Lake Phelps Site facts for kids

The Lake Phelps Site is an important archaeological site in North Carolina. It shows us a lot about how people lived long ago, even before written history. Over 25 years, archaeologists have studied the area around Lake Phelps eleven times. They found more than 5,000 old objects, called artifacts, and 23 ancient canoes. Scientists used radiocarbon dating to find out how old most of the canoes were. These discoveries show that people lived near Lake Phelps from the Late PaleoIndian/Early Archaic period all the way through the Late Woodland period.

About Lake Phelps

Lake Phelps is the second largest natural lake in North Carolina. It covers about 16,600 acres. The lake is also one of the highest lakes in its area. Lake Phelps is not very deep. Its average depth is 4.5 feet, and its deepest point is 9 feet.

The water in Lake Phelps is very clean. This is because the lake only gets its water from rainfall. If there is a drought, the water level can drop. This can expose the lake's shorelines, which sometimes leads to exciting new discoveries for archaeologists.

Discovering the Past: Lake Phelps Investigations

First Canoe Finds (1985-1986)

In the mid-1980s, experts from the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology (OSA) and the Underwater Archaeology Unit (UAU) worked with Pettigrew State Park. They found four old dugout canoes and pieces of prehistoric pottery.

After studying the pottery, they learned it was from two types: Mount Pleasant and Colington. These artifacts were from between 300 BC and AD 1650. They also used radiocarbon dating on some canoes. These canoes were found to be from 770 BC and 900 BC.

The Claggett Survey (1986)

Steve Claggett from the OSA spent two days exploring the lake. He found another canoe and 340 pieces of pottery. These pottery pieces were from the Early and Late Woodland periods.

The UAU and Morris Survey (1986)

Kaea Morris from East Carolina University (ECU) worked with the UAU. They looked for more canoes and dug up some areas. Over the next year, Morris teamed up with David Phelps. Together, they found 19 new canoes! These canoes dated from 2430 BC to AD 1400. They also found some other artifacts.

The Phelps Survey (1987)

David Phelps explored the eastern and western shores of Lake Phelps. On the eastern side, he and his team collected 1,777 artifacts. Many of these were from the Late Paleoindian to the Late Woodland periods. On the western shore, they found 366 artifacts. Most of these were from the Early Woodland through the Late Woodland periods.

National Geographic Society Survey (1992)

The National Geographic Society (NGS) helped pay for a project. They used ground penetrating radar (GPR) to find canoes. This special radar could find canoes that were already known. However, it sometimes gave false signals for new canoes. This happened because of the different layers of mud and dirt in the lake bed.

Lawrence and Mathis Survey (2002)

Richard Lawrence from the UAU and Mark Mathis from the OSA looked at pottery pieces on the eastern shore. They found six groups of pottery. These artifacts were stored at an OSA facility. They also tried to find canoes that had been found before, but they couldn't. They thought the canoes were buried under mud.

The Curci Survey (2004)

Jessica Curci from ECU worked with the UAU. They wanted to study the shapes of the canoes they found. They also wanted to see if burying the canoes helped keep them safe. Many canoes that were known before could not be found. But the canoes they did find were in good condition.

UAU Revisit to Site 31WH12 (2008)

UAU members visited the lake to see how low water levels affected the canoes. They looked at five canoes. Two of them seemed to be damaged because they were exposed to the air. The other canoes were in good shape. The team also re-examined an area from the Claggett survey. They found 21 pieces of pottery, two stone tools, and part of a stone bowl. Archaeologists believe these artifacts are from the Early and Middle Woodland periods.

Site 31WH12 Re-Inspection (2008)

The water levels stayed low. This caused more ancient artifacts to appear on the lake bed. Experts from different groups visited the lake to study these new finds. They found 593 artifacts. About 254 of these could be dated to a specific time period.

The Pierce Survey (2009)

Greg Pierce studied all the information about how people used Lake Phelps long ago. His research showed that a part of the eastern shore had not been explored. So, a new survey was done there. They found 247 artifacts. Most of these could be dated to the Early Woodland, Middle Woodland, and Late Woodland periods.

How People Used Lake Phelps Long Ago

Late Paleoindian/Early Archaic Period (8500 to 6000 B.C.)

Only three artifacts were found from this very old time. These were a Hardaway point and two Kirk points (types of stone tools). Finding so few items might mean that not many people lived here during this period.

The Late Archaic Period (3000 to 1000 B.C.)

Only two artifacts and three canoes were found from this time. The artifacts were Savannah River points. There isn't enough evidence to know exactly how people used the lake during this period.

Early Woodland Period (1000 to 300 B.C.)

Archaeologists found 1,754 artifacts and 2 canoes from the Early Woodland period. These included pottery types like Croaker Landing, Deep Creek, and Marcy Creek. These items were found all over the lake area. This suggests that people used the lake much more during this time. It might even mean that people started living in one place for longer periods. Experts also think the number of people in the area grew, and they started using more of the local resources.

Middle Woodland Period (300 B.C. to A.D. 800)

From the Middle Woodland period, 1,085 artifacts and 11 dugout canoes were found. The artifacts were mostly Mockley or Mount Pleasant pottery. The findings here are a bit confusing. Fewer artifacts might suggest less use of the lake. But a lot more canoes were found, which suggests more use! This could be because some artifacts were misidentified, or maybe the way the surveys were done missed some things. It could also mean that people changed how they lived in the area.

Late Woodland Period (A.D. 800 to 1650)

Only 225 artifacts and three canoes were found from the Late Woodland Period. Most of the artifacts were Colington pottery, with fewer Cashie pottery pieces. The small number of different artifact types might explain why fewer items were found overall.

One expert, Phelps, thinks that the different types of pottery show where different groups of people lived. The Colington pottery belonged to the Algonquin speakers. Since most of the artifacts were Colington, Phelps believes the Algonquin people were the main group living at Lake Phelps. The Cashie pottery belonged to the Tuscarora. Finding less Cashie pottery might mean the Tuscarora were not there much, or they traded with the Algonquin people. Another reason for fewer artifacts could be that groups moved to find better land for farming.

Why Lake Phelps Site is Important

The Lake Phelps site is very important for a few reasons. First, this archaeological site helps us learn more about the Native American groups who lived there. By studying the artifacts, archaeologists can make better guesses about how these people lived their daily lives. Second, Lake Phelps has proof of human activity from very, very long ago. This means the site helps us study the past before people started writing down history.