Idaho Early History

First Early Inhabitants of Idaho

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

Idaho First Early Inhabitants

• 8,000 to 14,000 years ago - Paleo-Indian big game-hunters, with Clovis (11,500 to 12,500 B.P), Folsom (10,500 to 11,000 B.P), and Plano (8,000 to 10,500 B.P) cultures, live in what is now Idaho.
• 200 to 8,000 years ago - Archaic-Indian culture, with permanent houses (5,000 years ago) and bows and arrows and pottery (300 to 1,500 years ago) coming into use., to present.
• 200 to 260 years ago - Shoshone bands obtain horses for transportation but are decimated by smallpox spread from European sources.

Prior to the arrival of European and Mexican explorers, scientists estimate that around 8,000 Native Americans lived in the area we now call Idaho. These people can be divided into two distinct cultural groups: the Plateau and the Great Basin.

The Nez Percé, Shoshone, and other Native American Indian tribes moved into Idaho during the 1700s. One group lived along the Snake River Plains, and the other in Northern Idaho. The Snake River Plains Natives evolved into the Bannock and Shoshone tribes, while the Northern Idaho Natives evolved into the Nez Perce and other tribes. The Shoshone's settled throughout the mountains and Snake River Plains of Idaho, and the other mountains and plains in states near South East Idaho.

Plateau tribes included the Nez Perce, Coeur D’Alene, Flathead, Kutenai, Palus, Cayuse, and Kalispel, and these groups lived in the forests, prairies and along the rivers. About half their diet was fish, and the other half came from large game animals and roots. These groups interacted with Plains tribes and eventually came to be dependent upon annual buffalo hunts, and adopted many Plains Indians traits.

The Great Basin (or desert) tribes included the Shoshone-Bannock and the Northern Paiunte. These groups lived in desert regions and lived on nuts, seeds, roots, cactus, insects and small game animals and birds. These tribes were also influenced by Plains tribes, and by 1800 had adopted some of their customs, including the use of horses for hunting.