, Virginia father and son at a barbeque,
Big Cypress Reservation, Florida The earliest known inhabitants of the Eastern Woodlands were peoples of the
Adena and
Hopewell cultures, the term for a variety of peoples, speaking different languages, who inhabited the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys between 800 BC and 800 AD, and were connected by trading and communication routes. The cultures had a tradition of building earthwork mounds and, in some cases, large shaped constructions known as effigy mounds. They had a variety of purposes, some apparently related to astronomical calculations and ritual observances. These peoples were generally hunters and gatherers, while also relying on some farming to produce food on the fertile land in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys. They most likely also consumed several types of fleshy fruits like
cabbage palm,
persimmon,
saw palmetto, or
hawthorn that could be found in forest clearings and used as a supplemental source of vitamins and antioxidants. The Eastern Woodlands tribes located further north (Algonquian-speaking people) relied heavily on hunting to acquire food. The meat was either cooked to be eaten immediately or was smoke-dried, to preserve it for later consumption. The largest political unit among the Eastern Woodland tribes were village bands, which were led by one chief. In the Eastern Woodlands Algonquian-speaking societies, patrilineal
clans had names associated with animal totems; these clans comprised the village bands. The Eastern Woodlands Iroquoian-speaking societies had a
matrilineal kinship system, with inheritance and property passed through the mother's line. The Iroquoian village-bands were also composed of numerous clans. Individuals would marry outside their clan to form exogamous clans. They considered themselves to be sibling with the other individuals within the exogamous clan. ==See also==