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Centuries-old documents told of #NativeAmerican settlements in the Fones Cliffs area of the #Rappahannock River in #Virginia’s Northern Neck.
In the 1600s, English explorer #JohnSmith wrote of how he & his men were attacked by #NativeAmericans along the river. A document from the 1660s detailed how the Rappahannock Tribe was promised 30 blankets in exchange for more than 25,000 acres of their land.

#archeology #genocide #NationalDayOfMourning
https://wapo.st/48Dnft9

Then this summer, they came upon items on land the #Rappahannock Tribe has been working to reclaim. The archaeologists are now revealing their discoveries of roughly 11,000 artifacts — some dating to the 1500s — ranging from tiny beads & shards of pottery with detailed markings to pieces of stone tools & pipes.

It was physical proof of the Rappahannock towns & villages that #JohnSmith had described.

#archeology #UShistory #NativeAmerican #genocide #NationalDayOfMourning

These findings come just 7 yrs after the tribe was formally recognized by the #US govt, bolstering its efforts to reclaim its ancestral #land. The tribe has nearly finished closing deals to reclaim ~2,100 acres of land that was once theirs.​
Experts from St. Mary’s College matched old documents with the oral histories passed down for generations by the #Rappahannock tribe, including Richardson, who’s the 4th generation of her family to serve as the tribe’s chief & took over in the late 1990s.

…Fones Cliffs sits on the north side of the #Rappahannock River & is geologically unique because of its distinctive white diatomaceous earth—formed from fossilized remains of aquatic organisms from 5 million years ago when a shallow sea covered much of the area, acc/to Julia King, chair of the anthropology department at St. Mary’s College. #Wildlife experts said it’s a rare spot because its #wetlands are largely untouched & serve as an ideal habitat for bald eagles, fish & other animals.

These findings come just 7 yrs after the tribe was formally recognized by the #US govt, bolstering its efforts to reclaim its ancestral #land. The tribe has nearly finished closing deals to reclaim ~2,100 acres of land that was once theirs.​
Experts from St. Mary’s College matched old documents with the oral histories passed down for generations by the #Rappahannock tribe, including Richardson, who’s the 4th generation of her family to serve as the tribe’s chief & took over in the late 1990s.

“ #Indian people have long known of the #land & our #history & presence here,” said Anne Richardson, chief of the roughly 300-member #Rappahannock Tribe, which is primarily in King & Queen County. “But so often things aren’t considered ‘real’ until they’re found or ‘discovered.’ This validates what we’ve long known.”

#archeology #UShistory #NativeAmerican #genocide #NationalDayOfMourning

Then this summer, they came upon items on land the #Rappahannock Tribe has been working to reclaim. The archaeologists are now revealing their discoveries of roughly 11,000 artifacts — some dating to the 1500s — ranging from tiny beads & shards of pottery with detailed markings to pieces of stone tools & pipes.

It was physical proof of the Rappahannock towns & villages that #JohnSmith had described.

#archeology #UShistory #NativeAmerican #genocide #NationalDayOfMourning

But the exact location of these towns had never been pinpointed until now.

Archaeologists cross-referenced historic maps, documents & deeds with oral histories from #Rappahannock tribal members. Then last fall, in the woods of #Richmond County on areas near the bluffs, they started digging.
For months, the crew from St. Mary’s College of Maryland surveyed the land to try to find the early settlements but found nothing that could be linked to #JohnSmith’s foray.

#archeology #NativeAmerican

#GiftArticle

Centuries-old documents told of #NativeAmerican settlements in the Fones Cliffs area of the #Rappahannock River in #Virginia’s Northern Neck.
In the 1600s, English explorer #JohnSmith wrote of how he & his men were attacked by #NativeAmericans along the river. A document from the 1660s detailed how the Rappahannock Tribe was promised 30 blankets in exchange for more than 25,000 acres of their land.

#archeology #genocide #NationalDayOfMourning
https://wapo.st/48Dnft9