First Peoples (13,000 BCE to 1760 CE)
The first peoples of Tennessee arrived at the end of the Ice Age. Groups adapted as the climate changed, shifting from small hunting and gathering bands to complex farming societies. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers became the first Europeans to encounter the native peoples living in Tennessee. Cultures collided as more Europeans continued coming into the area. Learn how the First Peoples of Tennessee lived, about their culture, and how they defended their homelands against the European encroachment.