History of the Choctaw People
Early History of the Choctaw People
These Middle Archaic projectile points from Colbert County are made from sandstone and chert. Often called "arrowheads" in popular writing, many of them were likely to have been used to tip spears, sometimes against other humans in warfare.
Hernando de Soto Expedition (1540)
On a quest for treasure, Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and a company of 600 men landed on what is now Tamp Bay; This marked the beginning of a journey that took them halfway across the continent-ruthlessly pillaging and killing thousands of Indigenous people. In October 1540, de Soto arrived at Mauvila (or Mabila), a Choctaw town, where a battle ensued with losses on both sides. De Soto encountered the Mississippi River before he died near Natchez in May 1542
Tristan de Luna y Arellano Expedition (1559-1561)
Tristan de Luna was directed to create a Spanish settlement on the Gulf Coast. Records from this expedition document multiple villages around Mobile Bay belonging to several of les petites nations (linguistically diverse tribal societies) that had settled there. While this historical period is difficult to reconstruct fully, there is evidence that many smaller groups were later adopted into the Choctaw tribe. Some even retained their original group and village.
Hernando de Doto (1497 - 1542)
Archaic Period (8,000 - 3,000 BC)
The Archaic Period reflects a time of mobility and a hunter-gatherer lifestyle Evidence indicates that people lived in mostly egalitarian social organizations. Sites excavated from this period uncovered notched and stemmed projectile points, containers of stone and pottery, and polished stone artifacts.
Woodland Period (3,000 BC - 1000 CE)
The Woodland period is characterized by increasing cultural complexity. Archeological evidence collected from the Black Warrior and middle Tombigbee River valleys of central and western Alabama deepen our understanding of the people who lived there. We have learned about their seasonal migration patterns, population fluctuations, and food sources.
Mississippian Period (800 - 1500 CE)
This period marked a shift to permanent residency and the development of a Ceremonial Complex, with earthen mounds, sophisticated artistic forms, and recurrent motifs. The Moundville site in central Alabama is the second largest pre-colonial construction north of Mexico. Similarly, the Lebbub Creek site in the middle Tombigbee Valley wasn’t as large, but some scholars have identified it as a ancestral Choctaw settlement because of its location and evidence of familiarChoctaw cultural practices.
The descendants of the people living at Lubbub Creek, along with some of those from Moundville and the Pensacola, Plaquemine, and Pearl River Mississippian groups, are believed by anthropologists to have formed a Choctaw confederation in east-central Mississippi and west-central Alabama before 1700 CB.
Moundville Archeological Site in Moundville, AL
Les Petites Nations of Mobile Bay
Mobilians - Lived on the Mobile River, approximately 5 miles below the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers at the time of intial contact with the French and Spanish. By 1730, they had moved to the mouth of the Mobile River, where they stayed until 1763, when they disappeared from the documentary record.
Tomés [Tohmés, Tomehs] and Naniabas - After the Mobilians, the Tomés were the next most populous of the Pete nations that were also present in the Mobile area at initial European contact. There were two groups (or villages) of them, whcih were known as the Big Tohomes and the Little Tohomes or Naniabas. They continued to live there until they disappeared from the documentary recorded in the early 1770’s
Taensas [Taensas, Tensaws] - At initial contact with the French, Taensas lived in the lower Mississippi River valey north of New Orleans, but by 1715, they had moved all their people to the Mobile area. They remained their until 1764, when they migrated west to the Red River.
Timeline
click each box to learn more about the Choctaw Time Period
Early History of the
Choctaw People
8,000 BC - 1700 CE
European
Encounters
1700 - 1784