>>> THE INHABITANTS OF THE TOWN CREEK INDIAN MOUND WERE A PART
OF A NEW CULTURAL INDIAN TRADITION THAT EMERGED IN THE
CAROLINA PIEDMONT IN THE 11th CENTURY.
THESE INDIANS CALLED THE PEE DEES BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS GAVE RISE
TO COMPLEX SOCIETIES THAT LASTED UNTIL THE 1400s.
PRODUCER DEREK LONG TRAVELED TO MONTGOMERY COUNTY TO VISIT NORTH
CAROLINA'S OLDEST HISTORIC SITE.
>> TOWN CREEK INDIAN MOUND IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY IS NORTH
CAROLINA'S OLDEST STATE HISTORIC SITE.
>> BOTH IN THE HISTORY THAT WE INTERPRET AND THE FACT THAT
WE'VE BEEN OPEN TO THE PUBLIC LONGER THAN MOST OF THE OTHER
SITES IN OUR DIVISION.
>> THE HISTORY INTERPRETED HERE TRACES THE OCCUPATION OF THIS
AREA BY DIFFERENT NATIVE AMERICAN GROUPS FOR OVER 12,000
YEARS.
BUT THE MAIN FOCUS HERE IS ON THE GROUP KNOWN AS THE PEE DEES,
A PART OF THE SOUTH APPALACHIAN MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURE THAT WAS
DIFFERENT FROM THE TYPICAL CULTURES OF THE PIEDMONT TRIBES.
>> THE PEE DEE OR THE MISSISSIPPIANS ARE WHAT MADE
THIS SITE FAMOUS OR SPECIAL BECAUSE OF THE LARGE MOUND THAT
THEY BUILT HERE, KIND OF A MARKER THAT MAKES IT STAND OUT
AGAINST OTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN THE AREA.
WHAT WE REFER TO AS THE PEE DEE CULTURE MOVED INTO THIS AREA
ABOUT A THOUSAND YEARS AGO.
THESE PEOPLE WERE FARMERS.
THEY MOVED INTO A LARGE FLOODPLAIN AREA, WHICH WAS GREAT
FOR FARMING, AND ESTABLISHED A TOWN HERE WHICH GREW OVER TIME.
IT WAS A VILLAGE.
IT WAS A COUNTY SEAT OF SORTS.
IT WAS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE LIVED, WHERE PEOPLE TRADED
GOODS, PEOPLEET FOR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, FOR RELIGIOUS
ACTIVITIES AND CELEBRATIONS.
>> THE RECONSTRUCTED VILLAGE SITS ALONG THE BANKS OF THE
LITTLE RIVER.
>> WE HAVE THE TOWNHOUSE, WHICH IS THE BUILDING ON TOP OF THE
MOUND, AND THAT BUILDING SERVED AS A PUBLIC SPACE FOR BOTH
POLITICAL MEETINGS AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE EAST LODGE, WHICH SITS OVER BY THE LITTLE
RIVER, AND THAT BUILDING IS NOT COMPLETE.
IT'S NOT FINISHED.
AND THAT ALLOWS US TO TALK ABOUT CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES, HOW
THESE PEOPLE BUILT THEIR HOMES.
>> A THIRD STRUCTURE IN THE VILLAGE HOUSES AN EXHIBIT
EXPLAINING THE CULTURE'S BURIAL PRACTICES.
>> THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS ESTIMATE THAT THERE ARE ROUGHLY A LITTLE
MORE THAN 500 BURIALS AT TOWN CREEK.
MOST ALL OF THOSE BURIALS HAVE NOT BEEN EXCAVATED.
>> IN THE MUSEUM, A FILM AND ARTIFACTS TELL THE STORY OF WHAT
WE'VE LEARNED FROM THIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE.
>> ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT THE PEE DEE CULTURE IS THE
WAY THAT THEY MADE AND DECORATED POTTERY.
IT'S A WAY THAT WE CAN TELL ONE CULTURAL GROUP APART FROM OTHER
GROUPS.
AND THESE PEOPLE WERE CREATIVE.
THEY WOULD CARVE DESIGNS INTO THESE PADDLES, AND THEN THEY
WOULD PAT THEIR CLAY POTS WITH IT AND, YOU KNOW, PRESSING A
PATTERN INTO THE CLAY BEFORE IT HAD DRIED.
>> AN IMPORTANT EVENT HERE WAS THE ANNUAL WEEK-LONG BUSK, OR A
GREEN CORN CELEBRATION.
>> BUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CELEBRATION, THERE ARE
PURIFICATION RITES THAT HAD TO BE COMPLETED, AND ONE OF THOSE
WAS THE DRINKING OF THE BLACK DRINK, THE BLACK DRINK BEING A
TEA OF SORTS.
IT'S MADE FROM THE YAUPON BUSH, A COASTAL SHRUB.
SO WE BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE EITHER TRAVELED TO THE COAST
ALONG THE PEE DEE RIVER OR TRADED WITH COASTAL TRIBES TO
PROCURE THE LEAVES, MAKE THE TEA, AND DRINK IT AS A MEDICINE.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE WAY THIS MEDICINE WORKS IS IT UPSETS THE
STOMACH AND IT CAUSES ONE TO VOMIT.
AFTER THAT, IT WAS -- THERE WAS TIME TO CELEBRATE.
THEY ENJOYED THEMSELVES FOR THE WEEK.
AND THEN AT THE END OF THE WEEK, THE PRIEST WOULD GO INTO THE
TOWNHOUSE ON TOP OF THE MOUND WHERE THERE WAS A FIRE KEPT.
THIS WAS A SACRED FIRE THAT BURNED YEAR-ROUND.
>> DURING THIS WEEK, THE OLD FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED AND A NEW
FIRE STARTED.
>> AND BEFORE EVERYONE LEFT FROM TOWN CREEK TO GO BACK TO THEIR
VILLAGES TO PREPARE FOR THE WINTER, THEY WOULD GET EMBERS
FROM THAT NEW FIRE TO CARRY HOME AND USE IN THEIR VILLAGE OR HOME
FOR THE COMING YEAR.
AND ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE REFERRED TO THESE PEOPLE HAVE THE PEOPLE
OF ONE FIRE.
THESE PEOPLE LEFT THIS AREA LONG BEFORE EUROPEAN CONTACT.
SO WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THEM WE INFER FROM THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
RECORD, FROM THE MATERIALS THAT ARE FOUND IN THE GROUND, AND
FROM WHAT LITTLE BIT OF DOCUMENTATION WE HAVE ABOUT
SIMILAR GROUPS IN THE SOUTHEAST WHO WERE VISITED BY EUROPEAN
EXPLORERS.
SO WE -- WE MAKE BEST GUESSES AND LOOK AT WHAT EVIDENCE WE
HAVE TO TRY TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE.
BUT THERE ARE MANY MYSTERIES ABOUT TOWN CREEK THAT WE MAY
NEVER BE ABLE TO SOLVE.
>> THIS IS DEREK LONG FOR "NORTH CAROLINA WEEKEND."