Woodland Indians

The Woodland Indians lived 2 - 3,000 years ago and archaeologists have discovered extensive relics :
  1. pottery containers
  2. great burial mounds with many exotic artifacts
  3. symbolism such as tracking the faces of the moon indicating they understood the concept
  of the equinox and soltice
  4. a tribal level society indicating people with prestige such as shamans were buried together
  in a high lying spot and others scattered in low lying areas
  5. clan organization showing they buried people with common ancestors along bloodlines

The Middle Woodland era was in the Greater Midwest and begins in Illinois and extends to New York.  They had trade networks. An oobsidian knife was found and obsidian is only found in Yellowstone. They had copper from upper Michigan.  They moved to what is now New Jersey,  no one knows why, but they have the same trade network.  They had cattail weaved houses which they rolled up and moved, leaving the tree-made shell.