Past CRITA Programs, 2023-2025

The Repatriation of the "Archaeology & Native Peoples of Tennessee" Exhibition
Timothy Baumann (McClung Museum, University of Tennessee)

Working with eight Native Nations, the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee (UT) opened a new exhibition explaining the ethical and legal process on the repatriation of Native American Ancestral Remains and cultural items back to their proper cultural communities. This exhibition reimagines the 22-year-old Archaeology & Native Peoples of Tennessee gallery to highlight repatriation's vital role in preserving and commemorating Indigenous cultures. Visitors to the exhibition will notice many items previously on display have been removed as a part of the repatriation process as mandated by Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). The updated gallery walls and videos incorporate Native voices explaining the importance of NAGPRA and its significance towards Native American sovereignty and human rights. This exhibit transformation is the result of the museum's desire to be transparent with the public and to strengthen relationships with Native Nations.

A Survey of Tennessee's Pit Cellars
Dan Brock (Tennessee Division of Archaeology)

This presentation examines pit cellars in Tennessee. Pit cellars are pits used to store food or personal items and are typically found underneath historic structures. These features are important to archaeologist for the primary contexts they provide and their ability to inform on past lifeways. Archaeological excavations in Tennessee have revealed a number of these features at a variety of sites. To synthesize previous research, a survey of previously excavated pit cellars was conducted. This study contextualizes pit cellars to determine if there were similarities between their use and design between different groups of people within the state. Patterns in pit location, morphology, content, and function are compared through time to understand how pit cellars were constructed, when and why they were used, and the ethnic identity of those who used them in Tennessee

Archaeological Applications of Phytolith Research and the Potential for Tennessee Archaeology
Alison Damick (University of Tennessee -Knoxville)

Phytoliths are siliceous microparticles that form inside the cells and intracellular spaces of plants and take on the shapes of the spaces in which they formed. When the organic plant bodies decay, phytoliths are deposited in the sediments in which they decayed and remain there indefinitely. Phytoliths can then be extracted from buried soils and sediments and analyzed to determine what vegetation communities were present in the past, and how different parts of plants appear in archaeological contexts. This paper will discuss the utility of phytolith research for paleoenvironmental reconstructions, particularly in alluvial contexts, as well as archaeological site-based applications. Examples from the author's prior research in New Mexico and Lebanon will be used to show how such approaches can and should be applied to Tennessee environmental archaeology, where phytolith analyses have been rare to date.

One More Look at Bone Preservation at Sachsen Cave Shelter 
Meagan Dennison (Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc.)

This paper is an update to research presented at the 2012 CRITA meeting. At that time, Sachsen Cave Shelter had been recently excavated and analyses indicated the shelter had been occupied from the Middle and Late Archaic periods through the Woodland period. While overall concentrations of artifacts were less dense in deeper portions of the shelter’s deposits, faunal remains were especially lacking. pH analysis reflected that these sediments were more acidic than sediments near the surface, suggesting the lack of bone was due to poor preservation as opposed to site function. Since this initial research, further work was conducted to understand the chemical composition of the sediment using pXRF analysis and to take hydrology of the Cumberland Plateau into consideration. Results indicate that the lack of bone is due to poor preservation conditions associated with seasonal inundation of these lower deposits.

Mapping the Middle Cumberland
Aaron Deter-Wolf (Tennessee Division of Archaeology)
Sarah Eckhardt (California State University, Sacramento)
Jayur Mehta (Florida State University)

The Mississippian period archaeological record of the Cumberland River watershed in north-central Tennessee has attracted the attention of scholars and archaeologists for over a century. Although geographic definitions of the Middle Cumberland Region (MCR) have shifted over time, no contemporary geospatial projection of the region yet exists. In this paper we discuss the historical progression of regional boundaries, and present the first open access GIS shapefile of the MCR. Using this shapefile as a launching point for spatial and paleoenvironmental analyses, we offer several preliminary observations regarding the placement and distribution of Mississippian period sites, query the Living Blended Drought Atlas to examine patterns of environmental moisture between the tenth and fourteenth centuries CE, and discuss possible implications of that data for interpreting the trajectory of Mississippian culture in the region.

Evidence for Widespread Grasslands in Tennessee and Implications for Cultural History and Archaeology 
Dwayne Estes (Southeastern Grasslands Institute, Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University)

Within the past five years, the Southeastern Grasslands Institute (SGI) has called for a complete revaluation of Tennessee's historical and prehistorical landscape. Through most of the 20th and earliest 21st centuries, ecologists and historians alike portrayed Tennessee as nearly completely forested at the time of Euro-American settlement except for open areas near Native American settlements, glades, marshes, windfalls, burns, or cliffs. Yet this popular view simply doesn't comport with accumulating information from biological, ecological, and historical sources. Data suggest that perhaps as much as 30-40% of the Tennessee landscape (up to 10 million acres) was dominated by prairies, savannas, meadows, glades, barrens, balds, open wetlands, and open grassy woodlands. While much of this open landscape likely was managed by Native Americans during the Holocene, biological data suggest some of these grasslands pre-date human occupation in the Mid-South. These revelations present major implications for Tennessee’s cultural history, archaeology, ecology, and conservation.

Preliminary Interpretations from MTSU’s 2022 Archaeological Field School at Castalian Springs (40SU14) 
Paul Eubanks (Middle Tennessee State University)
Kevin E. Smith (Middle Tennessee State University)

After a two-year hiatus, Middle Tennessee State University resumed its annual archaeological field school in the summer of 2022 at the Castalian Springs mound site (ca. AD 1200 – 1350). Between 2017 and 2019, the field school excavated at this site’s mineral springs, but this past summer we shifted our focus a couple of hundred meters to the north to its central ceremonial precinct. Our excavations were located on a low rise just to the west of Mound 2, the site’s largest mound, and at “Mound 25,” a possible mound in the southwestern corner of the plaza. The work near Mound 2 yielded numerous examples of raw crystalline artifacts, supporting the idea that there may have been a crystalline workshop to the west of Mound 2. Although more work is needed at Mound 25, it appears that this mound contains the remains of at least one dismantled and buried special-purpose structure.

Florence Hawley’s Enduring Legacy in Southeastern Archaeology and Beyond
Michaelyn Harle (Tennessee Valley Authority)
Suzanne Fisher (Tennessee Valley Authority)
Heather Heart  (Tennessee Valley Authority)

One of the pioneers of dendrochronology, Florence Hawley was employed by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the 1930s during the archaeological excavations that were conducted prior to impoundment of Norris Reservoir. Hawley’s work was one of the earliest attempts at establishing a tree-ring chronology in the southeast. While Hawley would go on to have an illustrious career in archaeology in the southwest, unfortunately, sexist attitudes would undermine her efforts in the southeast and her early work was never published. It would be decades before the scientific community realized the importance of this research both within and beyond the archaeological discipline. This paper highlights Hawley’s early research in the southeast and describes how TVA is using her early research on red cedar samples to better understand the impacts of large droughts on TVA’s operating system.

Recent Research in the Sequatchie Valley of Southeast Tennesse
Matthew Jorgenson (AECOM) 
Peter Sittig (AECOM)

The Federal Highway Administration and Tennessee Department of Transportation sponsored testing of four precontact archaeological sites along the Sequatchie Valley in Sequatchie and Bledsoe Counties in the summer of 2020. The Phase II work at these sites produced a wealth of information about precontact societies in this very under-studied area of the state. Temporally diagnostic artifacts from all Archaic and Woodland subperiods were recovered, but the bulk of materials appear to be related to Late Woodland occupation of the valley. Diagnostic ceramics, projectile points, and a wide variety of floral and faunal remains establish the context of these sites. Radiocarbon assays date the Late Woodland occupations of these sites to a roughly 200-year period between 1345 and 1172 BP (circa 600 to 800 A.D.). This presentation provides an overview of the sites and results of the 2020 work.

Spatial Analysis of Lithic and Ceramic Artifacts at a Multicomponent Middle Cumberland Site (40CH210)
Joanna Klein (TerraXplorations Inc.) 
Michael Eichstaedt, (TerraXplorations Inc.)
Steven Filoromo (TerraXplorations Inc.) 

The Trinity Site (40CH210), a multicomponent site in the Middle Cumberland River Valley (MCRV), was excavated by TerraXplorations in 2020 and 2021. In an assemblage of over 22,000 artifacts, large quantities of identifiable lithics and ceramics were present across the site. Artifact analysis, in combination with geophysical and geospatial techniques, reveals a wealth of behavioral information about the site’s inhabitants. Typed projectile points possess a far greater time depth than the radiocarbon dates obtained, spanning almost seven millennia of the region’s prehistory. Typed ceramics spanned the entirety of the Woodland and Mississippian period, including many identifiable with regional cultures. These artifacts recovered combined with archaeological information at the Trinity Site can tell us about the use of the MCRV landscape by many different peoples over a vast period of time. 

 New Radiocarbon Dates from the Parrish Site (40Dv152) and Archaeological Implications
J. Scott Jones (Midsouth Cultural Resources Consulting)

The Parrish site (40Dv152) is a multi-component prehistoric site located in Davidson County, TN. Of particular interest are Woodland and Mississippian occupations. Newly acquired radiocarbon dates place late prehistoric occupations in the 11th and 14th centuries. A fourteenth-century occupation for the Mississippian occupation is substantiated by a shell-tempered assemblage with few post-14th century horizon markers such as applique’ rim bowls, effigy vessels, or incised rim vessels. The eleventh-century association is surprising as these dates are associated with limestone-tempered, cordmarked ceramics that are typically associated with the Middle Woodland period. Implications for a Late Woodland occupation and the emergence of the Mississippian period in the Middle Cumberland region are discussed.

An Experimental Study of Heat Alteration on the Color, Facture, and Flaking Properties of Upper St. Louis and Warsaw Cherts of the Western Highland Rim
Michael J. Miller (Fort Campbell Contractor / SpecPro Professional Services, LLC)

This research on heat alteration of Upper St. Louis and Warsaw cherts compares experimental and archaeological specimen data to provide an understanding of precontact use of heat to purposely modify lithic material. Knapped chert flakes and bifaces were heat treated in a controlled environment following an experimental protocol to track the effects of heat on the physical properties of chert. Testing specimens at set temperature intervals identified when physical changes occurred. Reduction of experimental lithic samples tested and measured mechanical property change related to fracturability. Comparative artifact analysis of heat-altered lithics from Tennessee state site number 40MT0586 correlated with experimental data showed planned intentional heat treatment by Archaic stone tool manufacturers at Fort Campbell.

MoonShadow Mapping Project - Preliminary Results for CRITA 2023
Richard Mooney (Independent Researcher/ESRARA) 

The MoonShadow Mapping Project was initiated to map details of a Tennessee petroglyph site using Terrestrial LIDAR stationed about six feet from the panel, resulting in extremely accurate geo-referenced coordinates.  These point clouds were combined with Photogrammetric point clouds taken from a distance of 6 inches from the panel to precisely locate very small, but important, features.  This combination has resulted in a Close-up Technology where selected point-to-point vector calculations were made using spherical geometry equations to relate the inscribed lines to very precise topocentric celestial positions.  The results are an independent confirmation of the successful observations made in 1997, 2006 and 2016 of the Lunar Extreme Standstill shadow alignments.   Furthermore, multiple coordinates selected along the inscribed lines which follow the Extreme shadows over time can be used to provide a statistically significant population to support an "intentionally created" argument for these intended Shadow Alignment Transient/Track Lines.

Chert Provenance at the Carson-Conn-Short Site, and what that Tells us about Paleoindian Mobility/Social Interaction
Ryan M. Parish (University of Memphis)
J. Scott Jones (Midsouth Cultural Resource Consulting)
Mark R. Norton (Tennessee Division of Archaeology, retired)
John B. Broster (Tennessee Division of Archaeology, retired)

The source of chert artifacts from the Carson-Conn-Short site (40BN190) informs us about the use of local lithic resources and the longer distance sources indicate group mobility and/or interaction. The site is located along the floodplain of the Tennessee River and consists of seven loci containing artifacts spanning the range of diagnostic Terminal Pleistocene tools. Deposits of Fort Payne chert are located on either bank and visual identification of the assemblage suggests a heavy reliance on these nearby sources. Additionally, the presence of artifacts manufactured from exotic sources gives us significant behavioral information. Analytical chert source data illustrates these patterns.

Expanding the Palette: Surface Preparation in Rock Art in the Precontact Southeast
Aubrey Roemer (University of Tennessee -Knoxville)
Jan Simek (University of Tennessee -Knoxville)
Alan Cressler (University of Tennessee/Cave Art Research Team)
Bill Deane (University of Tennessee/Cave Art Research Team)

In the past forty years, continued archaeological research has illuminated an expansive and long standing tradition of rock art production in the North American Southeast. Ancient rock art has been differentiated by methods of technical application: pictographs, petroglyphs, and mud glyphs. These categorical typologies are used to describe discreet artistic processes, as a framework for broadly understanding the diversity and distribution of modes of artistic production. However, continued research efforts have offered a finer-grain resolution for categorizing ancient indigenous artistic disciplines in the Southeast. This includes the preparation of surfaces specifically for the act of art making. This paper discusses surface preparation as it has been seen in tandem with pictographs, petroglyphs, and mud glyphs in known open air and subterranean spaces, but focuses on the artwork in Mud Glyph Cave as an exceptional example of this artistic technology.

The Wall of Life: A Possible Archaic Petroglyph Site on the South Cumberland Plateau 
Jan F. Simek (University of Tennessee - Knoxville)
Jeremy Price (Winchester, TN)
Alan Cressler (University of Tennessee/Cave Art Research Team)

For several years, professional and avocational researchers have surveyed rockshelter and bluff locations along the South Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee and Alabama. In 2021, a rockshelter was identified containing numerous elaborate petroglyphs along the back wall. Named the "Wall of Life," the site exhibits deeply engraved spirals carved into the sandstone forming the shelter. Some of these are quite elaborate and comprise multiple figures; others are simple single spirals. In at least one instance, an unfinished figure shows how the glyphs were made. Artifacts from looter holes in the floor sediments suggest an Archaic age for the site.

Chronology and Style in “Crib Theme” Gorgets from the Castalian Springs Mounds, Tennessee
Kevin E. Smith (Middle Tennessee State University)

During Ed Myer’s 1891 excavations at the Castalian Springs Mounds in Sumner County, he recovered two marine shell gorgets that have been described as Moorehead Style Crib gorgets. These rare gorgets reveal a relationship amongst Etowah, Moundville, and Castalian Springs during the Early Wilbanks phase (AD 1250-1325). With the decline and abandonment of the Castalian Springs polity, Etowah’s primary long-distance engagement with the Middle Cumberland Region during the Late Wilbanks phase (AD 1325-1375) appears to have shifted to the Sellars and Rutherford-Kizer polities. The application of both type-variety and stylistic approaches to marine shell gorgets from Castalian Springs provides a powerful demonstration of long-distance connections amongst elite individuals – either through kinship or, more likely, through social houses.

Archaeological Relocation of Five Historic Cemeteries in North-Central Tennessee 
Marc Wampler (WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.)
Steve Martin (WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.)
Bridget Mohr (WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.)
Nancy Ross-Stallings (WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.)
Allison Soergel (WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.)
Hank McKelway (WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.)
Shannon Hodge (Middle Tennessee State University)

In the spring of 2020 WSP E&IS embarked on the removal and relocation of graves associated with five late 19th- early 20th- century historic cemeteries located in rural north-central Tennessee. Each cemetery was mapped using noninvasive geophysical techniques to locate unmarked burials. Archival research revealed that the decedents are associated with the local historic Odom’s Bend African American community. A total of 118 burials were excavated and removed. Human remains and artifacts within the individual graves were documented using 3D photogrammetry techniques. Significant contributions to the African American life experience in this region of rural Tennessee can be greatly enhanced through the results of these investigations. Ongoing research is focused on the health of the population through skeletal biological analysis, African American mortuary customs, and socio-economic status. A synthesis of archival research and results of osteological and artifact analysis serves to "tell the story" of this forgotten African American community.

Crystal Production at Castalian Springs (40SU14) 
Lauren A. Averill (Middle Tennessee State University)
Paul N. Eubanks  (Middle Tennessee State University)

It has been argued by Michael Moore and colleagues that the Castalian Springs mound site (40SU14) was home to a Mississippian-era crystalline workshop. The paper presented here aims to identify potential locations for this workshop based on the density of raw and worked crystalline artifacts recovered at the site. Comparisons between the average crystal(s) per square meter for three potential production locales suggest that the southern part of the site may be the most probable location for crystal working, though this result could be potentially explained by other factors, such as proximity to the cosmologically significant mineral springs and/or data collection and reporting methods.

Exploring Mississippian Period Paints through Experimental Archaeology
Sierra M. Bow (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)
Jan F. Simek (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

This study adopts an experimental archaeological approach to investigate the composition of paints used during the Mississippian period. Through practical experimentation, multiple ingredients are explored, and non-destructive analytical methods are utilized to assess the accuracy and reliability of ingredient identification. This research not only sheds light on the artistic practices of this era but also highlights the effectiveness of modern analytical techniques in uncovering and understanding ancient materials. The combination of experimental reconstruction and advanced analysis contributes significantly to our broader comprehension of the cultural aspects of the Mississippian period in the Southeastern United States.

Community and Compliance: Ongoing work at the Almira Steele Orphanage Site in Chattanooga, TN
Alison Damick (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)
Brooke Persons (University of Tennessee, Chattanooga)

The Almira Steele Orphanage in Chattanooga served over 1600 children between 1884 and 1925, and was historically unique in that it was the only orphanage in the area at the time that provided for children who were Black, disabled, diseased, or over the age of 10. The footprint of this orphanage has been identified using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) on the site of a proposed University of Tennessee development on its Chattanooga campus. This paper reports on the ongoing work to document this important part of the heritage and history of historic Black Chattanooga ahead of development, including collaborating with the Bessie Smith Cultural Center and others in the community as part of the process.

Tennessee's Mapping and LiDAR Data
Paul Dudley (State of Tennessee)

This presentation will cover the State of Tennessee’s geospatial data available to the archaeology community and the public. The statewide LiDAR elevation program will be highlighted with an overview, resources, and an outline of available data products. Additionally, several archaeological use cases will be provided.

MTSU’s 2023 Excavations at Mound 25, Castalian Springs (40SU14)
Paul N. Eubanks  (Middle Tennessee State University)
Kevin E. Smith (Middle Tennessee State University)

In the summer of 2023, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) hosted an archaeological field school at the Castalian Springs mound site (ca. AD 1200 – 1350). For the second year in a row, the focus of the field school was Mound 25. Our work here uncovered the remains of a large, un-daubed rectangular structure, known as Structure 6. A strikingly similar structure, Structure 1, was investigated by MTSU in 2006-2007 approximately 200 m to the east. These two structures share a unique method of construction containing at least one wall trench partially lined with limestone wedges, and it is possible that they served a similar, non-domestic function. In this paper, we provide an update on the 2023 MTSU field school and put forth the hypothesis that structures 1 and 6 may be sequential versions of the same structure.

Archaic Shellfish Breeding and Resource Management in the Middle Cumberland River Valley 
Lacey S. Fleming (HNTB Corporation)

Shell middens are a worldwide archaeological phenomenon. In the Middle and Late Archaic periods (ca. 8900 - 5800 and 5800 - 3200 cal BP), the Indigenous inhabitants of what is now Middle Tennessee deposited mollusk shells at specific locations in the Middle Cumberland River Valley, forming significant accumulations that survive to the present day. The shells of freshwater mussel and snail taxa are found in these middens. Many archaeological interpretations have examined cultural practices around the creation and use of shell middens, but the fascinating life cycles of these animals are far less frequently addressed by research. Mussels have particularly complex reproductive processes including a larval period in which a parasitic relationship is formed with one or several host fish species. This paper will serve as a starting point for an exploration of the relationships between shellfish, fish, and humans during the Archaic period in the Middle Cumberland River Valley.

Archaeological Updates at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage and Tulip Grove
James N. Greene (TRC Environmental Corporation)
Krista Jordan-Greene (TRC Environmental Corporation)

TRC Environmental Corporation was contracted by the Andrew Jackson Foundation to provide archaeological services for pathway improvements at The Hermitage and renovations at Andrew Jackson Donelson’s Tulip Grove mansion. Documented features included a potential footer associated with Rachael’s grave house at the Hermitage, and Tulip Grove’s detached kitchen and associated brick kiln. This is the first archaeological investigation conducted at Tulip Grove. Excavations at Tulip Grove are ongoing and began with a geophysical survey by Horsley Archaeological Prospection, LLC.

Phase I Survey of McGhee-Carson Plantation Site, 40MR761
Richard R. Jones (Lee University)
Joseph Gamble (Fort Loudoun State Park)

Report on the Phase I Survey of the McGhee-Carson Plantation site at Fort Loudoun State Park. The survey mapped and documented major features of the site and determined the site boundaries. This work was done to assist and to facilitate management of the State Park's cultural resources and to document the current condition of features at the site.

Documenting the Battle of Nashville: Recent Archaeological Investigations at the Sunnyside Mansion
Audrey Lauerhass (Middle Tennessee State University)
Adam Fracchia (Metro Nashville Historical Commission)

The Sunnyside Mansion, located in Sevier Park in south Nashville, was built in 1852. During the Battle of Nashville on December 15th, 1864, the house and property were used as a forward defensive position by the Confederate Army and saw heavy fighting. Recent renovation of the property, which now serves as the offices for the Metropolitan Historical Commission, uncovered evidence of this engagement. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department was able to document this battle damage using traditional forensic methods and new technology like LIDAR, drone digital images, and software technologies. Using GIS, the bullet trajectory data was used to determine the potential location of the Union forces as they advanced south toward the main Confederate line. Although poorly documented historically, the spatial mapping, in combination with recent archaeological investigations, provides a clearer picture of the events of December 15th, and this pivotal battle of the American Civil War.

Drawing on the Past and Present: A Pilot Study Focusing on Documenting and Archiving the Artwork and Ritual Activity in Mud Glyph Cave
Aubrey Roemer (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

Researchers have continually grappled with different ways to document and reproduce cave art sites so they can be further studied and shared more broadly. This paper discusses the methodology used to create a comprehensive and phenomenological archive of the Southeastern cave art site, Mud Glyph Cave. This process is a synthesis of traditional methods of drawing, analog photography, digitization methods, and design technology. The complexity of the artwork and ritual activity in Mud Glyph Cave includes drawings, impressions, incisions, smoothing, and other types of surface preparation into wet Pleistocene mud deposits. The simultaneous homogeneity of color and variability in mark-making both present a unique challenge for art reproduction. Drawing on past and present technological methods, this research presents a novel approach to documenting ancient three-dimensional cave art created solely in clay.

Fanny Ritter Bandelier: Tennessee’s First Female Archaeologist
Steve Rogers (Tennessee Historical Commission [retired])

Scholarship into the development of archaeology in Tennessee as a scientific discipline has cast little light on the accomplishments of those women who participated in its early history. Recalling even one female name prior to the 1930s work of Madeline Kneberg (1903-1996) is often difficult. Fanny Ritter Bandelier’s decade-long fieldwork at the end of the nineteenth century in Peru and Bolivia has been overshadowed by her noted archaeologist husband, Adolph Bandelier, yet her achievements are many. Fanny’s work for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, publishing the results of her transcription of sixteenth-century Spanish manuscripts, and teaching courses in anthropology and archaeology at Fisk University based on her fieldwork in South America, demonstrates a life devoted to documenting the lives of prehistoric Native Americans. Her career endeavors should qualify her as Tennessee’s first female archaeologist.

A Riddle in the River: Unravelling the Identity of the Chattanooga Steamship
Morgan Smith (University of Tennessee, Chattanooga)
Andrew VanSlyke (National Park Service Submerged Resources Center)
Hunter Whitehead (SEARCH Inc.)
Sam Fuller (United States Army)

In November 1863, the steamship Chattanooga played a surprisingly important role in the history of the United States. This hastily built steamship broke the Confederate blockade of Chattanooga, resupplying General Ulysses Grant's army, and precipitating a further southward push of Union forces into the American South. Local lore holds that steamship wreckage located on the north bank of the Tennessee River, adjacent to the Market Street Bridge in downtown Chattanooga, is the remains of this Civil War shipwreck. This presentation evaluates the evidence for this claim.

Bob Ferguson, Country Music, Mound Bottom, and the Nashville “Indian Cultural Center” (1961-1972)
Kevin E. Smith (Middle Tennessee State University)

Bob Ferguson’s relationship with the Mississippi Choctaw began at Chucalissa in the 1950s when he was employed to create films for Tennessee State Parks. After his move to Nashville, he would film “The World Outdoors” – an award-winning series on conservation that inspired Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Bob also created the Southeastern Indian Antiquities Survey (now known as the Middle Cumberland Archaeological Society) to save archaeological sites being destroyed by the “progress” of Nashville. While Mound Bottom was ultimately preserved by state purchase, Bob’s dreams of a Nashville Indian Cultural Center remain unfulfilled.

Charles Nash, Chucalissa, and the Tennessee Choctaw Migration (1952-1962)
Kevin E. Smith (Middle Tennessee State University)
David H. Dye (University of Memphis)

In 1939, workers constructing the “Shelby County Negro Park” (Tennessee’s first African-American public park) uncovered Mississippian mounds that would eventually become the first Tennessee archaeological park. Tom Lewis and Charles Nash would quickly become involved in plans to create a “wayside park” using Works Progress Administration labor. World War II changed the timeline drastically, shifting it to the 1950s when Charles Nash would become the first “State Parks Archaeologist” in charge of developing the “Fuller Mounds.” The fortuitous timing also coincided with the beginnings of a significant migration of Choctaw from Mississippi to West Tennessee – providing the opportunity for a complicated but beneficial partnership between members of the Mississippi Band of the Choctaw and state archaeologists.

Documentation and National Register Evaluations of Dry-Stacked Stone Infrastructure in Tennessee
Lauren Walls (New South Associates, Inc.)

The dry-stacked stone construction method was a technique brought to Tennessee by white settlers, mainly the Scots, in the formative decades of our state. The abundance of limestone and other stone materials in Tennessee made this method a logical way to build durable structures such as fences, bridge abutments, dams, and retaining walls. In this paper, I lay out a few recent examples of CRM projects that encountered, documented, and evaluated dry-stacked stone features for the National Register. Critical to assessment and evaluation, the goals and scope of each project defined the degree to which the stacked-stone resources could be researched and investigated. Further, historic documentation containing information about this type of infrastructure is often limited. In this presentation, I discuss future approaches to the recording and evaluation of these significant historical and archaeological resources, as well as their important role in understanding the historic landscape of Tennessee.

Securing the Marbles: Building Capacity to Protect the Archaeological Heritage of Nashville 
Adam Fracchia (Metro Nashville Historical Commission)

Nashville has been called the Athens of the South. Today, Nashville is the most populated city in Tennessee and ranks as the 13th largest city in the country by area. In recent years, growth has spurred development throughout Davidson County. Nashville is also home to a deep and significant archaeological record spanning thousands of years. Currently, archaeological resources have limited to no protection in the Metro area. This paper details the current preservation climate in the city and efforts to build a city-wide archeological ordinance to protect and preserve this rich heritage.

Digging through the Fill: A Buried Historic Deposit in Dayton, Tennessee
Meagan Dennison (Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc.)

In July 2023, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc. conducted a phase I survey for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Dayton City School in downtown Dayton, Tennessee. The main portion of the survey area was adjacent to a baseball field complex. Shovel tests excavated near the baseball field revealed a thick layer of fill dirt capped a dark, organic-rich layer with dense concentrations of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century artifacts. The layer was interpreted to be a midden deposit, likely related to one or more houses previously located in the vicinity. The area was obtained by TVA in the 1930s ahead of Chickamauga Dam construction and structures were demolished due to potential flooding. The baseball field was in use by 1948 indicating that the midden deposit was sealed shortly after abandonment. Historic documents, map data, and the intact deposit offer a unique glimpse of this historical event.

New Research Across the Pinson Landscape in Western Tennessee
Edward R. Henry (Colorado State University)
Seth B. Grooms (Appalachian State University)
Lia G. Kitteringham  (Colorado State University)
Caroline P. Graham  (Colorado State University)
Abhishek Sathiakumar  (Colorado State University)
William L. Lawrence (Tennessee Division of Archaeology)

The Middle Woodland landscape in West Tennessee is dominated in the literature by the monumental earthen architecture at Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park (PMSAP). However, the Pinson Landscape includes the Johnston and Elijah Bray sites, situated west and east of PMSAP, respectively. The 2023 field season in this area offers new insights into the Middle Woodland landscape in the MidSouth and pushes the temporal boundaries for what we know about human occupation in the area. In this presentation we will discuss the field verification of a unique mound form at Pinson, summarize new investigations at Pinson’s Duck’s Nest Sector, and present soil analyses from a cut-bank profile at the Elijah Bray site.

A Summary of Impacts to Cultural Resources from Hurricane Helene in Northeast Tennessee
Lindsey Cochran
Sierra Bow

Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend of Florida and continued over 350 miles north in Western North Carolina and Northeast Tennessee as a Tropical Cyclone on September 26, 2024, causing comprehensive damage to the region. The topography and elevation of the Appalachian Mountains played a significant role in the 10-30" of rain that led to loss of life and home, landslides, breached and reconfigured rivers, destroyed utilities, and collapsed roadways and bridges. Assessments of threatened, damaged, and destroyed cultural heritage sites are underway with particular focus of known sites around the Watauga, Nolichucky, and French Broad River systems. In this paper, I summarize the underlying causes of this and other climate emergencies and present a suitability model of affected areas with a high probability to contain undocumented cultural resources that may complement existing site databases of known archaeological resources.   

Mississippian Population Dynamics in Tennessee
David Dye

The agency, causes, and patterns of Mississippian population dynamics in Tennessee are becoming increasingly clear as greater emphasis is now being placed on town and polity abandonments. In addition to a paradigm shift, which gave rise to broader discussions of archaeological interpretations of migration, the accuracy of climate assessments and radiocarbon dating have resulted in revised appraisals of Mississippian migrations. Central and western Tennessee witnessed arrivals from Cahokia and southeast Missouri in the thirteenth century. After approximately 1300 in western Tennessee and 1400 in central Tennessee, much of the state was essentially abandoned, resulting in a region characterized as the Vacant Quarter. Exceptions to this vacancy include the swampy Mississippi alluvial valley to the west and the relatively drought-free Appalachian Plateau to the east. 

An Update on MTSU’s 2024 Excavations at the Cragfont State Historic Site and the Castalian Springs Mound Site
Paul Eubanks)

In the summer of 2024, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) hosted its annual archaeological field school at the Castalian Springs Mound Site (ca. AD 1200–1350). For the third consecutive year, the focus was Structure 6, located atop Mound 25. Our work concentrated on the structure's western wall, which was determined to be approximately 11.5 meters (37.7 feet) long. Additionally, MTSU conducted a series of ground-truthing excavations at the Cragfont State Historic Site following a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey. The goal of this work was to locate the brick residences of the enslaved community that once lived at the site. This paper provides a summary of the results from MTSU’s 2024 investigations at both Castalian Springs and Cragfont.

Beyond the Acropolis: Building Public Archaeology in Nashville, Tennessee
Adam Fracchia

Nashville is the largest and most populous city in Tennessee and the thirteenth largest city by area in the United States. In recent years, Nashville has experienced waves of rapid development. As the city grows, more pressure is put on the city’s rich archaeological resources, but without enabling legislation, the ability to legally mandate archaeological assessment and preservation is limited. Recent preservation efforts have focused on building a new public archaeology program to increase awareness of this rich heritage and involve the public directly in local archaeology. This presentation details the creation and growth of a public archaeology program in Nashville through several different platforms, from the development of tours and curriculum to public excavations and partnerships.

From Last Look to New State Park: The Archaeology and Preservation of Cardwell Mountain
Phil Hodge

In 2021, the State of Tennessee purchased Cardwell Mountain, a 530-acre parcel on Tennessee’s Eastern Highland Rim containing a Late Woodland or Early Mississippian earthen monument, rock art, open sites, rock shelters and caves, and a series of 19th and 20th century sites related to the Cardwell family’s occupation, along with many natural and geological features. This presentation will share the story of the State’s protection of Cardwell Mountain, the current understanding of its archaeological record, and the approach to open it as a new Tennessee State Park. 

Late Archaic and Early Woodland Connections across the Southern Appalachians
Kandace Hollenbach
Thomas Vallrugo
Catherine Herring

The transition between the Late Archaic and Early Woodland periods is particularly interesting in the Southern Appalachians.  Soapstone vessels provide evidence of trade between communities on either side of the mountains during the Late Archaic period, but these trade networks were disrupted around 3200 years ago – or at least the movement of soapstone along them.  Here we present the results of Vallrugo’s recent pXRF analysis of soapstone vessels from three sites in the Southern Appalachians. We consider these results within the context of increasing use of cultigens such as little barley, maygrass, and chenopod, and changes in the placement of Late Archaic and Early Woodland sites on the landscape in East Tennessee and western North Carolina.   

Union Rifle Trench from the Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, 1863
Tracy H. Jenkins

Recent excavations by Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., and the University of Tennessee investigated remains of a Civil War rifle trench constructed and occupied by the Army of the Ohio as part of the defenses of Knoxville in November to December 1863. This paper discusses the findings from this feature in relation to accounts of the battle, overall defenses of the city, and similar features at other sites in the region.  

A Few Highlights from my Partnership with Dr. Kevin E. Smith 
Michael C. Moore

This presentation will discuss a few reflections of my 30+ years of archaeological partnership with Dr. Kevin E. Smith. Our work together began in 1992 and has continued to present day. In addition to our fieldwork at sites such as Brandywine Pointe and Rutherford-Kizer, a significant highlight was the multiple research trips to Harvard between 1998 and 2002 to evaluate the Peabody Museum's 1877-1884 work in middle Tennessee.  

Preliminary Testing at CCC Camp Dunbar in Pickwick Landing State Park 
Ben Nance

Civilian Conservation Corps Camp #3459, known as Camp Dunbar, was established in 1935 in conjunction with the TVA village that housed workers for the Pickwick Dam. The primary task for the enrollees at Camp Dunbar, a segregated African American unit, was the construction of cabins for the TVA park that would later become Pickwick Landing State Park. The goal of archaeological testing at Camp Dunbar was to identify the camp building sites and activity areas. Testing of the site consisted of excavation units, shovel tests, and metal detector scans. Follow up testing and mapping will be completed in the spring.  

Precontact Cave and Rock Art Documentation 2024
Jan F. Simek
Alan Cressler
Randy Boedy
Nathanial Mann
Sierra Bow

In 2024, amateur and professional archaeologists associated with the University of Tennessee Cave Archaeology Research Team visited twelve cave and open-air rock art localities in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama.  Some were new sites documented for the first time.  Others were known sites where new technologies for documentation were used to acquire modern data.  Of these, four are on public lands and eight on private properties. In this presentation, we discuss work at six of these rock art localities.  Of three open-air sites in Tennessee, one containing cupules is a new find, illustrated here for the first time.  New faded pictographs were seen at a previously known petroglyph site in Tennessee. A new mud glyph cave art site in Alabama just across the Tennessee state line is presented along with new mud glyphs from a Tennessee cave where pictographs were documented a number of years ago.  Finally, a small shelter petroglyph site in southwestern Kentucky saw new documentation in more complete fashion than in earlier recordings.

Cato Bottom Site (40Tr94): Exploring a Riverton Phase site in Central Tennessee
Duane Simpson

The Cato Bottom Site (40Tr94) located in Trousdale County, Tennessee along the Cumberland River represents a unique Riverton/Wells Creek Phase site. The Late Archaic to Terminal Archaic occupations identified at the site indicate a group yet rarely documented within the MidSouth. The research completed indicates that the primary occupations are consistent with groups identified well to the north along the Ohio and Wabash River valleys. This presentation explores the unique Merom points and micro-tool industry employed by this group and its implications of identifying similar sites further afield across the broader Southeast.  

 Down the Rabbit Hole: Faunal Remains from Two Late Nineteenth Century Cisterns from 40KN405
Samantha Upton
Meagan Dennison

In April and May, 2024, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., conducted phase II archaeological testing at Lot C8 on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville ahead of dorm construction. Two cisterns associated with two late-nineteenth century dwellings were uncovered. Both cisterns were partially excavated and yielded an array of cultural material, including animal bone. Of particular note was the recovery of several rabbit specimens. The rabbits were measured and compared to modern eastern cottontail and domestic rabbits. Based on size, the cistern rabbits appear to be eastern cottontails. Instances of rabbit hunting were then explored in Knoxville newspapers between 1850 and 1910 to better understand the cultural significance of hunting wild rabbits. This paper first discusses the faunal assemblage from the two cisterns as a whole followed by a discussion of rabbit hunting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in East Tennessee. 

Archaeological Relocation of Five Historic Cemeteries in North-Central Tennessee
Marc Wampler
Steve Martin
Bridget Mohr
Allison Soergel
Nancy Ross-Stallings
Thaddeus Bissett

In 2020 WSP USA began archaeological removal/grave relocation of five circa 1870-1960 National Register eligible cemeteries, totaling 118 interments in north-central Tennessee. Cemetery mapping used noninvasive geophysical techniques to locate unmarked burials. Archival/genealogical research revealed decedents were from the Odom’s Bend African American Community. The interments were imaged using 3D photogrammetry. Reburial, conducted in consultation with descendants, replicated original cemetery layouts. The historical record of this African American community is limited, and significant contributions on the African American life experience in this region of rural Tennessee can be greatly enhanced through the results of these investigations. The ongoing research is focused on the health of the population through skeletal biological analysis, African American mortuary customs, socio-economic status and a host of other research questions. A synthesis of archival research and results of osteological and artifact analysis serves to ‘tell the story’ of this forgotten African American community.