Archeologists have found evidence that successive cultures of indigenous peoples occupied this area for thousands of years prior to European encounter. This included the period of South Appalachian Mississippian culture, which developed in the region about 1000CE and lasted to about 1500-1600. They were among cultures that built major earthwork mounds as part of the public expression of their religious and political systems. These people are believed to have died off from disease brought by exposure to the Spaniards in the late 16th century. The Cherokee migrated into the Southeast and established themselves in the early 17th century.