American Indian Life in the Late Woodland Period

Scene depicting a Late Woodland (1500-800 B.P.) village along the Scioto River in central Ohio. Late Woodland people focused their lives around their village, as seen here, and traditionally raised stable crops like squash, sunflowers, and other seed-bearing plants. An older man can be seen teaching a young boy how to construct an arrow, which was becoming the era's main weapon for the important task of hunting as the Late Woodland people moved away from using spears. Women and girls are busy working pottery and weaving textiles, baskets, and mats which were important commodities for clothing, containers, and household furnishings. Dogs, such as the one here, probably accompanied the Paleoindians, the Archaic people, and Early and Middle Woodland societies as well. This painting comes from the "Ancient Ohio" art series, a series of six artworks showing the major archaeological periods from Ohio history. Each painting in the series is based on extensive research and consultation with experts and American Indian scholars. This piece is drawn from research on the Water Plant and Zencor/Scioto Trail sites in Franklin County and the Lichliter site in Montgomery County