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When the English arrived on the eastern coast of North America, they found many people already living there. The Virginia tidewater tribes had been built into an empire known as the Powhatan Confederacy. This was unusual for eastern woodland Indians whose normal political unit was the tribe of a few hundred people. The Powhatan Empire consisted of 14,000 subjects and 3,200 warriors.
This
wooden effigy was carved and is used ceremonially by native
Virginians today.
Along
the banks of the James River, a small Powhatan village has
been reconstructed, showing the native materials used to
build housing, clothing, tools and dugout canoes.
Adult
life started early for Powhatan youths. Girls would marry
around age 12 and boys by age 14. Traditionally women did
most of the farming as well as preparing the food. The girls
we see here working by the fire are not Native Americans.
While their clothing is accurate, their hair color is not.
Virginia's
native Americans developed agriculture around 1000 A.D.
Their main crops were corn, squash, beans, pumpkins, and
other vegetables. They also gathered nuts and berries,
hunted and fished.
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