Garden Creek site is an archaeological site located west of

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

in Haywood County, on the south side of the Pigeon River and near the confluence of its tributary Garden Creek. It is near modern

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

and the Pisgah National Forest. The earliest human occupation at the site dates to 8000 BCE. The 12-acre site features remains of two villages ( 31Hw7) occupied first in the Woodland period and, most prominently, in the Pisgah phase (1000 to 1450/1500 CE) associated with the South Appalachian Mississippian culture. A total of four earthwork mounds have been found at the site; three have been excavated. One of the three Garden Creek Mounds (31Hw1-3) is believed to have been constructed by indigenous peoples during the

Middle Woodland period In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeolog ...

, or Connestee phase (200 CE to 600 CE). Another, now mostly disappeared, is believed constructed after that. The third and largest was constructed last, in the Pisgah phase. (A fourth mound was discovered in this area in the early 21st century but it has not been excavated or dated.)

Description

There were three periods of excavation at the site: in the late 1880s, 1915–1919, and 1965–1967. Most of the evidence discussed here about Mounds #1 and #2 and the village sites was derived during the third and most professional excavation, conducted by an archeological team associated with the Cherokee Project at the University of North Carolina. As noted, the earliest human occupation was dated to 8000 BCE. The smaller earthen platform mound was constructed during the Middle Woodland era, by people living from 200 CE to 600 CE. They likely had some dwellings near the mound, but the more sizeable villages found did not develop until later. The two villages located on the site were occupied from 600 CE to 1200 CE, first by

Woodland period In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...

Hopewellian peoples, and later by people of the Pisgah phase of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture (about 1000 to 1200 CE). Pisgah-phase artifacts found in Mound #1 and at the site "are widely thought to represent a continuum of cultural development through which historic Cherokee culture and communities took shape." This area was part of the historic Cherokee homelands in western North Carolina, as the region was later known. After being surveyed in the 1960s, the site was largely destroyed by development of residential housing.

Site features

The site is located on the south side of the Pigeon River, near the confluence of its tributary Garden Creek. It includes remains of two permanent villages and three earthwork mounds which have been excavated. (A fourth mound was found at the site from field research here in the early 21st century.) The largest village, designated 31Hw7, was located on a terrace overlooking Garden Creek, a tributary of the Pigeon River. A smaller village with a conical earthwork mound is located nearby. Mound #1 is designed Hw 8 or 31Hw1. Mound #2 is located to the west of the first, and numbered as Hw 7 or 31Hw2. The remains of Mound #3, known as Hw 3 or 31Hw3, is located on the site's south side. It was excavated in 1915 by a team of the

Heye Foundation George Gustav Heye (1874 – January 20, 1957) was an American collector of Native American artifacts in the Western Hemisphere, particularly in North America. He founded the Museum of the American Indian, and his collection became the core of ...

. Because they were not following modern protocols, important information about stratigraphy and provenance was lost. The mound was constructed prior to the Pisgah phase. By the 1960s, nothing remained of that mound. Mound #1 (Hw 8 or 31HW1) is a

late Woodland In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeologi ...

Pisgah phase site (1000 to 1450 CE). It was the largest mound at the site. In addition, a wattle-and-daub post house was found at Mound #1. The remains of two earth lodges, rare in the Southern Appalachian Summit, were found below the base of Mound #1. "These were semi-underground, earth-embanked buildings that were built side-by-side and connected by a passageway. The larger of the two structures was 28 feet square and had a clay bench along all four walls. The smaller earth lodge was 20 feet square and had a clay bench along the wall adjacent to the entryway." The only entry into the larger lodge was through the passageway from the smaller one. They are believed to have been used as council houses. After being used for some time, the lodges were covered over and became the base of a platform mound, now known as Mound #1. At first earth and refuse from a village midden (5 acres in area) was added around the two adjoining lodges, leaving the roofs exposed. When those collapsed, more layers of clay and fill were added, eventually creating a stable platform mound. It is believed to have been as large as 50 x 70 feet in this early phase. The remains of two houses were found on the summit, both constructed on the west side. There were burials of human remains on the east side of the mound. At the time of excavation, Mound #1 had expanded in the base to 150-ft by 130-ft, and was about 7 ft high. It is believed to have been several feet higher during its peak period. But with European-American occupation of this area, farmers conducted more than 100 years of cultivation of the site, lowering the height of the mound. Mound #2, a platform mound, was excavated by Bennie Keel of UNC. In 1965 it was approximately 110 feet north–south and 150 feet east–west at the base, and 4 feet high. It was believed to have been several feet higher when in use in the Connestee Phase. Based on ceramic chronology and a radiocarbon date from the top of the mound, he attributed construction of this structure to people of the

Middle Woodland In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...

Connestee phase, who would have lived from about 200 to 600 CE. It is the older and smaller of the two mounds excavated in the 1960s.

Artifacts

Garden Creek mounds #2 and 1 (in order of age) both held '' Marginella'' shells and

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

shell gorget Shell gorgets are a Native American art form of polished, carved shell pendants worn around the neck. The gorgets are frequently engraved, and are sometimes highlighted with pigments, or fenestrated (pierced with openings). Shell gorgets were mos ...

s. Several gorgets were incised with coiled rattlesnakes in the Lick Creek style, and one featured a stylized human figure. As the shells came from the Gulf Coast, they were evidence of far-flung trading networks. Artifacts found in Mound #1 include ground stone celts, made of

peridotite Peridotite ( ) is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium (Mg2+), reflecting the high prop ...

and

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

. Stone anvils, hammerstones, manos, and mortars were also unearthed, as well as fragments of cut

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

and elbow-shaped clay smoking pipes. Bone tools, such as awls, punches, and perhaps needles, were fashioned from deer and turkey bone splinters. Turtle shell rattles, from ''

Terrapene carolina The common box turtle (''Terrapene carolina'') is a species of box turtle with six existing subspecies. It is found throughout the Eastern United States and Mexico. The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lowered shell (the box) that allows it ...

'' shells and small round pebbles, were found in Mound #1. Shell artifacts were sculpted from

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

mollusk shells: large shell beads shaped into spheres or discs, and strung into necklaces and bracelets, were made from ''

Busycon ''Busycon'' is a genus of very large edible sea snails in the subfamily Busyconinae. These snails are commonly known in the United States as ''whelks'' or ''Busycon whelks''. Less commonly they are loosely, and somewhat misleadingly, called "conc ...

'' (or conch) columella. A single shell pin was found in Mound #1, as well as a conch bowl. Woven

rivercane ''Arundinaria gigantea'' is a species of bamboo known as giant cane (not to be confused with ''Arundo donax''), river cane, and giant river cane. It is endemic to the south-central and southeastern United States as far west as Oklahoma and Texas ...

mats left impressions in Earth Lodge 2, found in the base of Mound #1. Some charred remains were found on a house floor. Although organic materials decompose rapidly in the Southern Appalachian climate, fragile textiles, such as cloth, netting, and cordage, could be detected by the impressions the textiles left on clay. Two pieces of copper were found at the site."Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects from North Carolina in the Possession of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC."
''Department of the Interior: National NAGPRA.'' ''Federal Register'': August 9, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 152): Page 43,222-3 (retrieved 12 July 2010) These were another sign of trade, as copper is not available locally.

Archaeological surveys

In the late 1880s Mann S. Valentine and his sons, of the Valentine Museum of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, hired local man A. J. Osborne to excavate the Garden Creek site, seeking artifacts for their museum. From 1915 to 1919, the

team excavated Mound #3.Dickens 69-72 They did not take field notes or record provenance of artifacts taken from the site, and the mound has nearly disappeared. Bennie Keel and others working on the Cherokee Project, from the Research Laboratories of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, excavated two mounds and villages at Garden Creek from 1965 to 1967, when the site was threatened by planned development. Keel conducted excavation of Mound #2.

Today

The site and history of Garden Creek is recounted on North Carolina Highway Historical Marker P-83. In addition, the site and two mounds are discussed in some detail on the UNC website, ''Ancient North Carolinians'', a virtual museum of archeology in the state. After being surveyed by archeologists in the 1960s, when some excavation took place, the archeological site has since been largely destroyed by a residential development.

Notes

References

*Dickens, Roy S. ''Cherokee Prehistory: The Pisgah Phase in the Appalachian Summit Region''. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1976. . *Heye Foundation Report, New York: 1919, pp. 35–43

External links

"South Appalachian and Protohistoric Mortuary Practices in Southwestern North Carolina"
Tulane University. Includes a section on the Garden Creek Site and a diagram of the site. {{Pre-Columbian North America South Appalachian Mississippian culture Indigenous topics of the Southeastern Woodlands Geography of Haywood County, North Carolina Archaeological sites in North Carolina