Editing Vermont (section)

===Pre-colonial===
[[File:Abenakis.jpg|thumb|left|[[Watercolor painting|Watercolor]] of [[Abenaki]] couple, 1700s]]
The first humans to inhabit what is now Vermont arrived about 11,000 years ago, as the [[glacier]]s of the [[Last Glacial Period|last ice age]] receded.<ref name="geographic">{{cite web |title=Landscape Lenses |url=https://www.uvm.edu/place/burlingtongeographic/lenses/prehistory.php |publisher=Burlington Geographic |access-date=March 15, 2023}}</ref> Small groups of [[hunter-gatherer]]s followed herds of [[caribou]], [[elk]], and [[mastodon]] through the grasslands of the [[Champlain Valley]]. At that time much of region was mixed [[tundra]]. The oldest human artifacts are 11,000 year old [[projectile point]]s found along the eastern shore of the saltwater [[Champlain Sea]].<ref name="arch_review">{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Peter |url=https://outside.vermont.gov/agency/ACCD/ACCD_Web_Docs/HP/Resources_Rules/Digging_Into_Archaeology/Archaeological_Review_of_Vermont's_Past.pdf |title=An Archaeological View of Vermont's Past |last2=Kelley |first2=Lauren |publisher=State of Vermont |location=Montpelier |access-date=March 15, 2023}}</ref> This time is known as the [[Paleo-Indians|Paleo-Indian]] period.

By about 8,000 years ago, the Champlain Sea had become the freshwater [[Lake Champlain]] and the climate was more [[Temperate climate|temperate]], bringing increased diversity of flora and fauna.<ref name="arch_review" /> This was the beginning of the [[Archaic period (North America)|Archaic period]]. By about 4,300 years ago, the forests were as they are today.<ref name="geographic" /> Large mammals underwent extinction or migrated north, and the human population became reliant on smaller game and plants.<ref name="geographic" /> People developed fishing equipment and stone cookware, and practiced woodworking and food storage.<ref name="arch_review" /> They had time for travel, leisure, and performed elaborate ceremonies.<ref name="arch_review" /> Most of the state's territory was occupied by the [[Abenaki]], south-western parts were inhabited by the [[Mohicans]] and south-eastern borderlands by the [[Pocomtuc|Pocumtuc]] and the [[Pennacook]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vermont Indian Tribes and Languages |url=https://www.native-languages.org/vermont.htm |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=www.native-languages.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Swanton |first=John Reed |title=The Indian Tribes of North America |pages=18–19}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=September 2024}}

About 3,000 years ago, the [[Woodland period]] began.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vermont |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Vermont |access-date=March 15, 2023 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> Food was increasingly sourced from domesticated plants, including [[maize]], [[bean]]s, and [[Cucurbita|squash]]. Agriculture meant a change from dispersed hunter-gatherering towards the establishment of larger settlements.<ref name="geographic" /> Pottery was made from local [[clay]], and tools were made from [[chert]] found along the [[Winooski River]]. Canoes were used for fishing and travel.<ref name="arch_review" />

The arrival of European explorers in the 1600s marked the end of the Woodland period and the beginning of the [[Abenaki]]. At that time, there were about 10,000 Indigenous people in what is now Vermont, of whom an estimated 75–90% were killed by European diseases like [[smallpox]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Abenaki & The Europeans |url=https://vermonthistoryexplorer.org/the-abenaki-and-the-europeans |access-date=May 21, 2023 |website=Vermont History Explorer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bushnell |first=Mark |date=October 27, 2018 |title=Devastating epidemics European diseases reached Vermont before settlers did |url=https://www.timesargus.com/devastating-epidemics-european-diseases-reached-vermont-before-settlers-did/article_1747be12-38c6-567b-b980-1340f0a33c8d.html |work=Barre Montpelier Times Argus|access-date=May 21, 2023}}</ref> Survivors moved north to [[New France]] or assimilated with European settlers.<ref name="arch_review" /> Today, there are no [[Indian reservation]]s in Vermont. In {{As of|2021|bare=yes}}, 0.2% of live births in Vermont were to American Indian people.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Vital Statistics Reports: Births: Final Data for 2021 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr72/nvsr72-01.pdf |publisher=NVSS |access-date=March 15, 2023}}</ref>

Nearly all information about the [[Pre-Columbian era]] of Vermont is from found artifacts. About 750 [[Prehistory|prehistoric]] sites are known in Vermont,<ref>{{cite web |title=Vermont Archaeology Heritage Center |url=https://accd.vermont.gov/historic-preservation/archaeology-center |publisher=State of Vermont |access-date=March 15, 2023}}</ref> but few have been [[Archaeological excavation|excavated by archaeologists]], and those on private property benefit from no legal protection.<ref name="faq">{{cite web |title=Vermont Archaeology Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://outside.vermont.gov/agency/ACCD/ACCD_Web_Docs/HP/Resources_Rules/Digging_Into_Archaeology/Vermont_Archaeology_FAQ.pdf |access-date=March 15, 2023 |publisher=State of Vermont}}</ref>

About 20 native [[Toponymy|toponyms]] survive in the state, including [[Lake Bomoseen]], [[Lake Memphremagog]], [[Missisquoi River]], [[Monadnock Mountain (Vermont)|Monadnock Mountain]], and [[Winooski, Vermont|Winooski]].