Culture

Overview

People lived in Virginia for about 17,000 years before European contact. The native people had no written language and recorded their events through storytelling and symbolic drawings. Through patient work in the field and in the lab, archaeologists have reconstructed some of the history and lifeways of these first people by uncovering buried clues of their unwritten past.

Discover the many ways Virginia’s First People expressed themselves and their culture by visiting the following links.

• Artifacts: Learn how archeologists have learned from remaining traces of past human culture, technology, and behavior
• Language: Learn about the three commonly used native languages – Algonquian, Siouan and Iroquoian
• Religion: Discover some of the common religious practices
• Government: Explore the chiefdom structure many first people followed
• Economic Systems: Learn about the trading culture and system of commerce used, including the various natural resources
• Occupations: See how the varied occupations created by necessity, natural resourcing, and trade shaped native culture
• Arts: Learn about the rich history of pottery and the innovations utilized in modern times
• Housing: Discover the resourcefulness of the first people and how they constructed their homes
• Clothing: Learn how the Powhatan people dressed, including what materials they used to fashion their garments