Native Americans have had a presence in this region for almost 10,000 years, with several different cultures moving through the area over that span. The earliest nearby artifacts date to the Paleo Period, from 11,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. Archaic people often buried their dead in naturally formed glacial kames, mounds of sand and gravel left over from the ice age, and items such as gorgets and birdstones were found in the graves. When European settlers arrived, they encountered the Pottawatomie, who are believed to have settled in Indiana in the early 1800s after coming from the Lake Huron area. Many Pottawatomie were Catholic because of the influence of earlier French fur traders and missionaries. White settlement brought strong political pressure for their removal, and even some who were sympathetic saw that removal as inevitable. A Pottawatomie village stood north of Hamilton Lake near Otsego Center, and Indian trails crossed the region and became familiar roads such as Bellefontaine Road. Ball Lake was remembered as a favorite hunting place, and an Indian cemetery west of one settler's home was associated with ceremonial dances and offerings to the spirits of the dead. Locally found Stone Age artifacts date from 8000-1000 BC. On September 4, 1838, 859 Pottawatomie began the forced march to Kansas known as the Trail of Death. Poor organization, illness, and hardship devastated their numbers, and by the time they arrived, 150 had died, most of them children.