it lasted for the next 8,000 years. That’s a long time!
The End of the Paleoindian Period
Around 9,000 years ago (7,000 BC), the climate started to change even more. Instead of being very cool and wet, it became hotter and dryer. This caused a lot of the animals to die and the plants to change. Because people depended on animals and plants for food, this also changed the way people lived. As people found ways to adapt to the changing environment, their culture, tools, and lifestyles changed as well. When peoples’ way of living changes this much, it looks different to archaeologists, who give the era a new name.
The next era is called the Archaic Period, and it lasted for the next 8,000 years. That’s a long time!
Keep Exploring!
Return to the First Peoples page here.
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