Native American era History of Pittsburgh

native americans lived near forks of ohio thousands of years. these important villages, c. 1750s, , earlier sites.

for thousands of years, native americans inhabited region allegheny , monongahela join form ohio. paleo-indians conducted hunter-gatherer lifestyle in region perhaps 19,000 years ago. meadowcroft rockshelter, archaeological site west of pittsburgh, provides evidence these first americans lived in region date. during adena culture followed, mound builders erected large indian mound @ future site of mckees rocks, 3 miles (5 km) head of ohio. indian mound, burial site, augmented in later years members of hopewell culture.

by 1700 iroquois confederacy, 5 nations-based south of great lakes in present-day new york, held dominion on upper ohio valley, reserving hunting grounds. other tribes included lenape (known english delaware), had been displaced eastern pennsylvania european settlement, , shawnee, had migrated south. arrival of european explorers, these tribes , others had been devastated european infectious diseases, such smallpox, measles, influenza, , malaria, had no immunity.

1680 british map of western pennsylvania, darlington collection

in 1748, when conrad weiser visited logstown, 18 miles (29 km) downriver pittsburgh, counted 789 warriors gathered: iroquois included 163 seneca, 74 mohawk, 35 onondaga, 20 cayuga, , 15 oneida. other tribes 165 lenape, 162 shawnee, 100 wyandot, 40 tisagechroami, , 15 mohican.

shannopin s town, seneca tribe village on east bank of allegheny, home village of queen aliquippa. deserted after 1749. sawcunk, on mouth of beaver river, lenape (delaware) settlement , principal residence of shingas, chief of theirs. chartier s town shawnee town established in 1734 peter chartier. kittanning lenape , shawnee village on allegheny, estimated 300–400 residents.