Vickie Stephens isn't surprised that a team of archaeologists excavating along the highway a few hundred yards from her store found pieces of pottery dating to more than 2,000 years ago.
“You can find them even digging in the garden around here,” said Stephens, who grew up about two miles from the T. Walter Middleton Bridge on N.C. 107 in Jackson County.
Evidence of ancient settlements — including burial sites — halted construction of a new, wider bridge over the Tuckasegee River.
Federal law requires that the N.C. Department of Transportation stop work when it finds evidence of ancient settlements to allow for time to study the artifacts.
Archaeologists started their work in early March and have until the end of April to learn as much as they can about the people who once lived here, said Lee Tippett, senior archaeologist with The Louis Berger Group Inc, a Raleigh-based contractor.
So far, they found three house patterns by unearthing post holes.
The places where ancient posts once stood leave dark stains in the soil.
The stains can be detected after the top layer of soil is removed.
The trench the archaeologists are working in is about 5 feet deep and 700 feet long, ranging from 40 feet wide to about 65 feet wide.
They used a track hoe and small bulldozers to clear the top layer of ground, and now they are using small trowels to unearth the artifacts. They will study the samples to determine what people were eating at the time and use them to get a better fix on how old the settlements are through radio-carbon dating.
Artifacts, such as pottery pieces and arrowheads, will be studied by an expert at nearby Western Carolina University.
About seven other experts will study everything from the type of pollen found in the dirt to the types of minerals in the pottery to determine whether they were made with local clay or brought to the area from other places through trade.
Tippett said most of the evidence points to a Middle Woodland and Connestee phase occupation nearly 2,000 years ago, though at least one find shows settlement around the late Archaic period about 9,000 years ago.
There's also evidence of Cherokee pottery closer to the surface, he said.
The excavation will only focus on the state's right of way along N.C. 107.
Archaeologists have known since the 1960s that the valley had evidence of ancient settlements, Tippett said.
The Transportation Department had planned to release the bridge construction job for bid in August.
The archaeology work has delayed that until March of next year, the department said.
The $4.2 million project will widen the bridge from 20 feet to 50 feet with three lanes, shoulders and a sidewalk to reduce maintenance costs, improve safety and reduce congestion, the department said.
The Transportation Department said the archaeology work is important.
“Protecting the important historical findings we have uncovered during the course of this excavation is vital to preserving the cultural resources of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and local citizens, as well as all citizens of North Carolina,” DOT archaeologist Matt Wilkerson said in a statement. “We are prepared to take whatever measure is necessary to proceed with the utmost caution.”
Tippett said working on the dig in Jackson County is a privilege.
“It is unusual for archaeologists to get to do archaeology on sites that are associated with a descendant community and the descendant community is 20 miles up the road, the Cherokee reservation,” he said. “And there are also quite a few Native Americans who live here in the Tuckasegee area. You know you are working on a site that is directly a part of their heritage. It's a privilege.”
Author: Jon Ostendorff | Source: Citizen-Times [April 07, 2011]
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| Field archaeologists Quinn-Monique Ogden, left, and Heather McAllister gently scrape the dirt looking for artifact features at a dig along N.C. 107 in Tuckasegee Wednesday afternoon. The state highway department has delayed a bridge in Jackson County to allow for more time to study and document Native American archaeological findings at the project site [Credit: Erin Brethauer] |
Evidence of ancient settlements — including burial sites — halted construction of a new, wider bridge over the Tuckasegee River.
Federal law requires that the N.C. Department of Transportation stop work when it finds evidence of ancient settlements to allow for time to study the artifacts.
Archaeologists started their work in early March and have until the end of April to learn as much as they can about the people who once lived here, said Lee Tippett, senior archaeologist with The Louis Berger Group Inc, a Raleigh-based contractor.
So far, they found three house patterns by unearthing post holes.
The places where ancient posts once stood leave dark stains in the soil.
The stains can be detected after the top layer of soil is removed.
The trench the archaeologists are working in is about 5 feet deep and 700 feet long, ranging from 40 feet wide to about 65 feet wide.
They used a track hoe and small bulldozers to clear the top layer of ground, and now they are using small trowels to unearth the artifacts. They will study the samples to determine what people were eating at the time and use them to get a better fix on how old the settlements are through radio-carbon dating.
Artifacts, such as pottery pieces and arrowheads, will be studied by an expert at nearby Western Carolina University.
About seven other experts will study everything from the type of pollen found in the dirt to the types of minerals in the pottery to determine whether they were made with local clay or brought to the area from other places through trade.
Tippett said most of the evidence points to a Middle Woodland and Connestee phase occupation nearly 2,000 years ago, though at least one find shows settlement around the late Archaic period about 9,000 years ago.
There's also evidence of Cherokee pottery closer to the surface, he said.
The excavation will only focus on the state's right of way along N.C. 107.
Archaeologists have known since the 1960s that the valley had evidence of ancient settlements, Tippett said.
The Transportation Department had planned to release the bridge construction job for bid in August.
The archaeology work has delayed that until March of next year, the department said.
The $4.2 million project will widen the bridge from 20 feet to 50 feet with three lanes, shoulders and a sidewalk to reduce maintenance costs, improve safety and reduce congestion, the department said.
The Transportation Department said the archaeology work is important.
“Protecting the important historical findings we have uncovered during the course of this excavation is vital to preserving the cultural resources of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and local citizens, as well as all citizens of North Carolina,” DOT archaeologist Matt Wilkerson said in a statement. “We are prepared to take whatever measure is necessary to proceed with the utmost caution.”
Tippett said working on the dig in Jackson County is a privilege.
“It is unusual for archaeologists to get to do archaeology on sites that are associated with a descendant community and the descendant community is 20 miles up the road, the Cherokee reservation,” he said. “And there are also quite a few Native Americans who live here in the Tuckasegee area. You know you are working on a site that is directly a part of their heritage. It's a privilege.”
Author: Jon Ostendorff | Source: Citizen-Times [April 07, 2011]