Indian Artifacts

A majority of these Indian artifacts have been found in Sumner County. The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Shawnee and the Iroquois tribes used this area in Middle Tennessee as a neutral hunting ground. The Shawnee were allow to hunt in here “only until the dogwoods begin to bloom.” These Indian tribes were mobile and they did not live in tepees as the Indians of the west. They lived in temporary huts made of cane stalks stuck deep in the ground and “daubed” with a mixture of mud and long grasses. They followed the game that was abundant in this area and also were planters of crops. They were not great pottery makers, but they were beginning to make and use pottery as you can see some of the items that have been found during excavations. Many pieces are still covered with visible soot from the fire where they were baked in the fire pits.