The Toqua site, 40MR6: A late Mississippian, Dallas phase town

Abstract

Archaeological work in the Little Tennessee River Valley was very much affected by the fluctuations in the Tellico Reservoir scheduling and funding. Stated project goals were: ''Questions regarding Cherokee origins, culture change and acculturation, and the length of time during which the valley was inhabited by man will be among the major ones to be considered.'' From the project inception, the principal research commitment was to the eighteenth century Overhill Cherokee occupation of the valley. By 1967, the inundation date was set for 1971. Four main research problems were identified: (1) a complete survey of the reservoir area to locate all prehistoric and historic sites that will be inundated; (2) a thorough testing of the eighteenth century Cherokee towns to determine the effects of acculturation; (3) to determine how long the Overhill Cherokee have occupied the Little Tennessee Valley by excavating a late prehistoric Mississippian village or an early Historic Cherokee village to discover by (sic) continuities between the prehistoric Mississippian complexes and the Historic Cherokee; and (4) to test intensively occupied sites in depth to find earlier Woodland and Archaic complexes in stratigraphic succession (Guthe, 1967). This report describes the results of these investigations.