Monongahela Indians

1. Monongahela Indians Jordan Yost, Wes Rea, Lyle Bartlett, Josh Kent

2. Existence • Lived in Monongahela River Valley in South West Pennsylvania and Ohio • From 3000-1620 AD • Lived in tribes of 100-150 people • Only lived about 30 years

3. Housing • Lived in circular huts that were arranged in a circular formation around a central plaza • Dug storage and trash pits into the ground • Had hearths in the center of all the houses • Some villages were surrounded by barricades to keep intruders out

4. Food Gathering • Practiced agriculture of corn, maize, beans, squash, sunflower, and other plants • Hunted deer, elk, bear, and turkey with a bow and arrow • Had to constantly move for food since the animals would became sparse and the soil would become depleted

5. Craftsmanship • Used stone tools • Bow and arrow was main hunting tool • Made shell tempered pottery • Made beads that were used in trade • Had stone and ceramic smoking pipes

6. Trade • Traded fur to the Iroquoian tribes in the lower Great Lakes • They were the middleman in the marine shell trade from the Chesapeake Bay

7. Ultimate Demise • They were at war within their own tribes • Came in contact with European people so they came in contact with disease • Food sources were constantly disappearing • There is no actual evidence of a catastrophic event but they still died out

8. Burials • Women and children were buried with marine shell which was embroidered on cloth or headdresses • Men were buried with personal adornment of shell, bone , and stone • As well as pipes and medicine pouches or bundle • Children were buried within the homes but adults were not