Subsistence
Since so little survives in the archaeological record from the Paleolithic, much of what we know about Paleo-Indians is inferred from a minute amount of material collected from a relatively small number of sites. Many interesting questions remain unanswered: What was their language, and what were their beliefs? To mention only a couple.
We can assume that the climate played a large part in the development of Paleo-Indian culture. Based on the amount of materials found on sites and the fact that food was sometimes scarce, archaeologists infer that these people traveled in family-sized bands. A small group would have been highly mobile while providing enough support to carry out daily chores.
It is thought that most of the known sites fall into the realm of "camps", kill sites, butchering sites, tool procurement sites, tool manufacturing sites, or possibly those occupied on a seasonal basis (to exploit the wild resources present during a given time of year). Groups would stop to procure food, make tools, and to rest while traveling along "corridors" (usually along the banks of rivers) which afforded a faster and safer journey.
Even though only larger bones survive from such a long time ago, it is thought that hunting, gathering, and fishing was done opportunistically so that many smaller animals (beavers, hares, foxes, birds, and fish) may have provided much of the food when "big game" was scarce. "Big game" included caribou, and possibly mammoth or mastodon. Though no mammoth or mastodon remains have been found in association with Paleo-Indian sites, many have been found preserved in ancient ponds. It is quite possible that these creatures simply wandered in and were drowned in the mud, but it is also possible that they were killed and cached there for the winter months (as had been practiced in the upper Midwest).
Above is a recreation of a Paleo-Indian meat cache and butchering site from the Maine State
Museum.
In addition to hunting and gathering, other activities were carried out including the butchering of meat and the processing of hides for food and shelter. A component central to all effective cultures is that of gender roles. As of now we can not tell who did what activity relative to gender. It is quite possible that gender roles played a less important part of Paleo-Indian culture so that everyone could do a wide array of tasks if called upon (keeping with the opinion that these people were quite dynamic in order to survive a harsh climate).