Glacial Kame culture facts for kids
The Glacial Kame culture was a group of ancient people who lived in parts of North America a very long time ago. They lived in what is now southern Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. These people were around from about 8000 BC to 1000 BC. They are called "Glacial Kame" because they buried their dead on top of special gravel hills. These hills were left behind by glaciers.
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Who Were the Glacial Kame People?
A Look at Their Ancient Home
The Glacial Kame culture lived in a large area of North America. This included parts of modern-day Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. They lived during a time called the Archaic period. This was a very old time, long before written history. They were around for many thousands of years, from about 8000 BC to 1000 BC.
Why "Glacial Kame"?
The name "Glacial Kame" comes from how these people buried their dead. They would bury people on top of hills made of gravel and sand. These hills are called "kames." Glaciers left these kames behind when they melted long ago. It was a special way they honored their dead.
What They Left Behind
When archaeologists find Glacial Kame sites, they often discover interesting things. Two common types of items are shells from ocean animals and tools made from copper. This copper is called "float copper." It's copper that was found naturally, not mined. These items tell us a lot about their lives and what was important to them.
Important Discoveries
The Ridgeway Site
The most important discovery spot for the Glacial Kame culture is the Ridgeway Site. It's located near the village of Ridgeway, Ohio in Hardin County, Ohio. This site was found in 1856. Workers building a railroad found it while digging for gravel. The person in charge wrote a detailed report about what they found. This report is still very helpful for archaeologists today.
Archaeologists in Ohio learned about the Glacial Kame culture early on. For a long time, it was one of the few ancient cultures they knew about in the state. Other known sites were along Lake Erie or large earthworks made by the Hopewell tradition.
Pottery and Tools
For a while, people thought the Glacial Kame culture didn't make pottery. But this idea changed when basic pottery was found at the Zimmerman site. This site is near Roundhead, Ohio.
Archaeologists don't often find many "projectile points" at Glacial Kame sites. Projectile points are things like arrowheads or spear points. Some important sites have not had any at all. The few points that have been found look very different from each other. This suggests that different groups of Glacial Kame people made their tools in their own ways. This variety can even be seen in the main areas where they lived in Ohio. For example, one large site in Logan County only had three points, and each one was unique.
