Upper Saratown facts for kids

Upper Saratown, also known as Upper Sauratown, is an archaeological site in North Carolina. It's a place where archaeologists found old things from the Late Saratown period. The site is located by the Dan River in Stokes County. The Sara people lived there a long time ago.

Archaeologists from the Research Laboratories of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina dug at the site every summer from 1972 to 1981. Upper Saratown is the most studied site from the Late Saratown period.

Who Lived There? The Sara People

The Sara Indians moved to the Dan River area in the Piedmont region around 1000 A.D. They lived in the village of Upper Saratown during the first part of the Late Saratown period, from about 1670 to 1710 A.D. The Sara people spoke a Siouan language. In 1715, a count suggested there were 140 men and 370 women and children.

The Sara people were led by town councils, not by single chiefs. They believed that harmony and balance were very important in life. They had a special event called the busk, or green corn ceremony, which helped bring balance back. When it was time to gather new maize (corn), they would clean their house foundations. They also got rid of old things like clothing or pottery.

The busk ceremony probably started before Europeans arrived. During this ceremony, the Sara celebrated renewing the world by feasting, relighting a sacred fire, and doing other rituals. During the time when Europeans were first making contact, these ceremonies also helped bring the community closer.

Their village used to have round houses, which could hold many people, all inside a fenced area called a stockade. But by the late 1600s, communities started to spread out more. The Sara used bows made from locustwood and arrows made from river cane for hunting. They believed in one main god and several smaller gods. Pottery found at the site suggests that other Siouan tribes might have joined the Sara, creating a diverse community.

Upper Saratown Pottery

The pottery found at Upper Saratown is called the Oldtown series. This pottery combines styles from Upper Saratown and another site called William Kluttz.

Oldtown pottery was made with sand mixed into the clay, which made it feel smooth. The inside of most pots was smooth too. Some special pottery was polished both inside and out. Pottery pieces, called Sherds, were usually between four and eight millimeters thick. The most common shape found was a jar with a narrow neck.

Most pots had smooth or polished outer surfaces, sometimes with net patterns pressed into them. Many pots from the Late Saratown period were large. They were mainly used for cooking or storing food. Archaeologists also found bowls, often decorated with carved lines and dots.

A lot of large pottery pieces were found, suggesting that these big pots were purposely broken. Small, miniature pots were also found in pits. Since these small pots were often found with burials, it seems they were broken during community events related to death or big changes.

Food and Daily Life

At Upper Saratown, archaeologists found large roasting pits or earth ovens. These pits were usually three feet deep and wide. They were filled with food remains and other household trash. These pits were often near the village fences and were likely used to cook large amounts of food for special celebrations.

The Sara people ate a mix of wild and farmed foods. There's no sign that European animals were part of their diet during this time. Maize (corn) was very important and plentiful. Most of the corn was dried and stored to last a long time. It could be used in stews, bread, or even as fuel. Beans were also common, but they don't preserve well in the ground.

Squashes and gourds were probably added to soups and stews. Gourds were also used as containers or dippers. Seeds like sunflower and sumpweed were found too. These were often mashed and added to stews or bread.

One of the most common seeds found was peach pits. The Spanish brought peaches to Florida in the 1500s. The fruit quickly spread, even to people who hadn't met Europeans. By the mid-1600s, people thought peaches were native to the Carolinas. Watermelon seeds were introduced in a similar way. Seeds from grapes, persimmons, and maypops were also found.

The growing season was long enough for crops to be planted at different times. Even though the Sara were mainly farmers, they also gathered many wild nuts. Nuts were usually collected in the fall and added to other foods in the winter. Hazelnuts ripened quickly, while acorns and hickories took longer. Hazelnuts and acorns had to be gathered quickly because animals liked them. Hickories had hard shells, so they could be collected more slowly.

The main foods found at Upper Saratown were maize and nuts. Fruits were the next most common, while beans and various seeds were the least common. During the time of European contact, the Sara tried to keep their traditions by sticking to their familiar foods.

Trading with Others

Before the Late Saratown period, trade was mostly between Native American groups. They traded goods within their own networks. Because they hadn't met many Europeans, the Sara were not ready for the new diseases that came with contact.

However, by 1670, traders from Virginia began traveling into the area looking for new markets. This led to a big increase in English-made items for the Sara. They traded animal skins with English traders. In return, they received items like copper bells, tools, guns, and glass beads.

The Occaneechi tribe was powerful and controlled who could get firearms. They also used threats. Because of this, they decided which items actually reached the Sara. Archaeologists found more artistic items like beads and bells, but fewer tools and weapons.

Diseases and Burial Customs

Burial customs, like community patterns, changed a lot during the Late Saratown period. At Upper Saratown, graves were deep pits with a shaft and chamber. They were placed close to houses. The bodies were usually found in a bent position, with European ornaments like glass beads or copper trinkets.

However, towards the end of this period, tribes realized they were vulnerable to new germs from Europeans. It became necessary to bury the dead in separate cemeteries. Young people became the main group of dead, which might mean their deaths were caused by a single epidemic (a widespread disease). People who survived earlier epidemics would have become immune, making them less likely to get sick from new European diseases.

Diseases like smallpox, measles, and other viral plagues were especially deadly to the Sara. They didn't have the natural defenses to fight them off. This problem got worse as people moved around more and different tribes met, due to changes in trade and politics. These diseases killed and disabled thousands of Sara people. By the late 1600s, Upper Saratown was mostly destroyed.

At Upper Saratown, there were so many graves that archaeologists couldn't dig standard pits without finding burials underneath. Some deaths might also have been from attacks by Northern Seneca groups. These groups wanted to join the fur trade and were looking for slaves.

The impact of diseases and Seneca attacks caused the Sara to move south and join the Catawba tribe. Deaths of people in the tribe, whether family or not, upset the balance that the Sara valued so much. Rituals lasted for several days so people could mourn. The person was usually buried with some of their belongings. Items were also given out after the funeral, and women related to the dead person prepared a feast for the whole community.

Changes in burial customs might also have been because they wanted to keep balance. By changing how they buried their dead, the Sara might have been trying to achieve a certain level of ritual purity. They wanted a clear way to separate the dead from the living.

Starting the Digs and NAGPRA

In 1972, archaeologists Bennie Keel and Keith Egloff from the University of North Carolina found a teenager looting a grave. They managed to save the disturbed grave. They also brought in a team from the university to start digging at Upper Saratown. The two men wanted to save as much of the village as possible. They wanted to stop vandals from destroying more of the site while looking for treasures. Sara burials often had many grave offerings, and the archaeologists wanted to protect them.

The excavations happened every summer until August 1981. Digs at Upper Sauratown have uncovered hundreds of human burials and pit features. They also found many house patterns and palisades (fences). The remains of 105 people were removed from the site during these summer digs.

Many objects were found with the burials. These included different types of beads, animal bones, lead shot, and turtle shells. Based on where they were found, the burials were identified as Native American. The artifacts and location showed that the site belonged to the Saratown phase, which was between 1450 and 1710 A.D. The Sara Indians once lived there. The Sara later joined with the Catawba tribe in the 1700s. So, the remains found can be linked to the modern-day Catawba tribe.

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