tablished , sometimes bound together as tributaries to a powerful local ruler . The “ three sisters ” agriculture of corn , beans , and squash , was grown in areas cleared for planting by handmade stone tools . Hunters abandoned spears for the bow and arrow . This was the Native world encountered by John Smith during his visits to the Chesapeake .
Almost everything we know about the Woodland Period in the Loudoun Valley comes from carefully conducted archaeological excavations . The Natives of the area left no written record , and by the time Europeans arrived in the region , the original cultural groups had largely been displaced or dispersed by warfare and migration and decimated by disease . To get a glimpse at what this area would have looked like , we rely on the archaeological record .
During the Late Woodland Period ( 900-1650 AD ) the Loudoun Valley was occupied by numerous different groups . Since we have no record of what they called themselves , archaeologists differentiate them by the types of pottery and tools they made , their settlement patterns , burial customs , and so on . Three of the most significant in the region were the Montgomery Complex , Mason Island Complex , and Luray Complex . These groups overlapped in both time and space , occupying the middle Potomac Valley and surrounding areas from around 900 AD to 1400 AD . Although there were
many distinctions between these groups , they did share many common cultural traits . They all used similar styles of projectile points for hunting and war . Although the materials for making their pottery varied , they were similar in shape and shared common decorations . In addition to pottery and stone tools , archaeologists have also recovered decorative beads made from shells and bone , as well as personal items like tobacco pipes . Their villages consisted of wood and bark wigwams built in oval shapes , sometimes surrounded by wooden palisades for protection .
These cultural groups dominated the region for several centuries , but around 1450 their presence began to wane . Some
Above : A Native Virginian , as depicted by English colonist John White in the late 16th century . ( British Museum ); right : image of a palisaded village by English colonist John White . Many of the Late Woodland era villages in Northern Virginia would have looked similar . ( British Museum ) wander I FALL • winter 2022 45