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Page 33
<br /> Teal Site
<br /> Excavations at the Teal site continue research begun in 1936 by Dr . Joffre L . Coe into the
<br /> archaeological remains of the Pee Dee Indians . Although Coe ' s work focused for five decades
<br /> (19374987) on the civic/ceremonial center at Town Creek Indian Mound , a brief
<br /> investigation of the Teal site was made after a spring flood in 1936 , No further work was
<br /> conducted until 1958 , when Stanley South dug several test units at the small but artifact-rich
<br /> site that included postholes , features , and human burials . The site was obviously well
<br /> preserved and significant , but no additional investigation took place until Billy Oliver ' s
<br /> studies of outlying Pee Dee villages in 1985 (Oliver 1993) .
<br /> Three phases of cultural development are identified
<br /> for the Pee Dee culture in North Carolina. The
<br /> earliest phase is the Teal Phase (A . D . 9504200) a -' -
<br /> a • # Ris T :: ,: #• _ ' " :, ram . _,
<br /> ... 0 Yt , pz �
<br /> time of ..
<br /> developing ceremonialism, exploration , and _ 4 {' y= F>-
<br /> frontier settlement by an expanding chiefdom - ' _ ` ` `F
<br /> ! s
<br /> centered near modern-da Savannah Georgia. The 4' tea, ,-,-3 ., F
<br /> • .. , IG:.'d,i� - L..F fiFi'''Tt"r .t
<br /> Ma .pT ';.;, •' r.; r'
<br /> ; , Y . " � a ,;t'r
<br /> earliest dates of use of corn n i North i _ E, -, - Kbh; . - 5
<br /> and beans n ��. '.
<br /> . - a >.s.�u- -
<br /> - `" i: ' r
<br /> -`'�• ", —'.},`� ti ' `'� :41 Igr-'` .. XartN
<br /> Carolina are associated wi « " _ w? :- . rt.� � : ; _ , ,_. -r..° r,. },4. a`
<br /> with the Pee Dee complex '{ l i f}x=; s� � ± 44r F TO
<br /> 1993) . f� Oat ,v
<br /> rE
<br /> (see Oliver For many years the characteristic F r T:
<br /> .pottery of the Pee Dee (fig . 1) was thought to have = L TOT -V _
<br /> been a well-made potterywith complicated stamped Y:
<br /> P1
<br /> = 2 :•
<br /> §: _ : tea=j.Y , r: S' €{ hi _2 yxr : ( 'cy % '+^Y c,rr
<br /> designs and rosettes carefully applied r F ,='_ ..d>, ' =., ;__ : .- ; v 'K k;«=�e'
<br /> g Y PP d to the lip area . = 5., ._ _ _ _
<br /> �i•�'w.- _' ' t3.. h..,me^ _ `r#."e F-S ' . .ei . -.r''C:r.KNf�- :t»'a :,�- ti.�'.`..ar:'° � T et
<br /> :.}icr 9.:...?a is' 4 c�' ly%'J•- 3-lir .
<br /> However, it is now clear = 4r
<br /> that each base has F. _ _..;p y
<br /> -..t`.++"{r • '4' 14 .- �a.�'
<br /> - ? -_i .• -`:.o-+:::),`: vifY'#P +� •run.• i: z,• i".lFi
<br /> '.ie�!: � _ `��A+•z arR.�}x:. � 'aiFr - Sr., r<=ra:s_S!'' :I: } u S�:c - i ,? . •-
<br /> definitive attributes and characteristic y . wao4 n f, z.� . # _ :� = .: ,.rF:',,,
<br /> cteristic pottery styles . '`; : ri t;tyr� :�_.. T Oats04
<br /> .
<br /> --
<br /> H
<br /> _ Yy.gY
<br /> Certain Teal Phase ritual activities took place within
<br /> a semi-s ITT
<br /> ubterranean earth lodge . Artifacts found
<br /> within earth lodge
<br /> this e ge incl d gy figures u e human effi1 .
<br /> -'• . �tf •-way - F���
<br /> made of clay istones , jr = k =J. Y; ... z k f- rY
<br /> incised lay hearth
<br /> a central c
<br /> burial urns ,
<br /> multiple burials , and a unique " sq
<br /> 11 4,T{.i+.— .�i - .� , I '::k:i�k'�-,•"� •.>•f•J t"k-! L�" � -�
<br /> cross style ` {or et that was found elsewhere i
<br /> �`et:#,v fH:6t3i3 Y .S4tv-`_-�:i'''S':F'�:•EF(ir<�4"`•l a�..+. t s.,r,T. F-.•t',6.t...i it.`d'2>xfi:f a3};_'.2^:;J�'1. .'.,'^�...3ti is.'.-vr.:.h}t.�.:r:b
<br /> rA
<br /> - K .tz','FFP�-?4�•£.L'•61t?
<br /> emergent Mississippian ceremonial contexts .
<br /> Recent work at the Teal site by OSA has evaluated Figure 1 . Copyrighted 1993 b Bill L . Oliver.
<br /> possible damage from fire plowing and tree planting g �' Y
<br /> by the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources .
<br /> Although the site was eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places , no review
<br /> was conducted prior to the tree-planting program . A conservation program identifying
<br /> specific measures to protect natural resources , wildlife , and archaeological remains is under
<br /> consideration by the landowner . --Billy L. Oliver
<br />
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