vital protein to their diet. But, unlike other Mississippian peoples in the central Mississippi Valley, they did not eat quantities of fish and waterfowl as part of their diet. European trade goods By the final phase of Caborn-Welborn culture, European trade items began to be included among grave goods. These included copper and brass tubes, glass beads, and bracelets. This is not indicative of direct European contact, however. The items could have made their way to the Caborn-Welborn area by the native traders along the routes which had brought exotic materials such as marine shells and native copper from other regions to the area for centuries. But with the traders contracted and carried European diseases such as smallpox and measles, which generally penetrated the American continents far in advance of European-manned expeditions. With little or no immunity to the new European diseases, many Native cultures died or were severely disrupted before the Europeans made direct physical contact with them. The Caborn-Welborn culture is one such group. See also Angel Mounds List of Mississippian sites References Native American history of Indiana Archaeological cultures of North America Archaeological sites in Indiana Late Mississippian culture 15th-century establishments in North America 17th-century disestablishments in North America