Time before history : the archaeology of North Carolina

North Carolina's written history begins in the sixteenth century with the voyages of Sir Walter Raleigh and the founding of the ill-fated Lost Colony on Roanoke Island. But there is a deeper, unwritten past that predates the state's recorded history. The region we now know as North Carolina was settled more than 10,000 years ago, but because early inhabitants left no written record, their story must be painstakingly reconstructed from the fragmentary and fragile archaeological record they left behind.



Time before History is the first comprehensive account of the archaeology of North Carolina. Weaving together a wealth of information gleaned from archaeological excavations and surveys carried out across the state--from the mountains to the coast--it presents a fascinating, readable narrative of the state's native past across a vast sweep of time, from the Paleo-Indian period, when the first immigrants to North America crossed a land bridge that spanned the Bering Strait, through the arrival of European traders and settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1 Introduction Cultural-Historical
• Overview Paleo-Indian Period (before 8000b.c.)
• Archaic Period (8000-1000b.c.)
• Woodland Period (1000b.c.-a.d.1600)
• The Historic Period (aftera.d.1540)
• A Brief History of North Carolina Archaeology
• Exploring Indian Mounds
• A New Focus on North Carolina Archaeology
• Following in the Footsteps of Lederer and Lawson
• The Keyauwee Excavation Federal Archaeology
• Begins at Peachtree Stalking the Piedmont
• Siouans Building Cultural Chronologies
• The Cherokee Project North Carolina Archaeology
• Expands Recent Research Programs across North Carolina Notes on Organization
• Chapter 2 The Paleo-Indian: An Elusive Quarry Paleo-Indian
• Chronology in the Southeast Early Paleo-Indian Subperiod (about 9500-9000b.c.)
• Middle Paleo-Indian Subperiod (9000-8500b.c.)
• Late Paleo-Indian Subperiod (8500-7900b.c.)
• Paleo-Indian Settlement and Subsistence
• The Paleo-Indian Period in North Carolina
• The Coastal Plain
• The Piedmont
• The Mountains
• Chapter 3 The Archaic Period: A Time of Regionalization and Specialization
• The Archaic Period in the Piedmont Early Archaic Period (8000-6000b.c.)
• Middle Archaic Period (6000-3000b.c.)
• Late Archaic Period (3000-1000b.c.)
• The Archaic Period in the Mountains Early Archaic Period (8000-6000b.c.)
• Middle Archaic Period (6000-3000b.c.)
• Late Archaic Period (3000-1000b.c.)
• The Archaic Period on the Coast and Coastal Plain Summary
• Chapter 4 The Woodland Period in the Piedmont
• The Piedmont Village Tradition
• The Early Woodland and Middle Woodland Periods (1000b.c.-a.d.800)
• The Badin Phase
• The Yadkin Phase Recent Research and the Early-Middle
• Woodland Chronology Early Excavations in the Northeast Piedmont
• The Whites Creek Survey and the Forbush Creek Excavations Summary
• The Late Woodland Period (a.d.800-1600)
• The Uwharrie Phase (a.d.800-1200)
• The Haw River Phase (a.d.1000-1400)
• The Dan River Phase (a.d.1000-1450)
• The Donnaha Phase (a.d.1000-1450)
• The Hillsboro Phase (a.d.1400-1600)
• The Early Saratown Phase (a.d.1450-1600)
• The Southern Piedmont
• A Brief History of Early Excavations
• The Pee Dee Culture
• The Caraway Phase (a.d.1500-1700)
• Chapter 5 The Woodland and Mississippian Periods in the Appalachian Summit Region:
• The Search for Cherokee Roots
• The Woodland Period
• The Early Woodland Period (1000-300b.c.)
• The Middle Woodland Period (300b.c.-a.d.800)
• The Late Woodland Period (a.d.800-1100)
• The South Appalachian Mississippian Tradition
• The Pisgah Phase (a.d.1000-1450)
• Mound Structure and Political Complexity Lamar
• Culture and the Qualla Phase (aftera.d.1350)
• The Eastern Fringe of the Appalachian Summit Summary
• Chapter 6 The Woodland Period on the Coast and Coastal Plain
• A Brief History of Coastal Plain Archaeology
• The Early Woodland Period (1000-300b.c.)
• The Deep Creek and New River Phases Hamp's Landing
• The Middle Woodland Period (300b.c.-a.d.800)
• The Mount Pleasant Phase
• The Cape Fear Phase Sand Burial Mounds
• The Late Woodland Period (a.d.800-1650)
• The Colington Phase
• The White Oak Phase
• The Cashie Phase Summary
• Chapter 7 The Contact Period: Tribes, Traders, and Turmoil
• The Contact Period in the Central Piedmont (a.d.1600-1710)
• The Mitchum Phase (a.d.1600-1670)
• The Jenrette Phase (a.d.1600-1680)
• The Fredricks Phase (a.d.1680-1710)
• The North Central Piedmont during the Contact Period