With NSF support, Dr Tanya M. Peres, Mr. Aaron Deter-Wolf, and Dr. Shannon C. Hodge, will conduct an emergency survey and assessment of prehistoric sites along the banks of the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee. The main goal of this survey is to evaluate damage to archaeological resources as a result of the catastrophic flood and subsequent looting activity, and to recover data from sites which are in the greatest danger of being destroyed. The project will include an examination of all known site locations, recordation of previously unrecorded archaeological deposits, and documentation of both natural and human-made site disturbances.
In May of 2010, heavy rains throughout the Midsouth resulted in severe flooding in Middle Tennessee. In Nashville, the Cumberland River left its banks and impacted or destroyed more than 9,000 homes and businesses while causing more than $1.5 billion in damages. The human tragedy and economic impact of the Middle Tennessee flood have been well publicized and the response to those in need has been widespread. However, little attention has been given to the immediate and ongoing destructive impacts to the archaeological record of the region as a direct result of the May 2010 floods.
The banks of the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee have been home to human occupation since the late Pleistocene (ca. 10,000 BC). Thousands of years of repeated human occupation resulted in the creation of deeply stratified archaeological deposits along the riverbank. The force of the May 2010 flood caused large sections of Cumberland bankline to erode away. Many of these displaced areas consisted almost entirely of previously intact archaeological deposits. Initial reports suggest that substantial portions of numerous archaeological sites in the Nashville area eroded away entirely during the flood, carrying with them much of the archaeological record of the region. The flood also revealed previously-unexposed archaeological deposits along the Cumberland riverbank, including substantial shell middens. More than thirty sites in the vicinity of Nashville contain thick layers of freshwater snail and river mussel deposited by prehistoric peoples during the later portion of the Archaic Period (ca. 5000-1000 BC). Shell deposits such as these reduce the natural acidity of soils, resulting in excellent artifact preservation. For this reason, shell midden sites have long been the target of looters intent on obtaining the unique artifacts sometimes included in prehistoric burials. Since the flood, the Tennessee Division of Archaeology has received reports of widespread looting at newly-exposed Cumberland River shell middens, and documented extensive disturbances to human remains contained within shell deposits.
The intellectual merit of this project will be to provide baseline data for the Co-PIs long-term research program and allow us to more specifically target endangered archaeological resources. Ultimately, the Co-PIs will use animal and plant remains, wood charcoal, snails and river mussels, human skeletal remains, and material culture to interpret the prehistoric environment of the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee; to reconstruct past drought/flooding cycles; look at changes in subsistence economies and technologies; understand why these groups became larger and more sedentary, and how these changes impacted the local resources. The broader impacts of the study also include training of undergraduate students in laboratory techniques and will allow them to increase their knowledge of Tennessee and Southeastern US prehistory.
Catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee over the weekend of May 1, 2010 caused significant erosion along the banks of the Cumberland River, displacing or destroying substantial portions of the region’s rich archaeological heritage. Floodwaters also exposed previously inaccessible prehistoric archaeological deposits along the shoreline, which immediately attracted the attention of looters intent on illicitly obtaining artifacts. The extent of damage to the archaeological record caused by the May 2010 floods and subsequent looting activity prompted the project directors to apply for a Rapid Response Research grant from the National Science Foundation. Through the support of NSF Award #1048351, we conducted an emergency assessment of both natural and anthropogenic damages to riverbank deposits at 128 previously recorded prehistoric archaeological sites along 67.5 miles of the Cumberland River between Cheatham and Old Hickory Dams. During this survey investigators were able to identify and record the extent of erosional damage, document ongoing destruction of archaeological sites and public and private property by looters, and collect scientific samples from sites under the greatest threat of imminent destruction. This work was conducted June-November, 2010 with the aid of undergraduate students from Middle Tennessee State University and volunteers from the local community. Thirty-three of the 128 previously recorded sites within the project area are sealed beneath modern bankline stabilization efforts, and consequently did not suffer from the 2010 flood. However, the survey recorded massive erosion along unstabilized portions of the Cumberland throughout the project area, including sections where up to 20 feet of bankline were scoured away. Only 27 of the 95 site locations recorded along unstabilized portions of the Cumberland yielded archaeological materials. Of these surviving sites, only 14 exhibited evidence of intact archaeological deposits. These findings suggest that most previously recorded sites within the survey area no longer exist along the riverbank, and in many instances were entirely eroded away by the force of the 2010 flood. The survey documented widespread looting activity concentrated west of downtown Nashville. Following the flood, looters systematically tested all newly exposed site deposits in search of human burials and the grave offerings they sometimes contain. Information from informants and data recorded in the field identified the presence of several full-time, professional looters operating in this area. These individuals illicitly dig into archaeological deposits in order to prospect for interments and relics, and groom the sites to remove evidence of human remains and/or high-value artifacts. This latter activity is designed to make site locations less attractive to other looters, and shield themselves from prosecution under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and Tennessee’s state burial laws. By October 2010, artifacts illicitly obtained along the Cumberland River after the May flood began appearing in regional artifact shows, on-line auctions, and artifact collector magazines. These items are generally oversized, finely-crafted, show little or no evidence of everyday use, and are exhibited alongside comparable, reportedly associated materials. There is no professional documentation in the region for similar artifacts originating in non-mortuary contexts. Samples collected from intact archaeological sites during the survey comprise a critical record of a highly-endangered history. Fewer than 20 percent of the sites within the project area had been systematically examined by professional archaeologists prior to our project, and the emergency survey revealed that many sites no longer exist. Consequently, the specific understanding of site chronology and prehistoric lifeways along the Cumberland is severely limited and the potential for future research is under imminent threat. The samples collected during our project present a substantial contribution towards understanding Tennessee’s archaeological past. Data generated by the project also provided critical information in support of the project directors’ long-term research into the interdependence of archaeological populations and animal species along the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee. These data will aid in efforts to reconstruct prehistoric environments and regional chronologies, examine ancient drought/flooding cycles, and address hypotheses regarding prehistoric consumption and management of shellfish species in the region. The survey also allowed the investigators to train undergraduate students and provide them with extensive hands-on experience in archaeological field and laboratory techniques. Our findings have been used to conduct public outreach activities, including presenting programs for university students, the general public, and in interviews with local media outlets. Project-generated data has also been used in consultation with a variety of local, State, and Federal Agencies with environmental, property, and law enforcement concerns related to the Cumberland River. All of these interactions were designed to educate non-archaeologists on the depth and richness of Tennessee’s archaeological past, raise awareness of illegal looting activity and laws regarding the protection of archaeological materials, and to promote archaeological stewardship and cultural resource conservation along the Cumberland.
