Earliest Settlers
The Smoky Mountains attract more than 10 million visitors each year. Most visitors to the Smoky Mountains stay a few days, then move on, that’s pretty much what the very first visitors did as well, only the way they arrived was somewhat different, instead of automobiles they came on foot, nearly 10 thousand years ago.
Paleo Indians first arrived in North America nearly 30 thousand years ago; 20 thousand years later they were in what is now known as East Tennessee. Paleo Indians were just like you and I, mostly, they were organized in what is called a “band” meaning a group which would be comprised of about 20 to 30 people, probably all related and consisting of 2 to 3 extended families.
At first, these earliest visitors were mostly wonderers following the herds that fed them. Then around 8 thousand years ago, they evolved into a new cultural group, Archaic Indians. They settled here, in the Smokies region and developed a respect for the land. The animals, plants, and the environment were all very important to these people and they were very personally involved in all of it. By the time they settled in this area, they had a very well developed religion by which they maintained a relationship with those forces that surrounded them and affected their lives.
The Atlatl (spear thrower) was a tool developed and used for hunting by these Archaic Indians until the development of the bow and arrow sometime around the time of Christ.
The next cultural advancement came along around 3 thousand years ago, these were the Woodland Indians. These were the first to grow corn; they made advancements in pottery and were the first to begin using a new weapon, the bow and arrow. These Woodland Indians were responsible for burial mounds throughout East Tennessee, some of which can be found around the University of Tennessee. These Woodland Indians were followed by the Mississippians which were an even more evolved or advanced culture which flourished here beginning about a thousand years ago until around the 16th century.
All that is really known about these people is what we have slowly learned and even theorized by studying things they left behind.