A Visit to Plimouth 's First Residents,The Wampanoag

The native American's that first greeted the Puritan settlers was the Wampanoag. What surprised me was that the Puritans and Pilgrims were not the first Europeans the native Americans had seen.They were used to seeing European traders that had been coming into the bay for quite awhile...not far from the Puritan village is also a replica of the native American village.. Extremely interesting.

The  Wampanoag abode

The dwellings are made of long pieces of bark. In the spring as the sap runs there is a space between the bark and the tree. An incision is made at the top and bottom of the tree and the bark is easily removed.

This young man is making a canoe by controlled burning of the inside portion of the tree.

I asked the young man if he didn't feel cold as you could see his legs are bare."Actually ",he said," I am very warm right now".

drying skins

The family was enjoying a soup of corn,beans etc.

The chief,not as threatening as the picture looks.

Enjoying his soup

Inside the bark dwelling,The lady would answer any questions we had.The dwelling was lined with animal skin covered benches that served as beds.

I was amazed that there was very little smoke inside the dwelling as it escaped upward through the hole in the roof.

woven baskets and bags hung around the perimeter holding extra food,clothing etc.