Native tribal groups identify themselves, and are identified by historians and anthropologists, based on their shared language, historical origins, and life-ways. The Pennacook are considered one of the northeastern tribes. Historically, their lands extended from modern-day northern New Hampshire, down the Merrimack River into northeastern Massachusetts and part of southern Maine. One translation of the name "Pennacook" comes from the Abenaki word Benokoiak, which means “Falling Hill People," which refers to the steep banks along the Merrimack River.

The Pennacook cultivated the land to provide their main source of food. They planted large gardens of squash, beans, and corn. In the spring, they lived near the waterfalls in present-day Lowell (red dot on maps) to fish for salmon, shad, eels, and sturgeon. In the summer, they traveled downriver (to Newburyport - black dot) where they caught ocean fish and shellfish. During their travels, they encountered neighboring tribes with whom they traded food and handmade clothes, jewelry, tools, and weapons. In the fall, they harvested their vegetables, gathered nuts and fruit, and hunted deer and other animals. For the winter, they moved further inland away from the river to protect themselves from the cold winds off the water.