Georgia Early History

First Early Inhabitants of Georgia

Early history examines the archaeological record that tells the story of the first inhabitants of Georgia. Learn about the history and culture of the first inhabitants, and what lessons it might teach us about the early history of Georgia.

Georgia First Early Inhabitants

• 1000 AD - 1550 AD - Moundbuilders occupied this area  until the first European settlers arrived.

The area we now call Georgia has been inhabited at least 10,000 years. The earliest known residents, the Paleo and Archaic people of B.C. 10,000 to B.C. 1,000, left little evidence of their communities beyond pottery fragments and spear points. Several burial mounds remain from the times of the Woodland people, who lived here between B.C. 1000 and A.D. 700. Larger mounds, such as those at Etowah near Cartersville, were constructed by the Mississippians of A.D. 700 to A.D. 1500.

The Moundbuilders were a group of Indians whose leaders lived in temples atop large earthen mounds. Their civilization was located in the northwest and southern portions of the state. The Moundbuilders occupied this area from 1000 AD until approximately 1550 AD when the first European settlers arrived.

Other Native American tribes had also established cultures throughout the Georgia region. The Creek Indians lived in the south of the Chattahoochee River and the Cherokee occupied the northern part of the state when Hernando de Soto, the Spanish explorer, first traveled parts of Georgia in 1540. By 1566, forts were built along the Atlantic coast, including the first in Georgia on St. Catherine's Island. However, no permanent settlements were established.