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Ohio's Prehistoric Timeline

People have lived in the land we now call Ohio for more than 12,000 years! This timeline is an outline of the story of Ohio's past, from 13,000 B.C. until 1843, as related by archaeologists and historians. It is organized by time period and cultural tradition and includes a few selected events from world history for comparison with what was happening in Ohio.

Click on the timeline to see an enlarged view.

References and Suggested Reading

  • Barr, Daniel P., ed. The Boundaries Between Us: Natives and Newcomers Along the Frontiers of the Old Northwest Territory, 1750-1850. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2006.
  • Bond, Beverley W., Jr. The Foundations of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1941.
  • Cayton, Andrew. Ohio: The History of a People. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2002.
  • Emerson, T.E., McElrath, D.L. , and Fortier, A. C. , eds. Late Woodland Societies: Tradition and Transformation Across the Midcontinent. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000.
  • Hurt, R. Douglas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996.
  • Knepper, George. Ohio and Its People. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2003.
  • O'Donnell, James H., III. Ohio's First Peoples. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2004.
  • Prufer, Olaf H., S.E. Pedde, and R.S. Meindle, editors. Archaic Transitions in Ohio and Kentucky Prehistory. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2001.
  • Ricky, Donald B., ed. Encyclopedia of Ohio Indians. St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers, Inc., 1998.
  • Struever, S., and F. Antonelli. Koster: Americans in Search of Their Prehistoric Past. New York: Holton New American Library, 1979.

Time Periods

Citation

"Ohio's Prehistoric Timeline", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1887

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