Synopses & Reviews
North Carolina's written history begins in the sixteenth century with the voyages of Sir Walter Raleigh and the founding of the ill-fated Lost Colony on Roanoke Island. But there is a deeper, unwritten past that predates the state's recorded history. The region we now know as North Carolina was settled more than 10,000 years ago, but because early inhabitants left no written record, their story must be painstakingly reconstructed from the fragmentary and fragile archaeological record they left behind.
Time before History is the first comprehensive account of the archaeology of North Carolina. Weaving together a wealth of information gleaned from archaeological excavations and surveys carried out across the statefrom the mountains to the coastit presents a fascinating, readable narrative of the state's native past across a vast sweep of time, from the Paleo-Indian period, when the first immigrants to North America crossed a land bridge that spanned the Bering Strait, through the arrival of European traders and settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Review
Time Before History will educate and entertain its intended audiences for some years to come.
North Carolina Historical Review
Review
It is an irresistible story of 10,000 years of history beginning with the first Americans.
American Archaeology
Review
The work is essential for placing the state in the larger context of eastern archaeology.
Choice
Review
This well-written book on the archaeology of Native American sites in North Carolina will be of interest to everyone.
Stanley South, author of Method and Theory in Historical Archaeology
Review
Weaving together a wealth of information, it presents a fascinating narrative of the state•s native past across a vast sweep of time.
Indian Artifacts
Synopsis
The first comprehensive account of the archaeology of North Carolina. Weaving together information gleaned from excavations and surveys, it presents a readable narrative of the state•s native past from the Paleo-indian period through the arrival of European traders and settlers in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Synopsis
Time Before History will educate and entertain its intended audiences for some years to come.
North Carolina Historical Review It is an irresistible story of 10,000 years of history beginning with the first Americans.
American Archaeology The work is essential for placing the state in the larger context of eastern archaeology.
Choice Weaving together a wealth of information, it presents a fascinating narrative of the state•s native past across a vast sweep of time.
Indian Artifacts This well-written book on the archaeology of Native American sites in North Carolina will be of interest to everyone.
Stanley South, author of Method and Theory in Historical Archaeology
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [277]-298) and index.
About the Author
H. Trawick Ward and R. P. Stephen Davis Jr. are research archaeologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Both collaborated with Vincas P. Steponaitis and Patrick Livingood to create Excavating Occaneechi Town: Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century Indian Village in North Carolina, an award-winning CD-ROM multimedia publication.H. Trawick Ward and R. P. Stephen Davis Jr. are research archaeologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Both collaborated with Vincas P. Steponaitis and Patrick Livingood to create Excavating Occaneechi Town: Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century Indian Village in North Carolina, an award-winning CD-ROM multimedia publication.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction
Cultural-Historical Overview
Paleo-Indian Period (before 8000 b.c.)
Archaic Period (8000-1000 b.c.)
Woodland Period (1000 b.c.-a.d. 1600)
The Historic Period (after a.d. 1540)
A Brief History of North Carolina Archaeology
Exploring Indian Mounds
A New Focus on North Carolina Archaeology
Following in the Footsteps of Lederer and Lawson
The Keyauwee Excavation
Federal Archaeology Begins at Peachtree
Stalking the Piedmont Siouans
Building Cultural Chronologies
The Cherokee Project
North Carolina Archaeology Expands
Recent Research Programs across North Carolina
Notes on Organization
Chapter 2. The Paleo-Indian: An Elusive Quarry
Paleo-Indian Chronology in the Southeast
Early Paleo-Indian Subperiod (about 9500-9000 b.c.)
Middle Paleo-Indian Subperiod (9000-8500 b.c.)
Late Paleo-Indian Subperiod (8500-7900 b.c.)
Paleo-Indian Settlement and Subsistence
The Paleo-Indian Period in North Carolina
The Coastal Plain
The Piedmont
The Mountains
Chapter 3. The Archaic Period: A Time of Regionalization and Specialization
The Archaic Period in the Piedmont
Early Archaic Period (8000-6000 b.c.)
Middle Archaic Period (6000-3000 b.c.)
Late Archaic Period (3000-1000 b.c.)
The Archaic Period in the Mountains
Early Archaic Period (8000-6000 b.c.)
Middle Archaic Period (6000-3000 b.c.)
Late Archaic Period (3000-1000 b.c.)
The Archaic Period on the Coast and Coastal Plain
Summary
Chapter 4. The Woodland Period in the Piedmont
The Piedmont Village Tradition
The Early Woodland and Middle Woodland Periods (1000 b.c.-a.d. 800)
The Badin Phase
The Yadkin Phase
Recent Research and the Early-Middle Woodland Chronology
Early Excavations in the Northeast Piedmont
The Whites Creek Survey and the Forbush Creek Excavations
Summary
The Late Woodland Period (a.d. 800-1600)
The Uwharrie Phase (a.d. 800-1200)
The Haw River Phase (a.d. 1000-1400)
The Dan River Phase (a.d. 1000-1450)
The Donnaha Phase (a.d. 1000-1450)
The Hillsboro Phase (a.d. 1400-1600)
The Early Saratown Phase (a.d. 1450-1600)
The Southern Piedmont
A Brief History of Early Excavations
The Pee Dee Culture
The Caraway Phase (a.d. 1500-1700)
Chapter 5. The Woodland and Mississippian Periods in the Appalachian Summit Region: The Search for Cherokee Roots
The Woodland Period
The Early Woodland Period (1000-300 b.c.)
The Middle Woodland Period (300 b.c.-a.d. 800)
The Late Woodland Period (a.d. 800-1100)
The South Appalachian Mississippian Tradition
The Pisgah Phase (a.d. 1000-1450)
Mound Structure and Political Complexity
Lamar Culture and the Qualla Phase (after a.d. 1350)
The Eastern Fringe of the Appalachian Summit
Summary
Chapter 6. The Woodland Period on the Coast and Coastal Plain
A Brief History of Coastal Plain Archaeology
The Early Woodland Period (1000-300 b.c.)
The Deep Creek and New River Phases
Hamp's Landing
The Middle Woodland Period (300 b.c.-a.d. 800)
The Mount Pleasant Phase
The Cape Fear Phase
Sand Burial Mounds
The Late Woodland Period (a.d. 800-1650)
The Colington Phase
The White Oak Phase
The Cashie Phase
Summary
Chapter 7. The Contact Period: Tribes, Traders, and Turmoil
The Contact Period in the Central Piedmont (a.d. 1600-1710)
The Mitchum Phase (a.d. 1600-1670)
The Jenrette Phase (a.d. 1600-1680)
The Fredricks Phase (a.d. 1680-1710)
The North Central Piedmont during the Contact Period
The Middle Saratown Phase (a.d. 1620-1670)
The Late Saratown Phase (a.d. 1670-1710)
Contact, Interaction, and Cultural Change in the Piedmont
Trade
European Plants and Livestock
Intertribal Relations
Disease
The Contact Period in the Appalachian Summit
The Late Qualla Phase (a.d. 1700-1838)
The Contact Period along the North Carolina Coast
Summary
References Cited
Index