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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: November 1, 1994 <br /> Agenda Abstract <br /> Item # )(- <br /> SUBJECT: REPORT - ORANGE COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning PUBLIC HFAR.ING: Yes X No <br /> ATTACHMENTS: INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Planning Director X2592 <br /> PHONE NUMBERS: <br /> NOTE: DRAFT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> PROVIDED AS SEPARATE ENCLOSURE. Mebane 227-2031 <br /> Durham 688-7331 <br /> Chapel Hill 967-9251 <br /> PURPOSE: To receive a report, "An Archaeological Survey of Portions of Orange County, <br /> North Carolina", by Randy Daniel of the Research Laboratories of Anthropology, <br /> University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. <br /> BACKGROUND: Orange County recently completed an inventory of a portion of its archaeological <br /> sites. The project, funded in part by a matching grant from the N.C. Department <br /> of Cultural Resources, was conducted during the winter of 1993-94 by the <br /> Research Laboratories of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at <br /> Chapel Hill. The project is part of the County's on-going efforts to identify and <br /> assess its cultural and historical assets as part of its comprehensive planning <br /> program. <br /> During the survey, 2,912 artifacts were recovered from 151 sites. Most artifacts <br /> were prehistoric in nature, dating prior to AD 1000. They consisted of chipped <br /> stone artifacts, including stone spear and arrow points, cutting blades, and <br /> scraping tools. Also recovered were ceramic pottery fragments, dating from <br /> colonial times to the modern era,including kitchen artifacts (for food preparation, <br /> consumption, and storage) and architectural artifacts (brick and glass fragments, <br /> nails). <br /> Of all the sites, 116 had prehistoric significance. Several yielded important <br /> information on the prehistory of Orange County and thus are eligible for <br /> nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Of particular interest is <br /> a site located on the South Fork of the Little River. The site may represent a <br /> Late Prehistoric settlement and the only known such habitation in northern <br /> Orange County. Its discovery confirms the existence of sites in northern Orange <br /> similar to those identified along the Eno River. <br /> In addition, 21 sites were recorded in Duke Forest. Most of these are probably <br /> National Register-eligible because they contaifl a wealth of archaeological data that <br /> could reveal much about the history and day-to-day life of early Piedmont farms. <br />