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Bering - Mankind came from Asia to America in the Pleistocene age ( = Ice Age) via the Bering street land bridge during the
Wisconsin . These Paleo-Siberians who went there were the first Indians. The first artifacts of this culture date back to 50,000 to 10,000
B.C. About 3,000 to 1,000 B.C., long after the submersion of the Bering land bridge Eskimos and Aleuts came with wooden dugouts and
skin boats to America.
Lithic-Indian - Lithic Indians first did not have the knowledge of stone points for their spears. This age was called the
Pre-Projectile-Point stage (about 50,000 B.C. to about 25,000 B.C.). The hunters probably used fire to harden the tips of their spears,
but their did not remain any spears. After 25,000 B.C. new techniques appeared among Lithic Indians, and workable stone (flint, chert
and obsidian) was used to make cutting tools and the spear points which were very important for hunting.
Archaic-Indians (Foraging Indians) - This time lasted from about 6,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C. and is characterized by Indians hunting
and trapping small game, fishing and gathering of edible plants. The Archaic-Indian tribes became more localized than the Lithic Indian
ones and archaeologists even found some permanent Archaic sites. More materials were used during this time and food was stored in
baskets and skin containers. Archaic Indians were the first North Americans to craft wooden boats and domesticate the dog. In this
time they also started to make ornaments.
In general it is difficult to find a system classifications for these periods because each of the Indian groups developed in their own way
with different habits, progress and success. This makes the study of prehistoric Indians confusing.
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