NC Coastal Plain Symposium

N.C. archeologists to meet at ECU; public invited

GREENVILLE, NC (Oct. 1, 2008) -- North Carolina archeologists will gather at East Carolina University next week to discuss recent research in the coastal plain.

A symposium, “Twenty-five Years and Counting: Current Archeological Research in the North Carolina Coastal Plain,” will be held Saturday, Oct. 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Willis Hall on ECU’s campus. The public is invited to this free event.

The symposium is being held more than 25 years after the publication of “Prehistory in North Carolina,” a prominent guide to state archeology in its time. Presenters will discuss discoveries made since that journal’s release, as well as the direction of future studies. Their findings will be compiled in a new publication about archeology in the coastal plain.

Charles Ewen, ECU archeologist and symposium organizer, said the past 25 years have brought many changes to the study of archeology here.

“There are so many more archeologists in North Carolina today, and a lot more work is being done. As much, if not more archeology, has been done in the last 25 years, than in all of the previous years combined,” he said.

Ewen said much of that research has been driven by development. Before land can be developed, archeological surveys must be completed.

New data, Ewen said, have not changed common perceptions of history but, rather, filled in the gaps.
“We’re finding out more about the hunting and gathering societies in eastern North Carolina, and what life was like for the colonists. We’re rethinking what life was like back then,” he said.

The symposium will feature studies of all time periods, from the Paleoindian-Archaic period through Woodland and Historic periods. Some of the subjects include Native American subsistence practices, ongoing research at Fort Raleigh, underwater archeology and the digital future of research in the coastal plain.

Ewen encouraged the public to attend the talks, which will be accessible to everyone. “Everybody likes archeology; they just don’t know too much about it,” he said. “This will be a great opportunity to learn new things about North Carolina history.”

A reception planned for Friday, Oct. 10, will feature Dr. Stanley South, a well-known historical archeologist in the Carolinas who will discuss several of his recent inquiries into the archeological record of North and South Carolinas.

Registration for these free events will continue through Friday, Oct. 3. Walk-in guests are welcome to attend but will not receive lunch on Saturday.

To register or for more information, contact John Mintz John.Mintz@ncmail.net or Charles Ewen, ewenc@ecu.edu



Schedule for Symposium and Presentations:

9:00-9:10 AM
Welcome and Introduction to the Symposium, John J. Mintz (North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, Charles R. Ewen (Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University), and Lawrence E. Abbott (North Carolina Office of State Archaeology)


Paleoindian-Archaic Period Studies

9:10-9:30 AM
Geoarchaeological Investigations of Stratified Holocene Aeolian Deposits along the Tar River in North Carolina, Chris Moore, Savannah River Archaeological Research Program
.
9:30-9:50 AM
The Lithic Resources of the North Carolina Coastal Plain: Prehistoric Acquisition and Utilization Patterns, Lawrence Abbott, Office of State Archaeology, Kathleen Farrell, John Nickerson, and Kenny Gay, North Carolina Geological Survey

9:50-10:10 AM
“Paleoindian and Archaic Period Research in the North Carolina Coastal Plain” I. Randolph Daniel, Jr., Ph.D., Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University
.


BREAK 10:10-10:25 AM



Woodland Period Studies

10:25-10:45 AM
“Recent Woodland Archaeology of the North Carolina Coast” Joe Herbert, Ph.D. Cultural Resources Management Program, Fort Bragg, NC

10:45-11:05 AM
Woodland Period Site Distribution and Landscape Use in the Coastal Plain of Southeastern North Carolina-Tracy L. Millis (TRC Environmental Corporation, Inc.)

11:05-11:25 AM
Native American Subsistence Practices in Coastal North Carolina: Current Evidence and Future Directions. Dale Hutchinson, Ph.D., C. Margaret Scarry, Ph.D., Kim Schaefer, and Ben Shields, Research Laboratories of Archaeology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

11:25-11:45 AM
Broad Reach Revisited – What We Know Now
Heather Millis (TRC Environmental Corporation, Inc.)

LUNCH 11:45 AM-1:00 PM



Historic Period Studies

1:00 PM- 1:20 PM
Reenvisioning North Carolina's Coastal History. Charles R. Ewen, Ph.D., Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University

1:20-1:40 PM
“they in respect of troubling our inhabiting and planting, are not to be feared:” Archaeology and Ethnohistory of Native Coastal Populations Before and After European Contact. John J. Mintz (North Carolina Office of State Archaeology), Thomas E. Beaman, Jr. (Tar River Archaeological Research), and Paul J. Mohler (North Carolina Department of Transportation)

1:40- 2:00 PM
Archaeological Research at Fort Raleigh: The Past 20 Years. Phillip Evans, Eric Klingelhofer, Nicholas Luccketti First Colony Foundation


BREAK 2:00-2:15 PM


2:15- 2:35 PM
Material Snapshots of Tuscarora Life: The State of Cashie phase Research in Eastern North Carolina. Charles L. Heath, Fort Bragg CRMP, E. Clay Swindell, University of Leicester, and David S. Phelps, East Carolina University (Emeritus), John E. Byrd, Central Identification Laboratory, Hickam AFB.

2:35-2:55 PM
Giving Voice to a Silent Past: African American Archaeology in Coastal
North Carolina. Patricia M. Samford, Ph.D., Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, St. Leonard, Maryland.


2:55-3:15 PM
Forty Years Beneath the Waves: Underwater Archeology in North Carolina
Richard Lawrence, Office of State Archaeology Deputy State Archaeologist, Underwater


BREAK 3:15-3:30 PM


New Problems- New Opportunities

3:30-3:50 PM
Now You See It; Now You Don’t. Coastal Erosion and Coastal Cottages: Twenty Years of Cultural Resource Management Studies.
Loretta Lautzenheiser, Susan Bamann, Ph.D., Dennis Gosser,
Coastal Carolina Research, Inc.


3:50-4:10 PM
Present and Future Trends in Coastal Development Patterns
Doug Huggett, Division of Coastal Management Major Permits Coordinator


4:10-4:30 PM
Taking a Byte From Your Trowel: Is There a Digital Future for the North Carolina Coastal Plain’s Past? Scott Madry, Ph.D., Research Associate, Research Laboratories of Archaeology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

PANEL DISCUSSION. 4:40-5:00 pm
Steve Claggett, NC State Archaeologist
Charles Ewen, Professor, Anthropology, East Carolina University
Randy Daniel, Professor, Anthropology, East Carolina University