Mississippi Early History

First Early Inhabitants

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

• 12,000 years ago - A river is born. As glaciers from last Ice Age recede, flood waters carve channel of Mississippi.
• 10,000 to 9,000 years ago - First evidence of human habitation in Upper Mississippi region.
• 8,000 years ago - Hunters slaughter giant bison in what is now Itasca State Park, leaving evidence of their presence.
• 2,000 years ago - Hopewell (Mound building) culture dominates area. Burial mounds left at many sites along river, including what is now Mounds Park in St. Paul.

Before Europeans began to explore the area now known as Mississippi, three major Native American groups lived there. In the north and the eastern parts of the state were the Chickasaw. The Choctaw lived in the central part of territory and the Natchez lived in the southwest.

The Chickasaw were formidable warriors who lived in villages along streams and rivers. Men and women wore clothes made of buckskin in the summer and added buffalo robes in colder weather. Both men and women had long hair. The ultimate badge of honor for a Chickasaw warrior was a mantle, or robe, made out of swan feathers.

Groups of Chickasaw were generally independent of one another politically, but would organize together in times of war. Beginning during the American Revolution, Chickasaw lands in the Mississippi River area were confiscated because the Chickasaw supported the British. Eventually, because of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the Chickasaw were re-settled in southeast Oklahoma on land that belonged to their former neighbors, the Choctaw.

The Choctaw people’s legends say they originated from "Nanih Waya" (which means Protective Mound), a sacred hill near what is now Noxapter, Mississippi. Similar to the Chickasaw, the Choctaw were actually a loose confederation of clans or groups, each with its own village chief. Before they were relocated to Oklahoma, however, the Choctaw had developed their first Constitution, which served as a governing document for the entire tribe.