Native Americans in North Carolina's Western Piedmont

Native Americans in North Carolina's Western Piedmont. . From small bands of nomadic hunters and gatherers to builders of earthen mounds and permanent agricultural settlements, Native Americans have occupied the western Piedmont region for at least 12,000 years. This rich Native American history is documented by nationally and internationally significant archaeological research., Here at the Catawba Meadows Archaeological Interpretive Center, archaeologists have recorded the location of a large 16th-century Native American village, one of several significant sites in the region. Another site located about eight miles north of here, known as the Berry site, was the location of a Native American town called Joara and Fort San Juan, built by Spanish soldiers in 1567 and occupied for 18 months before it was destroyed by local Native Americans. Fort San Juan was the first European settlement in the interior of the United States, built nearly 20 years before the English “Lost Colony” at Roanoke Island and 40 years before the Jamestown settlement. The destruction of Fort San Juan marked the end of Spanish colonial exploits in the interior and effectively opened the Piedmont region to 18th-century English and Scots-Irish settlers., Captions (left to right) , . Preparing for a photograph at the Berry site, field school students and crews clean the surface by scraping it with trowels. Structure 5 is marked by the square-shaped area of darker soil. The archaeologists use the photographs to document their work. Following the photos, detailed maps are drawn of the area. , . A wide variety of artifacts are discovered through systematically sifting the excavated soil. Examples from the Berry site include a clay bead and stone arrow point. , . In 2013, the archaeologists discovered a portion of the moat that surrounded Fort San Juan at Joara. This image shows Dr. Sarah Sherwood, University of the South, as she examines the strata, or layers of soil, in the nearly six-foot-deep trench. , . Middle school Archaeology Explorers use the waterscreen to search for very small artifacts., Box: , The North Carolina mountains and foothills were designated the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area in recognition of their natural beauty and living traditions of music, craft, agriculture, and Cherokee culture. This location is part of a regional trail of distinctive heritage sites. Ask for information at area visitor centers. More information online at: www.blueridgeheritage.com