3000 B.C. The Middle Archaic Era Living outdoors much of their lives, prehistoric people experienced the power of a thunderstorm as acutely as any of the animals sharing the woods around them. When blackening skies flashed with terrifying lightning and creeks and rivers swelled and overflowed their banks, human beings found their own meanings for the turmoil. For them, the waters, skies, and even the rocks beneath their feet were alive with invisible spirits susceptible to the same unpredictable mood swings as human beings. The fiercer the storm, the angrier these spirits were perceived to be. This animism rigidly guided human behavior for a time, fostering intricate rituals and taboos based on a deep reverence for the world.
Religion is only one of many aspects of prehistoric life to come into clearer focus in recent years.
A much vaguer sketch existed of North American inhabitants before European occupation until the federal government's push for cultural resources investigations intensified in the 1970's. Particularly uncharted was the story of those who occupied parts of the Southeast in the Middle Archaic period 8000 to 5000 years ago. The late Joseph Caldwell, noted University of Georgia archeology professor, was among the early few who contributed to knowledge about Middle Archaic people in Georgia and South Carolina. The Piedmont is the land between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Coastal Plain, an area about 80 miles wide. But before quartz became hunters' frequent choice for their spear-points, there were new visitors, perhaps from many miles away, to the upper Savannah River valley, who chose other stones for their tools and weapons.