March 23: Conference on Native American Archaeological Research in the Catawba/Wateree Valley, 1000-1860 A.D.

Conference on Native American Archaeological Research in the Catawba/Wateree Valley, 1000-1860 A.D.

Sponsored by: University of South Carolina Lancaster Native American Studies Program

Organizers: Stephen Criswell and Christopher Judge

Funded by: Charlotte Area Educational Consortium

USC Lancaster
Friday March 23, 2012
Bundy Auditorium
Lancaster, South Carolina

Conference Abstract
The unique history and cultural traditions of the indigenous populations of the Catawba/Wateree region were shaped by very early contact with Europeans and subsequent devastations as a result of disease, warfare, and attempts at removal. For these Native Americans, who were often erased from written histories, archaeological research provides the only insight into histories and cultures of these indigenous populations and their interactions with Europeans. Scholars from around the Carolinas, including from CAEC institutions, have approached their fieldwork and research in this region from a variety of perspectives and timeframes, from prehistoric Woodland and Mississippian eras to the antebellum period. USC Lancaster’s “Native American Archaeological Research in the Catawba/Wateree Valley, 1000-1860 A.D.” conference attempts
to bring these researchers together for a comprehensive review of this scholarship, a discussion of conflicting perspectives, and a synthesis of discoveries and theories.

The format of the conference will be 30 minute papers followed by a panel of discussants and concluding with an opportunity for audience and participant questions and answers.