First Inhabitants:

Humans first inhabited the land now known as Tennessee when the last of the Ice Age glaciers retreated, some 12,000-15,000 years ago. The people were probably hunters, and we know that they camped in caves and rock shelters because they left behind arrowheads and spear points. They may have hunted mastodon and caribou. About 12,000 years ago, the climate continued to warm and the land was covered with forests similar to those that are still there today. These forests provided acorns, hickory nuts, chestnuts and beechnuts and attracted large numbers of deer and elk. Sometime between 3,000 and 900 BC, natives began to cultivate plants such as squash and gourds, and could therefore depend upon a regular food supply. This caused the native population to increase, and groups of nomadic hunters began to settle into larger villages.

During the next stage, known as the Woodland period, natives began to make pottery, develop agriculture, construct burial mounds, and live in large, permanent towns. Between 900 and 1600 AD, natives learned to cultivate corn and beans, and the population increased again. It was at this time that groups of natives began to battle each other for territory and develop tribal identity. Archaeologists have found elaborate pottery, and personal items like combs, pipes and jewelry which demonstrate the complexity of these native societies.

The first Europeans to explore the area were led by Hernando de Soto in 1541 as part of de Soto’s futile search for gold and silver. Two later expeditions led by Juan Pardo introduced firearms and deadly European diseases to the native populations. Both of these prompted a sharp decline in the native tribes. Guns changed the way the natives hunted and battled with neighboring tribes, and made the native people dependent upon the colonial fur trade. Natives supplied deer and beaver hides to European traders in return for guns, rum and manufactured articles. No longer were the native tribes self-sufficient, and they began more and more influenced by European settlers and politics.

In the 150 years after de Soto first came to Tennessee, new native tribes moved into the area, defeating the less developed tribes. The Cherokee, the Chickasaw and the Shawnee tribes began to increase their influence in the area, but by 1715, the stronger Cherokee and Chickasaw had driven out the Shawnee.