Archeological studies have shown that the land surrounding what is now Cootes Paradise Marsh has a long history of human activity.  For many generations, Indigenous Peoples took advantage of all the game the Harbour provided; Cootes Paradise Marsh was a particularly rich source of fish, birds, and other game. Plants, such as wild rice, were also commonly foraged but were eventually replaced by harvested maize kernels. Archeological evidence such as maize kernels and pieces of pottery, confirm that by 500 C.E., Indigenous Peoples had begun to supplement their predominantly foraged diet with farmed maize. Over the next several hundred years, the Princess Point cultivators-hunter-gathers began to move further inland and set up semi-permanent dwellings.