LEARN NC

11.3 Archaeology and Pre-European contact history

By Kathryn Walbert

Provided by The North Carolina Humanities Council.

North Carolina Office of State Archaeology
The Online Reports and Summaries section includes numerous reports on archaeology in the state that may be of interest to students and teachers alike.
North Carolina Archaeology Society
Publications of the society have been digitized and are available in pdf format – click on Publications to find out more information. The Journal North Carolina Archaeology (formerly Southern Indian Studies), for example, is available from 1949 to 1998. This may be an excellent source for advanced students doing independent research or for educators looking for research-based information about North Carolina’s distant past.
Archaeology in North Carolina
This film, which runs a little less than 30 minutes, takes viewers to five archaeology sites in North Carolina to learn more about how archaeologists work and what they are learning about our state’s distant past. The film includes information about Town Creek Indian Mound, a state historic site in North Carolina dedicated to American Indian heritage. You can watch the video online using Real Player.
The Archaeology of Early North Carolina
Written by Dr. I. Randolph Daniel, Jr. for the North Carolina Museum of History’s Tar Heel Junior Historian 45:1 (fall 2005), this article provides an excellent overview of what archaeologists have learned about the earliest human inhabitants of the state, including information about the changes in American Indian cultures over time in the distant past.
Studying the Remains of the Past
This article, from the North Carolina Museum of History’s Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine 45:1 (fall 2005), describes archaeological research methods and details the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods. This brief article may be an excellent starting point for student research.
Outline of Prehistory and History: Southeastern North America and the Caribbean
This resource from the Southeastern Archaeological Center of the National Park Service allows visitors to learn more about the natural setting of the southeast followed by detailed descriptions of life in the Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods. The site also includes overviews of European explorations and settlement and some historical information up to the 20th century. Throughout the site, readers can follow links to images of projectile point types from archaeological excavations, information on radiocarbon dating, and much more.
North Carolina’s First Colonists: 12,000 Years Before Roanoke
This article was written by Stephen R. Clagett of the Office of State Archaeology, North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office.
First Immigrants: Native American Settlement of North Carolina
This detailed article provides a five-page introduction to the first peoples to settle in what is now North Carolina and information about how archaeologists have learned about early migration. It was written by Stephen R. Claggett and appears in the North Carolina Museum of History’s Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine 34 (spring 1995).
Object Lessons
This two-page article highlights some of the archaeological artifacts that have been found in the state, providing some detail on the archaeological research process. The article appeared in the North Carolina Museum of History’s Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine 45:1 (fall 2005).
The Prehistory of North Carolina: A Basic Cultural Sequence
This article provides information about the range of dates, climate, vegetation, artifacts, and settlements for the Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods.
Town Creek Indian Mound
This website from the historic site in Mt. Gilead, NC (Montgomery County) includes a Southeastern Indian Cultural Synopsis, information about the Pee Dee culture, detailed discussions of the mound and burial house at Town Creek, and maps of the site. You can also learn more about educational opportunities for visiting the site.