Garden Creek site facts for kids
 Location in North Carolina
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| Location | Haywood County, North Carolina,  USA |
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| Region | Haywood County, North Carolina |
| Coordinates | 35°31′1.96″N 82°50′45.02″W / 35.5172111°N 82.8458389°W |
| History | |
| Founded | 600 |
| Abandoned | 1200 |
| Periods | Pisgah Phase |
| Cultures | South Appalachian Mississippian culture |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | platform mound, plaza |
| Architectural details | Number of temples: 2 |
The Garden Creek site is an amazing archaeological site in Haywood County, North Carolina. It's about 24 miles (39 km) west of Asheville, North Carolina. This special place is on the south side of the Pigeon River, close to where Garden Creek joins it. It's also near the town of Canton and the Pisgah National Forest.
People first lived here around 8000 BCE, which is a very long time ago! The site covers about 12 acres (4.9 hectares). Archaeologists have found traces of two ancient villages here. These villages were most active during the Pisgah Phase (from 1000 to 1450/1500 CE). This period is linked to the South Appalachian Mississippian culture.
At Garden Creek, four large earth mounds have been discovered. Three of these mounds have been carefully dug up and studied by archaeologists. These mounds were built by the Native American people who lived there long ago.
Contents
Digging Up the Past
Archaeologists have studied the Garden Creek site at different times. The main digs happened in the late 1880s, from 1915 to 1919, and then from 1965 to 1967. The most detailed information comes from the 1960s work. This was done by a team from the University of North Carolina.
The earliest signs of people living at the site date back to 8000 BCE. This shows that humans have been in this area for thousands of years.
Ancient Villages and Mounds
The two villages at Garden Creek were used from about 600 CE to 1200 CE. First, people from the Woodland period lived there. Later, people from the Pisgah Phase of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture took over (around 1000 to 1200 CE).
Archaeologists believe that the things found from the Pisgah Phase at Garden Creek are connected to the history of the Cherokee people. This area was part of the traditional lands of the Cherokee in western North Carolina. Sadly, after the 1960s studies, much of the site was built over with houses.
What the Site Looked Like
The Garden Creek site is on the south side of the Pigeon River. It's close to where Garden Creek flows into the river. The site has remains of two villages and three large earth mounds that have been excavated. A fourth mound was found more recently but hasn't been dug up yet.
The biggest village, called 31Hw7, was on a flat area overlooking Garden Creek. Another smaller village with a cone-shaped earth mound was nearby.
The Mounds
There are three main mounds that have been studied:
- Mound #1 (also called Hw 8 or 31HW1) was the largest mound at the site. It was built during the Pisgah Phase (1000 to 1450 CE).
- Mound #2 (Hw 7 or 31Hw2) is about 1,000 feet (300 m) west of Mound #1. It was built earlier, during the Middle Woodland Connestee phase (around 200 to 600 CE). It was the older and smaller of the two mounds studied in the 1960s.
- Mound #3 (Hw 3 or 31Hw3) was on the south side of the site. It was dug up in 1915, but important information was lost because modern methods weren't used. By the 1960s, this mound had almost disappeared.
Inside Mound #1
Underneath Mound #1, archaeologists found the remains of two special buildings called earth lodges. These were rare in this area. They were partly underground and connected by a passageway.
- The larger lodge was 28 feet (8.5 m) square. It had a clay bench along all four walls.
- The smaller lodge was 20 feet (6.1 m) square. It had a clay bench along one wall.
You could only enter the larger lodge by going through the smaller one first. These lodges were probably used as council houses, where important meetings took place.
After a while, these lodges were covered over with earth and village waste. This created the base of what became Mound #1. Over time, more layers of clay were added, making a stable platform mound. At first, it might have been 50 by 70 feet (15 by 21 m). Two houses were found on top of this early mound, and human burials were found on its east side.
When archaeologists dug it up, Mound #1 was 150 feet (46 m) by 130 feet (40 m) at its base and about 7 feet (2.1 m) high. It was likely taller in the past. But over 100 years of farming by later settlers made it shorter.
Treasures from the Past
Many interesting objects, called artifacts, were found at Garden Creek. These items tell us a lot about the people who lived there.
Shells and Jewelry
Both Mound #1 and Mound #2 contained special shells. These included Marginella shells and conch shell gorgets. Gorgets are decorative pieces worn around the neck. Some gorgets had designs of coiled rattlesnakes. One even showed a human figure. Since these shells came from the Gulf Coast, they show that the people at Garden Creek traded with others far away!
Tools and Crafts
Archaeologists also found many tools made of stone. These included:
- Celts: smooth stone tools, like axes, made from peridotite and slate.
- Stone anvils and hammerstones: used for shaping other tools.
- Manos and mortars: used for grinding food.
- Pieces of cut mica: a shiny mineral.
- Elbow-shaped clay smoking pipes.
Tools made from animal bones were also found, like:
- Awls and punches: sharp tools made from deer and turkey bones, possibly used for sewing or piercing.
- Turtle shell rattles: made from Terrapene carolina shells with small pebbles inside.
Shells were also used to make jewelry:
- Large shell beads: shaped into spheres or discs, used for necklaces and bracelets.
- A single shell pin.
- A conch bowl.
Textiles and Trade
Impressions of woven rivercane mats were found in Earth Lodge 2, at the base of Mound #1. Even though cloth usually breaks down quickly, these impressions on clay show us what their textiles looked like.
Two pieces of copper were also found. Copper is not found naturally in this area, so this is another sign that the people of Garden Creek traded with distant communities.
How We Know This
Archaeological surveys are how we learn about ancient sites.
- In the late 1880s, Mann S. Valentine and his sons hired a local man to dig at Garden Creek. They wanted artifacts for their museum in Richmond, Virginia.
- From 1915 to 1919, a team from the Heye Foundation excavated Mound #3. But they didn't keep good records, so some information was lost.
- From 1965 to 1967, Bennie Keel and other researchers from the University of North Carolina dug up two mounds and villages. They did this because the site was going to be developed for housing. Keel led the excavation of Mound #2.
Garden Creek Today
You can learn about the Garden Creek site and its history on a special sign, North Carolina Highway Historical Marker P-83. The site and its mounds are also explained in detail on the University of North Carolina's website, "Ancient North Carolinians." This website is like a virtual museum of archaeology in the state.
Unfortunately, after being studied by archaeologists in the 1960s, much of the Garden Creek site was built over with new houses.
- Dickens, Roy S. Cherokee Prehistory: The Pisgah Phase in the Appalachian Summit Region. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1976. ISBN: 0-87049-193-8.
- Heye Foundation Report, New York: 1919, pp. 35-43
