During the earliest part of this Paleo-Indians period, an ice sheet covered the portion of North America above the Ohio River. Brasstown Bald probably had a permanent ice cap, while permafrost characterized its upper elevations. No evidence of glaciers has been found. The valleys around Brasstown Bald would have been similar in appearance to those near the mountains of New England and Southern Quebec today.
This Late Sub-Boreal Period evolved into an Isothermal Period in which northern and southern plant species grew in proximity. Vegetation grew throughout much of the year. This made possible the large mega-fauna populations. Around 10,000 years ago, the climate became sub-borial again then began a steady warming trend. When the permafrost melted, massive landslides occurred, which filled the valleys with soil from the tops of the mountains.
It is known that at the beginning of this period, large mammals such as mastodons, giant sloths, giant elks, giant bison, sabertooth cats, etc. roamed the river valleys of the region. Their fossils were found in Ladds Cave in Cartersville, GA. Mastodon teeth have been found in several valleys of northern Georgia. By 9,000 BC all the megafauna species in the region had disappeared.
No Paleo-Indian Period occupation sites within a 50 mile range of Track Rock Gap have been professionally studied. Artifacts associated with this period, principally Clovis and Dalton points, have been discovered in the region. It is impossible to discern any particular ethnic association with these artifacts. No skeletal remains from this time have been found in Georgia.
Archaic Period (c. 8,000 BC – c. 1000 BC)
The climate steadily warmed until by around 6,000 BC it became similar to that today. Perhaps the only difference from today in the vegetation would have been the presence of balsam fir and red spruce trees on Brasstown Bald and the preponderance of chestnut trees in the other forests. Chestnuts composed almost half the trees in the Georgia Mountains until the late 20th century, when they were wiped out by a European blight.
Early Archaic (c. 8,000 – c. 6,000 BC): Very few artifacts dating from the Early Archaic Period have been found in the Georgia Mountains. Stone weapons and tools from the period beginning around 6,000 are a bit more common, but apparently the human population was not significant. It is quite possible that throughout the Early and Middle Archaic Periods, extended families or tribal bands only entered the more mountainous regions to harvest nuts and wild blueberries, or hunt deer and bear.
Middle Archaic (c. 6,000 BC – c. 3,500 BC): Beginning around 3,500 BC humans in river valleys of the Georgia Mountains began domesticating some indigenous plants. People began to congregate seasonally at shoals on the rivers where fresh water mussels were abundant. The earliest mounds in the region developed as detritus and shell accumulated at the seasonal occupation sites.
The surface rocks of Brasstown Bald Mountain and Track Rock Gap are primarily soapstone. The oldest known soapstone bowl found in Georgia dated from around 2,200 BC. However, this is after the oldest known pottery in Georgia, which apparently was the first place in North America that pottery was made. It is quite likely that soapstone cookware and ornaments were made much earlier in the mountains.
Late Archaic (c. 3,500 BC – c. 1,000 BC): Major cultural changes began appearing in the Southern Highlands during this period, especially after around 1,600 AD. Gardens made more sedentary villages possible. Perhaps people rotated from permanent village sites seasonally. Pottery became increasingly abundant, even though many other regions of the continent did not even have pottery. Regional trade developed. Minerals such as quartz crystals, rubies, mica and red ocher from the Southern Highlands were found in Late Archaic settlement sites in other parts of Eastern North America. Seashells and ocean salt were traded to the mountains.
The ethnic composition of the Georgia Mountains during the latter half of the Late Archaic Period remains a major unanswered question. The Yuchi Indians claim to be the aboriginal people of the Southern Highlands and also linked to the Duck River Culture in central Tennessee and Adena Culture in the Ohio Valley. However, some of the petroglyphic boulders found at Track Rock Gap, plus other petroglyphic boulders found along trade routes east, southeast, south and southwest of Brasstown Bald Mountain are very similar to those found in County Kerry on the southeastern tip of Ireland. The Reinhardt Petroglyphic Boulder, found on a cliff overlooking the Upper Etowah River, is virtually identical to a boulder located on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry.
The Dingle Peninsula petroglyphs have been dated to the Bronze Age (c. 1,600 BC – 500 BC.) A possible cultural connection between the Georgia Mountains and Bronze Age Ireland is especially intriguing because the original occupants of Ireland were black haired, bronze skinned and according to Celtic tradition had faces very different that the Celtic invaders. The word “Kerry” is an Anglicization of the Gaelic word for “dark skinned.”
County Kerry was the last location where the aboriginal Irish lived. According to tradition they were expert sailors, who one day sailed away from Ireland to escape