Evening star., 1938-08-06
OF STARS,
MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science PROGRESS
in Field, Laboratory
and Study.
By THOMAS X, HENRY,

When the Tennessee Valley Author
ity first planned the construction of
Norris Dam on the Clinch River In
Northeastern Tennessee 1t was recog-
nized that the 53-square- mile lake that
would result would completely obliterate
all evidences Of the history Of the
region.
It was a countryside known to be rich
In archaeological remains Of the human
beings who had lived there before the
coming of the white men. These re-
mains-caves, mounds and rock shelters
had been explored very inadequately
in the past. 1t was found possible by
means Of G. w. A. and F. E. r. A. labor,
under the direction of Maj. William s.
Webb, to carry out an intensive survey
in order that the complete story the
remains could tell would be obtained
before they were wiped out The sur
vey revealed % sites showing definite
evidence OF prehistoric occupation. On
these sites were 20 earth mounds, 8 stone
mounds, village sites and 7 caves.
Twelve of the mounds had been used
for burials and II had been associated
with prehistoric structures.
They located the remains of 54 wooden
structures, 20 of which are thought to
have been dwellings and "a to have
been more pretentious structures, the
town houses" Of the Indian tribes who
had inhabited the region. They also
found considerable amount of skeletal
material of the early inhabitants. It was
evidently q region which had been occu-
pied by human beings for many genera
tions before the coming Of the whites
and the remains indicate that at least
two and probably more successive popu-
lation waves passed over the countryside.
The complete report Of this survey has
just been issued as bulletin of the
Bureau Of American Ethnology of the
Smithsonian Institution. All the ma
terial recovered has been deposited with
the Universities of Tennessee. Kentucky
and Michigan for detailed study, to-
gether with exact records of where it
was located. Maj. Webb is cautious In
coming to conclusions as to the identity
OF the ancient peoples who left these
remains. The research may eventually
have important bearings on the still
mysterious problem Of the Mound Build
erS.
Historically there was no record of
the occupation of the region. 1t was
within 40 miles, however, of the Little
Tennessee River. which was the site of
the Over Hill Cherokee, branch of the
powerful and progressive Cherokee Ma
ton, which was encountered by the first
white explorers. 1t would be natural to
assume that this people had occupied
the rich area now covered by the Norris
lake.
But 1t is quite doubtful, the remains
indicate, that they were there other than
temporarily. For one thing, the re-
mains OF the town houses are rectangu-
lar. The Cherokee town house, of which
there are descriptions extant by early
travellers, were invariably circular. This
is considered quite significant. since the
culture complexes of Indian tribes were
quite rigid and builders of round houses
would have built q square house only
under exceptional circumstances.
Moreover, the Cherokee themselves
have no legends of their own occupancy
of the region or the presence there of
any other people. They almost certainly
would have retained some tradition If
the area had been peopled within rela-
lively recent times. AS a matter of spec
ulation, Maj. Webb believes that the
actual builders of these structures must
have left the country about the time the
powerful and warlike Cherokee arrived,
not earlier than the last quarter Of the
17th century.
There were two clear types of these
log houSes-one built with large and the
other with small logs. Both types appear
to have been contemporaneous. One
type bears considerable resemblance to
the architectural style of the Greek In
dians found further to the south by the
early white settlers The archeologist
then is faced with the possibility of two
Indian tribes living side by side in appar-
ent harmony but with quite different cul-
tural complexes
One Of the most notable actual cases
Of this is afforded by the Greeks them
selves and who are, perhaps, the most
problematical of all prehistoric tribes
in the Southern United States-the
Yuchi. They lived side by side with
the Creeks and were members of the
same confederacy. Yet they spoke an
entirely different language. 1t is highly
possible, Maj. Webb believes, that the
Creeks and the Yuchi first formed their
close friendship by living together in
the Norris Basin area at some time be-
tween the discovery of the New World
by Europeans and the beginning of writ
ten records of the Indian tribes of the
interior. The Yuchi probably were the
builders of the small log" houses.
There are vague historical records which
may support this.
Evidence was found of group in the
region still earlier than the Greeks and
the Yuchis-a people who buried their
dead in the floors of caves, who evidently
were quite primitive, and seem to have
some affiliations with the great Algon-
quinian race of Indians found along the
Atlantic Coast by the earliest explorers.
They apparently lived in the same caves
in which their dead were buried and
were represented by no great numbers
at any one time. They exerted very little
influence on the archaeology Of the region.