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Archaeologists seek to plumb mysteries of ancient tribe |
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Written by Xiuhcoatl
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Jun 29, 2006 at 03:46 PM |
Archaeologists seek to plumb mysteries of ancient tribeBy the Associated Press
May 29, 2006
Source: Daily Press
MONETA, Va. -- Archaeologists are seeking funding to learn more about the Saponi Indians, a little-known tribe that centuries ago lived at what is now the site of the Smith Mountain Dam.
Howard MacCord, chairman of the research projects committee for the Archaeological Society of Virginia, said the society wants to complete the work of Carl F. Miller. The archaeologist collected artifacts in 1963 and 1964 during construction of the Smith Mountain Dam.
"It was the site of an Indian village and it is all under water now," he said. "It is important that this be done some day. It has been over 40 years."
Broken shards of pottery and other relics rescued from the site have been at the Smithsonian Institution since being unearthed at the site.
MacCord said the excavation of the Smith Mountain Dam site began when Miller was sent by the Smithsonian to study the area before American Electric Power finished the dam. While AEP funded the archaeological work at the site, it did not provide money to compile his research. He died before his work could be completed.
"We really don't know a lot about the work that Carl Miller did," Tom Klatka, a regional archaeologist with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, told the News & Advance of Lynchburg.
The lives of the Saponi Indians remains a mystery.
"We need to learn more about how they buried their dead and what they ate," he said. "This area is now under water at Smith Mountain Lake. There is a big gap in our history."
The area around Smith Mountain Lake was home to the Saponi Indians and a meeting spot for several tribes until the early 1700s because it was a rich hunting ground, according to the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce.
Money is the main obstacle to beginning the project proposed by the archaeological society. MacCord said it would cost about $75,000 to pay for the students' work, living expenses and lab fees like carbon dating and botanical studies.
"So many of these sites have been destroyed or buried by water," he said. "If we do not act, we will lose this opportunity."
That is just one of 22 projects across the state that the Archaeological Society of Virginia says need completion but lack the money. They include surveying the Great Neck-Lynnhaven area for evidence of the Roanoke Lost Colony survivors, finding the sites of pre-1700 forts and creating a research lab to begin modern studies of Indian ceramics in Virginia.
MacCord hopes that the knowledge gained from these projects will shed some light into the lives of Virginia's Indian population before the founding of Jamestown in 1607.
Information from: The News & Advance, http://www.newsadvance.com/ |
Archaeology 