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SunWatch Indian Village / Archaeological Park, previously known as the Incinerator Site, and designated by the
Amateurs had found some prehistoric materials at the site in the 1960s. Professional excavation began in 1971 as a salvage operation when the city planned a sewage treatment plant. With the discovery of significant artifacts and the remains of a stockaded village, the city changed its plans to preserve the site. Excavations continued through 1988 and are generally completed, although additional small studies have been done. The studies have revealed much about the original people's dwellings, social organization, diets, burial practices and other aspects of their lives at the site. The circular village, surrounded by defensive palisades, was occupied for about 20 years, with a total population of about 250. They depended on farming and hunting.
Scholars have named it Sun Watch because, since studies of the 1980s, they believe that a complex of posts in the plaza is related to astronomical measurements. The Fort Ancient culture people, whose society was based on agriculture, would have planned rituals around a solar calendar.
With reconstructed dwellings, a plaza and gardens, and an interpretive center, the village was opened in 1988 to the public as an open-air museum. Interpretive tours are offered as well as a variety of educational programs and special events developed in collaboration with Native American and other groups. Archaeological excavations are ongoing in the area, with special opportunities for school groups, graduate students, and adult learners.
Additional artifacts and exhibits are held in the related
SunWatch Indian Village / Archaeological Park
NHL Summary
Earthworks Timeline, Ancient Ohio Trail
{{National Register of Historic Places 1960s archaeological discoveries Museums established in 1988 1988 establishments in Ohio Fort Ancient culture Archaeological sites in Ohio Museums in Dayton, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Ohio National Historic Landmarks in Ohio Native American museums in Ohio Open-air museums in Ohio Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, Ohio Archaeological parks
Smithsonian trinomial
A Smithsonian trinomial (formally the Smithsonian Institution Trinomial System, abbreviated SITS) is a unique identifier assigned to archaeological sites in many states in the United States. They are composed of one or two digits coding for the sta ...
33-MY-57, is a reconstructed Fort Ancient
Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from Ca. 1000-1750 CE and predominantly inhabited land near the Ohio River valley in the areas of modern-day southern Ohio, northern Kentucky, southeastern Indiana and western ...
Native American village next to the Great Miami River
The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accesse ...
on West River Road in Dayton, Ohio. The dwellings and site plan of the site are based on lengthy archeological excavations sponsored by the Dayton Society of Natural History, which owns and operates the site as an open-air museum
An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum.
Definition
Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...
. Because of its archaeological value, the site was listed in 1974 on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. Since that time, as the many years of archaeological research at the site have led to important findings about the Fort Ancient culture, SunWatch Indian Village was designated in 1990 as a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
.
History
Amateurs had found some prehistoric materials at the site in the 1960s. Professional excavation began in 1971 as a salvage operation when the city planned a sewage treatment plant. With the discovery of significant artifacts and the remains of a stockaded village, the city changed its plans to preserve the site. Excavations continued through 1988 and are generally completed, although additional small studies have been done. The studies have revealed much about the original people's dwellings, social organization, diets, burial practices and other aspects of their lives at the site. The circular village, surrounded by defensive palisades, was occupied for about 20 years, with a total population of about 250. They depended on farming and hunting.
Scholars have named it Sun Watch because, since studies of the 1980s, they believe that a complex of posts in the plaza is related to astronomical measurements. The Fort Ancient culture people, whose society was based on agriculture, would have planned rituals around a solar calendar.
With reconstructed dwellings, a plaza and gardens, and an interpretive center, the village was opened in 1988 to the public as an open-air museum. Interpretive tours are offered as well as a variety of educational programs and special events developed in collaboration with Native American and other groups. Archaeological excavations are ongoing in the area, with special opportunities for school groups, graduate students, and adult learners.
Additional artifacts and exhibits are held in the related Boonshoft Museum of Discovery
The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is a children's museum, science and technology center and zoo in Dayton, Ohio, United States that focuses on science and natural history. Exhibits include an extensive natural history collection as well as maint ...
in Dayton. These help interpret the history and culture of the people, and show more of the artifacts recovered at the site than can be displayed at SunWatch.
See also
*Boonshoft Museum of Discovery
The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is a children's museum, science and technology center and zoo in Dayton, Ohio, United States that focuses on science and natural history. Exhibits include an extensive natural history collection as well as maint ...
* List of National Historic Landmarks in Ohio
This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Ohio and other landmarks of equivalent landmark status in the state. The United States' National Historic Landmark (NHL) program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and reco ...
References
Further reading
* Allman, John C. (1968) "The Incinerator Village Site," ''Ohio Archaeologist'' 18 (2): 50–55. * Cook, Robert A. (2008) ''SunWatch: Fort Ancient Development in the Mississippian World,'' Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. * Heilman, J., Malinda Lileas and Chris Turnbow (editors) (1988) ''A History of 17 Years of Excavation and Reconstruction: A Chronicle of 12th Century Human Values and the Built Environment'' Volumes I and II, Dayton Museum of Natural History, Dayton, Ohio. * Heilman, James M. and Roger Hoefer (1981) "Possible Astronomical Alignments in a Fort Ancient Settlement at the Incinerator Site in Dayton, Ohio," in ''Archaeoastronomy in the Americas,'' ed. Ray Williamson, Los Altos, California: Ballena Press/ Center for Archaeoastronomy.External links
SunWatch Indian Village / Archaeological Park
NHL Summary
Earthworks Timeline, Ancient Ohio Trail
{{National Register of Historic Places 1960s archaeological discoveries Museums established in 1988 1988 establishments in Ohio Fort Ancient culture Archaeological sites in Ohio Museums in Dayton, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Ohio National Historic Landmarks in Ohio Native American museums in Ohio Open-air museums in Ohio Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, Ohio Archaeological parks