 Humans have lived in what is now Pennsylvania since at least 10 @,@ 000 BC . The first settlers were Paleo @-@ Indian nomadic hunters known from their stone tools . The hunter @-@ gatherers of the Archaic period , which lasted locally from 7000 to 1000 BC , used a greater variety of more sophisticated stone artifacts . The Woodland period marked the gradual transition to semi @-@ permanent villages and horticulture , between 1000 BC and 1500 AD . Archeological evidence found in the state from this time includes a range of pottery types and styles , burial mounds , pipes , bows and arrows , and ornaments . 
