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Excavating Occaneechi Town
Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century Indian Village in North Carolina Edited by R. P. Stephen Davis Jr., Patrick C. Livingood, H. Trawick Ward, and Vincas P. Steponaitis Copyright © 1998 by the University of North Carolina Press. All rights reserved. ISBN 0-8078-6503-6 (cd-rom & booklet).
Foreword Mécou Wítahe. Ein Yukéwa
Yapóske Amañishuké. (Welcome, friends. A long
time ago, the hilly land . . . This is a phrase in the Tutelo-Saponi
dialect of the Yésah language, the only surviving dialect of the
northern-eastern Siouan peoples.) A long time ago, the hilly land that
is now called the Piedmont of Virginia and North Carolina was the home
of our ancestors, the Yésah, a people who had lived in peace and
balance with their world for centuries. Their numerous villages and
towns were spread along the same fertile river valleys and meadows that
are so abundant today. Though these communities were semiautonomous,
each distinct village was interconnected with others through a complex
web of kinship. Through time these villages maintained their collective
identity as Yésah, the people of the land. Relationships
and trade were maintained among groups of villages through
well-traveled trading paths. In time, such trails as the Occaneechi
Trading Path become the foundation for many of today's major interstate
highways. Though conflicts with other tribes occasionally arose and
warfare was practiced with our traditional enemies, the people remained
in balance with the land. Unfortunately, this way of life was not
destined to continue. Dramatic change was sparked by the arrival of the
first European explorers to our shores. Soon after their initial
contact with early Spanish and English explorers, the Indian people of
the Piedmont began to suffer from diseases to which they had no
immunity. These early explorers and the colonists and traders who
followed also disrupted the lives of the Siouan peoples by introducing
alcohol and its many ill effects to them. As our ancestors died from
these new diseases and addictions, the indigenous population of the
Piedmont experienced a drastic decline. The devastation was so
pronounced that in the year 1708, the English explorer and surveyor
John Lawson estimated that, as a result of these new diseases, at least
five-sixths of the indigenous population within 200 miles of European
settlement had succumbed. While the Indian people of the Piedmont
experienced this decline, European settlers established a firm foothold
along the eastern seaboard. These settlers were eager to trade with the
Indian people for furs and other raw and finished materials. In
exchange, our ancestors were introduced to European wares and weapons.
The Indian trade became a political tool of the European powers in
North America, leading to additional conflict, which further decimated
the indigenous population. One result of this trade was an increasing
dependence on European goods, and eastern Indian nations found
themselves in fierce competition for European wares and commodities.
Newly introduced weapons from Europe changed the face of traditional
Indian warfare. War became much more deadly and destructive for our
ancestors as incursions and warfare with other Indian nations and
settlers increased on a scale never before witnessed by the people of
the land. Our ancestors settled along the Eno River after the
devastating attack by Nathaniel Bacon and his colonial militia at
Occaneechi Island in the spring of 1676. This attack initiated a tragic
period of increased warfare, forced migrations, social marginalization,
and the resultant cultural decay that ultimately led to our
assimilation into the dominant society. As a result of the social
cataclysm that befell us, little of our material culture survived.
However, much of our history and culture still lies protected beneath
the earth mother. Since the 1980s, the Research Laboratories of
Archaeology (RLA) of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
has undertaken the enormous task of uncovering the archaeological
record of the Yésah or eastern Siouan inhabitants of the
Piedmont of Virginia and North Carolina. Perhaps its most effective and
informative effort has been in the location and excavation of
Occaneechi Town on the Eno River near Hillsborough, North
Carolina. Through their painstaking work, RLA archaeologists have
been able to paint a picture of a people during a period of transition.
They have actively sought the support of the Occaneechi Band of the
Saponi Nation and have given us, the descendants of the historic
Occaneechi, Saponi, and related tribes, a more precise understanding of
our unique culture and history as well as a firmer connection to our
ancestors. The Occaneechi-Saponi people have been and continue to be
actively involved with the Research Laboratories of Archaeology
throughout its excavations. The RLA has made a conscious effort
to treat our ancestors' remains withrespect, allowing us, their
children, to reinter them once they have beenlocated and documented. I
give special thanks to H. Trawick Ward, R. P.Stephen Davis Jr., and RLA
director Vincas Steponaitis for all theirheartfelt support and work
with our tribe. If, when installing thisCD-ROM, you elect to view our
ancestors' remains, please remember thatthe images you see are of human
beings, our ancestors. DokalidöNedúge Liohatéhla
Yim Ehuya Konspéwa KebínaYalopokíwa! They are
to be viewed with respect and good thoughts! Excavating
Occaneechi Town will allow you, the public, to learn about the
Occaneechi people's history and culture from a unique perspective. You
will be able to interact with your computer terminal as if you were
actually a member of the excavation team. Examples will be shown of
skilled Occaneechi craft work that has been uncovered as well as
numerous indigenous and European artifacts from the site. In addition,
students and professionals alike will see and learn the archaeological
skills and techniques painstakingly used to obtain information about
our ancestors. Enjoy using this CD-ROM and learning about the
techniques used in this type of archaeological excavation. Above all,
remember the ancient people whose daily lives will be illustrated on
your screen. Please respect their struggles, which brought them to the
Eno River valley and which we, their living descendants, continue to
this day. Nekéwa Bíwa.
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