Holocene

11,000 BC - Today

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

 

The Delaware Bay | 600 BC-1500 AD

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.