Louisiana Paleo-Indian sites (areas where remains are found) are not common, because the small groups of nomadic Indians left very few artifacts at any location. High rainfall and humidity then led to decay and erosion of many ancient sites while changing geography led to the disappearance of others. The sea level has risen, so any Paleo-Indian coastal remains are now on the ocean floor. Sites once along the Mississippi River have been washed away or deeply buried as the river shifted its course and deposited silt. Most Paleo-Indian spear points found in Louisiana have been collected from ridges, hills and salt domes. Generally, these areas have not been affected by stream changes and sea level fluctuations that have occurred since the Ice Age. As the Ice Age drew to a close, Louisiana began to change. The climate gradually became warmer and wetter and many large Ice Age animals became extinct. The way of life of the Paleo-Indians began to change, too. They started hunting smaller game and collecting and eating more plant foods. The late Paleo-Indians fashioned a variety of stone tools that could be used for butchering game, preparing hides, and working bone and wood. They also manufactured many kinds of stone points that were generally smaller than the earlier points. These late Paleo-Indian tools were made from Louisiana stone, a change from the earlier time. Sites of the late Paleo-Indian period are more numerous than early Paleo-Indian sites. This suggests that the population increased and that these people camped longer in one place. Their sites are characterized by more artifacts, and more varieties of artifacts, than earlier Paleo-Indian sites. [Illustration: John Pearce Site] Both early and late Paleo-Indian Period materials have been found at the John Pearce Site in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. At the lowest (oldest) level, two early Paleo-Indian stone points were uncovered. A wide variety of later materials were excavated from higher levels. The site was used by small groups of people who camped there temporarily. The groups used the site as a base camp for hunting, butchering, and hideworking activities. [Illustration: Stone tools] Early Paleo-Indian: a-c, Stone Points (¾ actual size) [Illustration: Stone tools] Late Paleo-Indian: d-e, Stone Scrapers f-h, Stone Points (¾ actual size) MESO-INDIAN The gradual transition from the late Paleo-Indian to the early Meso-Indian Period had occurred by 5000 B.C. Meso-Indians, also called Archaic Indians, lived in small nomadic groups. Unlike their predecessors, however, they remained longer in each camp location and exploited smaller geographical areas. Whereas a Paleo-Indian might roam from Texas to Mississippi in his lifetime, returning rarely to the same place, a Meso-Indian might spend his whole life in a six-parish area, returning each season to favored campsites.