A. Pre-Colonial Era

Mississippian village 800 years before French, Spanish or English arrived.

Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Early Native Americans in South Carolina | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

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Grades: 4 8

Eight hundred years before French, Spanish, or English arrived to challenge them, a Native American culture, called "Mississippian" by cultural anthropologists, flourished in the southeastern part of...

Native Americans Hunting | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

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Grades: 4

These Native American men are hunting, wearing deer hides as disguises. Native American societies in the southeastern United States region were matrilineal: kinship was traced through the mother's...

Native American Pottery | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

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Grades: 4 8

One of the important skills of Native American women was their ability to make the clay pots that stored and cooked food. These were built up by coiling ropes of clay to form the shape, then smoothed...

Ribaut's Column | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

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Ribaut's Column. A sketch of the column built by the Native Americans to honor French explorer Jean Ribaut. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Fort San Filipe | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

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Grades: 4

The Spanish made two attempts to settle a permanent community in South Carolina. The first in 1526, led by a wealthy lawyer from Santo Domingo, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, failed in less than a year. The...

The Spanish Treasure Fleet | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

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Grades: 4

The Spanish treasure fleet sailed past the coast of Carolina en route to Spain from Mexico and the West Indies. Courtesy of the United States Marine Corps, Parris Island Museum.

French Outpost, Port Royal Island | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

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Grades: 4

The English were not the first Europeans to send explorers among the Carolina coastal tribes. First the Spanish, then the French, had preceded them. This 16th century engraving is of the French...

Archaeological Excavation, Parris Island, SC | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

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How do we know about the people who lived in South Carolina so long ago, whether natives or Europeans? We have a few paintings and drawings, such as those made by John White and Jacques LeMoyne de...