Indians of Burke County and western North Carolina - Softcover

Clark, Larry Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1453762086 ISBN 13: 9781453762080

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2002

Synopsis

Originally published in response to a local interest in “Indians,” a topic encouraged by ongoing archaeological excavations in Burke County, this small booklet was written as a brief overview of how and when Native Americans came to live in western North Carolina. This includes a little geology and geography, a bit of prehistoric terminology, a few dates spanning thousands of years with a smattering about archaeology. An intended purpose of this discussion is to encourage further research into the prehistory of Native Americans (wherever they may be) and the preservation of a heritage that had (and continues to have) an important impact on the history of these United States.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

TABLE OF CONTENTSBrief Account of Prehistoric TimesGeology and Geography   1The First Americans   5Key Terms & Dates:An Overview of North Carolina PrehistoryPaleolithic   12Archaic   14Woodland   20Mississippian   26Early Colonial History   31Burke County, North CarolinaThe Environmental Setting   34First People in Burke - a Short Story   37Paleolithic Period   39Archaic Period - the First Settlers   40Woodland Farmers 500 BC - 1700 AD   45  Late Woodland and Mississippian Phase   51Early Burke Historic Period   54More Pieces to the Puzzle: Conclusions  61Role of the Professional Archaeologist   64A Role for Amateur Archaeologists   65Bibliography and Related Sources

About the Author:

As a career educator, teacher of world history and general anthropology at a small community college in western North Carolina, the author developed a special interest in the region's ancient Native Americans and the unique history associated with its earliest European pioneers. A limited, self-published edition of Indians of Burke County and Western North Carolina was printed as archaeologists began to excavate a large native village near his home. In addition, for more than a decade, he periodically wrote about Burke County's past for a local newspaper, the News Herald, and eventually published with The History Press of Charleston a collection of these stories in Burke County: Historic Tales from the Gateway to the Blue Ridge. During this same period "our archaeologists" made an unexpected discovery at the Berry's farm that began to rewrite the history of early colonial America -- Spanish artifacts were uncovered in the 16th century Indian village of Joara among the remains of several burned "cabins" once occupied by soldiers of Captain Juan Pardo. Additional research revealed that Pardo had followed an earlier path of Captain Hernando de Soto to claim this land for King Philip II and the Empire of Spain, thereby making this Spanish settlement the first inland European colony in North America some twenty years before England's "Lost Colony" arrived on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, and four decades before the English settled James Town, Virginia. This author became so fascinated with the idea of Spanish conquistadors marching across these lands that he first wrote Of Eagles & Wolves, a play about Pardo's explorations into western North Carolina, and then published with McFarland & Company a book entitled Spanish Attempts to Colonize Southeast North America: 1513 - 1587. Today, the author resides with his wife Patricia in Irish Creek Valley along a creek that flows into the Berry site of Joara and Fort San Juan. 

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1453762086
• ISBN 13: 9781453762080
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 84