Archaeological Expedition

Archaeological Expedition. . Archaeological Excavation , The Bureau of American Ethnology conducted an exploratory dig at this site in 1920. Archaeologist William Myer conducted what was one of the earliest examples of a "scientific" excavation. At this site, archaeological testing and historical research were combined to provide a comprehensive story of the events that took place, spanning several centuries. Myer named the group of mounds, the "Fewkes Group," in honor of Dr. J.W. Fewkes, Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology during the early twentieth century. The findings and artifacts were sent to the Smithsonian Institution where they remain today. , Archaeological Findings , The archaeological research revealed that the Fewkes Group site included an enclosed, well-developed, sedentary village that was home to a large population of prehistoric people known as the Mound Builders or Mississippians. Over the centuries, the Mississippian people, a complex and sophisticated race, lived, hunted, fished, farmed, and buried their dead in this immediate area. This site is one of the finest relics of an ancient Native American Indian Culture in the South., Food Sources , The expedition recorded a large number of deer bones within the site. It was estimated that deer served as 85% of all their animal food. Deer were plentiful, eliminating the need to hunt smaller prey., Spiritual Life , Native American Indians at the mound complex had a highly developed spiritual life, evidenced by ceremonial structures, alters and fire pits. Sacred maize or corn was intimately tied with the religious rites. , Pottery Vessels , Archaeologists recovered numerous prehistoric pottery vessels and their fragments. Among the Smithsonian collection is an effigy jar of a female form, from this pre-historic Brentwood community. , Tidbits , . At least two different Native American Indian groups lived on the site and are distinguished by their method of burial. The earliest people built the mounds and buried their dead in flexed position. The later group buried in rectangular stone-slab graves with the body fully extended. , . Research showed that the people evolved from nomadic 'hunters and gatherers' to a sedentary agriculturally based economy. , . Tennessean William Edward Myer (1862-1923) was a pioneer in the field of archaeology, helping to advance the discipline from a casual hobby to a true scientific discipline. , . William Edward Myer's report, Two Prehistoric Villages in Middle Tennessee, was published within the Forty-first Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1919-1924. , . Background of this sign is a map of the Native American Indian mounds and Boiling Spring Academy produced during the 1920 Myers' archaeological expedition.