Prehistoric Tribes
Image above: Pottery, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Prehistoric Indians arrived to what would be Kansas in small mobile, groups who hunted with spears and foraged for food. Archaeologists differentiate between the Clovis who lived at the end of the Pleistocene era who hunted wooly mammoths, a now-extinct form of bison, and other Ice Age animals and the Folsom, hunters of bison and deer, who existed later.
Later tribes built small settlements and began domesticating plants such as corn, tobacco, beans, sunflowers, and squash varieties in addition to hunting trips. About a thousand years ago, tribes were using bows and arrows and pottery. In Kansas, many settled along rivers and participated in long-distance trade. Originally from the Ohio and Illinois river valleys and of the Hopewell culture and characterized by extensive trading, distinctive pottery, and burial mounds, the group to the farthest west was known as the Kansas City Hopewell. They came about two thousand years ago and lived in dome-shaped homes in small villages along tributaries, especially where the Kansas River enters the Missouri River. Kansas university researchers have found evidence of their existence in Doniphan County on Squaw Creek, Wyandotte County, Leavenworth County on the Fort Leavenworth military grounds by Quarry Creek, and Coffey County. The Hopewell culture came to a close around 400 A.D. Disease, dwindling food supplies, changing climate, and enemies have been suggested for the cultural collapse.
The Late Woodland or Mississippian culture replaced the Hopewell culture and lived as far west as Missouri. This period ended when Europeans began arriving to this country in the 16th century.
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Archeological discoveries provide information about American Indian inhabitants in Kansas. Explore past and ongoing discoveries in Kansas.
POTTERY USED to date PREHISTORIC Periods
Early Ceramic
Middle Ceramic
Middle Ceramic
Reflecting the Hopewell culture, this vessel was found in Jackson County.
Image: Kansas State Historical Society
Middle Ceramic
Middle Ceramic
Middle Ceramic
To roughen the surface, a cord-wrapped paddle was used for this cooking pot found in Ottawa County. Image: Kansas State Historical Society
Late Ceramic
Middle Ceramic
Late Ceramic
Pawnee, Kansa, Wichita, and Apache
might have used this pot reconstructed from shards found in Cowley County.
Image: Kansas State Historical Society