Editing Petersburg, Virginia (section)

=== Indigenous peoples ===
Archaeological excavations at [[Pocahontas Island, Virginia|Pocahontas Island]] found evidence of a prehistoric [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] settlement dated to 6,500 [[Common Era|BCE]], the early third of the [[Archaic period in the Americas|Archaic Period]] (8,000 to 1,000 BCE). Succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years before European exploration and colonization.

When the English arrived in Virginia in 1607, the region was occupied by the ''[[Appamatuck]]'', a significant tribe of the [[Powhatan Confederacy]]. They were governed by a ''[[weroance]]'', King ''Coquonosum'', and by his sister, Queen ''Oppussoquionuske''. This [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking people later had a town at Rohoic Creek (formerly known as ''Rohowick'' or Indian Towne Run). Present-day Petersburg developed to the east.