Evolution

-Eocene-

-Miocene-

The Delaware Bay
600 BC-1500 AD

Cooling trend and increased moisture in North America		Present boundaries of Delaware Bay form		Vast tracts of trees and a great variety of plants		Most species as we know them today; huge flocks of migrating birds		More complex societies form; trade develops among tribes

600 BC
By 600 BC, there is evidence that a more complex society has developed. Elaborate funerals are taking place on Delmarva. Excavation of graves from that period uncovered nonlocal artifacts indicating trade with the north.

100 AD
By about 2,000 years ago, the present boundaries of the Delaware Bay became established.

900 AD
This widespread trade slows over the next 15 centuries and many of the Peninsula’s Indian settlements fragment into smaller and simpler communities. The Woodland Indians were semi-nomadic, constructing their villages near a river or a wooded swamp in winter and would move to the coast in the summer. During the centuries that follow, the peninsula’s river and estuaries teem with flora and fauna.