Second study of Rappahannock Tribe's indigenous landscapes launched in river valley

2018-07-26T14:02:00.000-04:00

The sun is beating down on 23-year-old Catherine Dye as she slowly shakes a grated screen to sift through soil and other material excavated from a small test pit.

The team member on a new archaeological and historical study of the “Indigenous Borderlands of the Chesapeake” has been at it since 7 a.m. near the Rappahannock River in Westmoreland County, just down the road from Oak Grove.

Before the team of four headed up by anthropologist Julia A. King of St. Mary’s College of Maryland knocks off for the day at 3:30, they will have found indications that Native Americans once called the spot home. Glass beads, ceramics, stone tools and other artifacts discovered in the test pits will eventually be labeled, cataloged and inserted into a database.

It’s all part of the quest to understand more about the Rappahannock Indians and others who made their home on either side of the river with the same name.

Archaeology and consultations with holders of significant artifact collections have already happened on the project in King George, Westmoreland and Essex counties. It is work funded by a new $240,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because King, St. Mary’s archaeologist Scott Strickland and students from the college did a groundbreaking study in 2016 on the topic. That project used modern mapping technology and available history to identify “hot spots” where Rappahannock Indians likely lived in the river valley.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE By ROB HEDELT at THE FREE LANCE-STAR

The Rappahannock Tribe Page

Second study of Rappahannock Tribe's indigenous landscapes launched in river valley