First Tennesseans
Prehistoric Indian cultures existed in Tennessee through four evolving periods, beginning about 15,000 years ago, peaking between 800 and 1650 A.D. with the Mississippian people, and ending with the ascendancy of such modern tribes as the Cherokee and Chickasaw.
Artifacts from the Paleolithic, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods are on exhibit. The museum even has a display of bones from a mastodon that roamed Tennessee 10,000 years ago.
Other artifacts of note include:
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A steatite shaman's medicine tube;
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Thruston and Hutcherson pictographs, two of the most important discoveries of late prehistoric politico-religious art found in Tennessee; and
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Dover flint mace that was a symbol of power for a Mississippian leader some 500-700 years ago.