From Ohio History Central
3000 B.C. to 500 B.C.
The Late Archaic period (3000 B.C.E. to 500 B.C.E.) saw great numbers people living in larger social groups in the Ohio country. Many of these people adopted a more sedentary lifestyle settling down in villages for much of the year. They continued to hunt and fish, but nuts became a staple of their diet and other resources, such as shellfish, became more important.
Many Late Archaic groups began to trade with people in distant lands for exotic materials, such as copper and sea shells. These special ornaments may have belonged to leaders who were the most respected hunters or healers. When these people died, the objects were buried with them as symbols of the high status they had achieved over the course of their lives.
- Lepper, Bradley T. Ohio Archaeology: An Illustrated Chronicle of Ohio's Ancient American Indian Cultures. Wilmington, Ohio, Orange Frazer Press, 2005.