Pisgah phase facts for kids

The Pisgah phase was an ancient culture that lived in the southeastern United States between the years 1000 and 1450/1500 CE. It was part of the larger Mississippian culture that spread across the Southeast. These people lived in what is now southeastern Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and northwestern South Carolina.

The Pisgah phase people were ancestors to the historic Cherokee and Catawba peoples. These later groups were the ones who first met European explorers and settlers in the mid-1500s.

Where the Pisgah People Lived

This ancient culture lived in a large area of about 14,000 square miles (36,000 km²) in the southern Appalachian Mountains. In earlier times, people lived in this region for short periods. But during the Pisgah phase, people stayed in villages for much longer.

Between 1000 and 1250 CE, the people in northeastern Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and northwestern South Carolina began to adopt new ways of life. They learned from the larger Mississippian culture that lived to their south and west.

Their villages were smaller than some other Mississippian sites. They ranged from about a quarter of an acre to 6 acres (24,000 m²) in size. Unlike bigger Mississippian cities, Pisgah villages usually had only one earthen mound in the center. This shows a different way of organizing their communities. The influence of the Pisgah culture reached as far north as Lee County, Virginia, and south to Oconee County, South Carolina. The Pee Dee culture also shared many traits with the Pisgah phase.

How the Pisgah People Lived

What Pisgah People Ate

The Pisgah phase people ate a mix of wild and farmed foods. They hunted animals like white-tailed deer, bear, and wild turkey in the forests. But they also grew a lot of their own food. About half of what they ate came from farming.

They planted crops in the rich lands near their villages. Their main crops included the "Three Sisters": corn, beans, and squash or pumpkin. They also grew a plant called sumpweed.

Pisgah Homes and Villages

Pisgah phase sites varied in size. Some were just single farmhouses, while others were large villages. The bigger villages often had platform mounds and were protected by palisades (strong fences). Smaller farms were usually located near these larger centers.

Most of their settlements were built in river floodplains. The only exceptions were temporary camps used for hunting. Many of these sites are found around the Asheville, Pigeon, and Hendersonville areas.

At some sites, like Garden Creek Mound, archaeologists found earth lodges built early on. Sometimes, these earth lodges were covered over, and a platform mound was built on top. This change might mean that their society became more organized, with certain leaders having more power.

The houses in Pisgah villages were usually rectangular, about 20 feet (6.1 m) square. Their walls were made from posts and covered with wattle and daub, which is a mix of woven branches and mud. Inside, houses had support posts and dividing walls. They also had a raised hearth (fireplace) in the center.

Outside the houses, within the palisade, people buried their dead. They also had fire pits and clay pits for storing food or for fires. Smaller buildings nearby might have been used for storing corn or as sweat houses for special ceremonies.

A larger council house often faced the homes around a central open area called a plaza. If a village grew around an older mound, the Cherokee people later built their townhouse on top of it. The palisades around the villages had special entrances that were offset, making them harder to attack.

Pisgah Burial Customs

Archaeologists have found three main types of burials from the Pisgah phase. People used side-chamber pits, central-chamber pits, and simple pits. Important adults and babies were sometimes placed in side-chamber pits. Their bodies were gently bent, with their heads facing west.

Some adult skulls showed signs of artificial cranial deformation, meaning their heads were shaped for cultural reasons. Grave goods (items buried with the dead) included shell ear pins, turtle-shell rattles, shell bowls, and carved animal bones. Babies' graves had shell beads and shell necklaces. Other graves sometimes included artifacts made of stone, clay, bone, shell, and wood.

Pisgah Pottery

The pottery made by Pisgah phase people is unique. Unlike most other Mississippian pottery, it used sand to strengthen the clay instead of crushed mussel shells. Pisgah pottery often had special rims called "collared rims" and designs made by stamping. These designs were often straight lines or geometric shapes.

The stamping designs were similar to those found at sites like Etowah Indian Mounds and Hiwassee Island. Later in the phase, some pottery started to have curved designs. These pottery styles became more common after 1250 CE in western North Carolina and northwestern South Carolina. The pottery of the later Qualla Phase is thought to be a mix of Pisgah and Lamar cultures, around 1450 CE.

Timeline of the Southern Appalachian Summit

The Pisgah phase is part of a longer history of cultures in the Southern Appalachian Summit area. Here's a simple timeline:

• Connestee Phase: 150–1000 CE
• Pisgah phase: 1000-1500 CE
• Qualla Phase: ca. 1500 CE–1850 CE (This was the time of the historic Cherokee people.)

Important Pisgah Sites

Most Pisgah sites are found along major rivers in North Carolina. These include the Catawba, French Broad, Hiwassee, Little Tennessee, and Pigeon rivers.

Here are some specific sites: