Church Rockshelter No. 2 Site facts for kids

The Church Rockshelter No.2 site is an ancient rock shelter. It is located near the Watauga River in Watauga County, North Carolina. A rock shelter is like a natural cave or overhang in a rock cliff. This site faces east-southeast and has two rock shelters. These shelters were formed by a type of rock called Cranberry Gneiss.

There is a lower shelter at the northern end and an upper shelter at the southern end. Charles Church owns the land. He discovered the site in the mid-1900s. He found many old stone tools, called projectile points, on the ground. Archaeologists have explored this site three times. They dug there in the 1970s, 1975, and 2011. They found mostly stone tools and pottery. These items are from the Early to Late Woodland period.

Digging Up the Past

The first time anyone dug into the site was likely in the early 1970s. A local collector named Larry Waters visited the site. He found that someone had already dug a pit in the northern part of the shelter. He sent the old items he found to Appalachian State University (ASU).

In 1975, an ASU student named Steve Crisco visited the site. He reported that some digging had been done without permission. Because of his report, Harvard G. Ayers from ASU led his archaeology class to dig there. They started their excavation three months later.

In 2011, Thomas R. Whyte led another ASU archaeology class. They dug at the site again. This time, they used newer methods. They wanted to learn more about the areas Ayers' team had explored.

What They Found

Archaeologists found many interesting things at Church Rockshelter No.2. These items help us understand how people lived long ago.

Stone Tools and Rocks

In total, 415 stone items were found during the three excavations. These include rocks cracked by fire. They also found modified and unmodified cobbles and pebbles. There were also chipped-stone tools and the waste pieces from making them.

Many fire-cracked rocks were found near the river. This suggests they were used as "boiling stones." People would heat these stones and drop them into water to cook food. Other rocks were naturally exposed to heat.

Archaeologists found different types of stone tools. Some were hammers used for hitting things. Others were used for cracking nuts. The waste pieces show how tools were made. Some stone came from nearby areas. Other stone came from places 20 km, 40 km, or even further away. This suggests people traveled or traded.

Pottery Pieces

Archaeologists found many pieces of pottery, called vessel fragments. They found 33 pieces from the upper shelter. They found 133 pieces from the lower shelter. Some pieces from the upper shelter had cord marks on them. This means they were decorated with cords.

Most pieces from the lower shelter are from the Watts Bar series. Some are from a Middle Woodland phase. Others are from the Late Woodland Radford series. One piece of pottery had a thick rim and marks on it. This suggests it was influenced by the Mississippian Pisgah phase. Some pottery with straight-line patterns also points to the Mississippian Pisgah phase. This means people from different cultures might have visited or traded here.

Animal Bones and Shells

All three digs found pieces of bone, teeth, and shells. These are called archaeofaunal remains. Scientists identified some of the animals. They found bones from a Hellbender (a type of salamander), a toad, an Eastern Box Turtle, a Wild Turkey, a rabbit, and nine White-tailed Deer.

Most of these animal remains were charred, meaning they were burned. This suggests they were cooked. None of the bones showed signs of being changed by tools.

Plant Remains

The 1975 excavation found three samples of wood charcoal. These were sent away for radiocarbon dating. This method helps scientists find out how old something is.

The 2011 dig found even more plant remains. These included burned nutshells, seeds, and wood. These plant items were not fully studied by 2013.

Why This Site Is Important

The items found at Church Rockshelter No.2 tell us a lot about the Early and Late Woodland periods. The Nolichucky type arrowheads and Watts Bar pottery show that people visited during the Early Woodland period. The small triangular arrow points and grit-tempered pottery show visits during the Late Woodland period.

The patterned pottery and Pisgah arrowheads suggest that people traded with or visited nearby Mississippian settlements.

Archaeologists believe the site was used for special or seasonal purposes. There are no signs of permanent buildings. There are also few cooking areas. Not many animal or plant remains were found. This suggests people did not live there all the time.

This site is similar to the Church Rockshelter No.1 site. Both sites have many stone and pottery pieces. This shows that people visited these places seasonally during the Woodland period. Mississippian pottery found at both sites suggests they were still used during the Little Ice Age (around 900-1300 CE).

However, Church Rockshelter No.1 has a Late Woodland human burial. It also has fewer Early Woodland and Mississippian items. Archaeologists think more study of rock shelters in the upper Watauga River valley would be very helpful.

Mississippian culture pottery Woodland period Rock shelter Watauga River