THE WILLIAM S. WEBB MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Teacher’s Pack

Thank you for your interest in the William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology at the
University of Kentucky. While we have many great educational activities and displays to offer,
we only have a relatively short amount of time to spend with you and your students during your
tour. This packet provides basic information that will be covered during the tour, activities, and
literature sources that can help you prepare your students so that their learning experience during
the tour might be enhanced. This packet also provides information about other services provided
by the Museum and the Kentucky Archaeological Survey (KAS) that are geared toward
education about anthropology, archaeology, and past peoples of Kentucky. Also included in this
packet is information regarding other tours available on campus and available parking. We hope
that you find this information helpful, but if you have suggestions or questions, please feel free
to contact the Museum at (606)257-8208.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND KENTUCKY’S PREHISTORIC PAST
While other types of anthropological tours may be arranged, the tour most frequently
given to schoolchildren is about archaeology and past peoples of Kentucky. Basic information
about the lifeways, social organization, technology, diet, and economy of the prehistoric people
of this region will be discussed. Culture history refers to the study of culture through time to
see just how these cultural characteristics have changed. Kentucky’s culture history is divided
into five major periods: Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, Late Prehistory (Mississippian
and Fort Ancient), and the Historical Period.

Archaeology is one branch of anthropology, the discipline devoted to the study of
human beings. Specifically, archaeology is the study of past cultures through their material
remains. Archaeologists rely on the items that people left behind and other evidence of behavior
to help them interpret past lifeways. Material remains are referred to as artifacts, which may
consist of stone projectile points (commonly called arrowheads), fragments of pottery vessels,
bones from animals that were eaten, or shell beads that would have been part of a necklace, to
name a few. Through many years of research, archaeologists have developed a sort of timeline of
Kentucky’s prehistory and early history that allows us to better understand what these past
cultures were like and how they changed through time. The following is a brief account of five of
the major points of interest of each of the five periods of Kentucky’s culture history as
developed through the study of archaeology.

Paleoindian Period (ca. 12,500-8,500 B.C.)
1. Paleoindians were the first people to arrive in Kentucky.
2. Very few people lived here during this time.
3. The climate was colder and moister than it is today.
4. The Paleoindians were nomadic, meaning that they moved around frequently and did not
settle in one place for very long. They hunted many types of animals, including some that are
now extinct (mammoths, mastodons), and gathered various plant foods.
5. Most of the artifacts from this period consist of chipped stone spearpoints and other stone
tools. Other cultural remains have since deteriorated or simply did not preserve as well as the
stone artifacts.

Archaic Period (ca. 8,500-1,000 B.C.)
1. This is the longest period in Kentucky prehistory; it lasted about 7,500 years.
2. Kentucky’s climate became more like that of today.
3. The atlatl (spearthrower) and groundstone tools were developed during this time. The atlatl
was a device that acted as an extension of a person’s arm, giving the hunter more power and
greater accuracy for throwing spears. Groundstone tools refer to artifacts made of stone that
were shaped by grinding with other stones, rather than by chipping, as was the technique
used to make many of their other stone tools. Mortars and pestles are examples of
groundstone tools that were used to process nuts and other foods. The mortar was held in the
hand and was used to crush the nut against the pestle. Axes were also groundstone tools
made during this time that would have been used to cut down trees.
4. Archaic peoples had “home” territories in which they hunted, gathered, and fished. They
were still mobile, like their Paleoindian ancestors, but they generally moved with the seasons
and stayed within their territories.
5. Like their Paleoindian predecessors, Archaic peoples were nomadic and would have lived in
huts that were easy to construct and did not have to last for long periods of time.
Unfortunately, this also meant that these structures did not survive well in the archaeological
record. For the most part, we can only assume what their houses might have looked like.

Woodland Period (ca. 1,000 B.C.-A.D. 900)
1. Manufacture of pottery begins during this period and the bow and arrow are developed.
2. People constructed earthen mounds for the burial of certain individuals. They also built
square and circular earthworks that would have been used in certain ceremonies or rituals.
3. During the Middle Woodland period (ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 500) they traded in non-local
goods that were used for ritual purposes (some of these items can be seen in Case No. 5 on
the Adena—see the Program for Self-Guided Tour for more information)
4. They began to garden part-time during the Woodland period. This meant that they were not
quite as reliant on gathered wild plants as they had been during the Archaic and Paleoindian
periods.
5. Woodland peoples were becoming more sedentary, which means that they lived in one place
for longer periods of time, rather than moving frequently like their Archaic and Paleoindian
ancestors.

Late Prehistory (ca. A.D. 900-1650)
Mississippian and Fort Ancient Cultures
1. By this time, people were no longer just part-time gardeners; they had become full-time
farmers. Since farmers have to spend so much time working with their crops, they could not
move around as much as people once had. They became more sedentary than the Woodland
peoples and began living in permanent towns and villages. Corn, or maize, was one of the
most important crops.
2. Two regional farming societies (Mississippian and Fort Ancient) were present in Kentucky,
with different social and political organization and settlement patterns. Mississippians lived
in western and southern Kentucky, while Fort Ancient peoples inhabited the eastern and
central parts of the state.
3. Large, flat-topped earthen temple mounds were built in western and southern Kentucky; low
earthen burial mounds were built in central and eastern Kentucky.
4. Late prehistoric peoples developed extensive trading networks of shell, pipes, and stone hoes
with Southeastern and Midwestern peoples.

Contact Period/Historical Period (ca. A.D. 1650-present)
1. History refers to the time period for which we have written records and accounts.
Prehistory is the time period that precedes history; our understanding of prehistory is
dependent upon people like archaeologists who can interpret past cultures without the use of
written records, since the native peoples of North America did not have a known system of
writing. In Kentucky, the historical period began with the arrival of the Europeans.
2. Contact Period refers to the time when European settlers first came into contact with the
native inhabitants of the place we now call Kentucky. This period began around A.D. 1650.
3. During this time there was an exchange of ideas, technology (e.g. guns, metal), material goods
(trade beads, gun flints, clothing), and cultural attributes between the settlers and the native
peoples. Some of these exchanges were voluntary, while others were forced.
4. This was the time when the myth of the Dark and Bloody Ground was begun. This myth
contended that native peoples never lived permanently in Kentucky, and that it was simply a
territory over which Indians fought, but never claimed. European settlers and land speculators
had a lot to gain from perpetuating this myth; if there were no recognized permanent native
inhabitants and if the land was thought to be unclaimed by native groups, then there was
nothing to stop these newcomers from claiming the territory of Kentucky for themselves. As
was the case throughout the rest of this nation, the land of Kentucky’s native peoples was
stolen. It is unfortunate that the myth of the Dark and Bloody Ground continues as a means
of rationalizing this theft.
5. Just as descendants of European settlers continue to live in Kentucky today, so do
descendants of the state’s first true inhabitants: Native Americans.

Other Educational Programs/Educational Information

William S. Webb Museum: In addition to museum tours, the Museum has a series of Artifact
Loan Cases available for use by teachers and school groups in Fayette County and nearby
regions. The Loan Cases are sturdy aluminum carriers containing sets of authentic prehistoric
Kentucky Native American artifacts selected from the Museum's education collections. Each
Loan Case contains a comprehensive Teacher's Guide with descriptions of the material, method
of manufacture, and use of each artifact, plus additional information about the customs, games,
foods, houses, and folklore of Kentucky's first peoples. Numerous suggestions are provided for
group and individual activities to prepare a class for a field trip to visit the Museum. A set of
35mm color slides, "What is a Museum?," is enclosed with a written script that discusses in
simple terms the functions served by museums, and how they educate us about our rich cultural
and national heritage. Contact the museum assistant at (606)257-8208.

W. S. Webb Museum of Anthropology
211 Lafferty Hall
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0024
Phone: (859) 257-8208
Fax: (859) 323-3686

W. S. Webb Museum of Anthropology
and Office of State Archaeology
1020A Export St.
Lexington, KY 40506-9854
Phone: (859) 257-8208
Fax: (859) 323-3686

Kentucky Archaeological Survey: KAS maintains the Kentucky Archaeology Education
Network, which serves as a clearinghouse of information and resources for teachers and other
educators about Kentucky prehistory, native peoples, and the science of prehistoric and historic
archaeology. Resource lists are sent annually to teachers on the Network mailing list (call for a
form if you wish to be added to the list). Network members can borrow listed resources from the
two resource boxes maintained by the Network. An archaeologist can visit your classroom to talk
about Kentucky prehistory, how archaeology is done, or other topics dealing with Kentucky’s
past. Staff also can conduct hands-on artifact activities in your classroom (depending on the class
size, a small fee may be charged). Opportunities to work with archaeologists on field projects and
in the laboratory are available. Lab tours also can be scheduled.

Regular Hours are: M-F: 8-4:30

Kentucky Archaeological Survey
1020A Export St.
Lexington, KY 40506-9854
Phone: (859) 257-5173
Fax: (859) 323-1968