During the mid-1980s, visitors and staff at Pettigrew State Park in Washington County, North Carolina discovered a series of prehistoric dugout canoes and associated artifacts in and around Lake Phelps. Beginning in 1985, archaeological investigations were undertaken at Lake Phelps to locate and identify prehistoric canoes. They also conducted a series of surveys aimed at collecting and identifying prehistoric artifacts. The work in these areas led to the discovery of 23 canoes, 19 of which have been radiocarbon dated, and the recovery of 5829 prehistoric artifacts. After these initial investigations, few archaeological investigations have been undertaken at Lake Phelps. Over the next 25 years the lake was only revisited five times, and all of this work focused primarily on the canoes. This changed in 2007 when low lake levels again led to the discovery of a significant amount of cultural material. This caused a renewed interest in the prehistory of Lake Phelps, and it was the catalyst for this thesis project. At the request of the North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation, I conducted a research project focused on the prehistoric occupation of Lake Phelps. This project had four main objectives. The first was to locate and integrate all of the previous research from the lake. These documents were held by a variety of agencies, many of which were unaware of the existence of outside documents. With the data from the Lake Phelps archaeological investigations spread about in this manner, it prevented an accurate and inclusive evaluation of the work done at Lake Phelps. The consolidation of these data in this thesis allows for a complete and detailed evaluation of the prehistoric occupation of the lake. This thesis also presents materials collected during fieldwork designed to fill in gaps in the data. This fieldwork consisted of a survey of portions of site 31WH12. This survey completed the controlled collection of the entire site that was begun in the 1980s. The material from the survey was analyzed and integrated with that of the previous work. All of the data from Lake Phelps are used to define spatial and temporal patterns in the prehistoric occupation of Lake Phelps. These patterns are used to generate a culture history for Lake Phelps. The final step of the project uses this model to generate a context for future work on the lake. The results of the re-examination of the Lake Phelps data reveal a prehistoric occupation that began in the Late Paleoindian and lasted until the Late Woodland period, with the lake being abandoned before Europeans reached the region in the Eighteenth century. Archaeological investigations also show reveal four distinct areas of prehistoric occupation on the northern and western shores of Lake Phelps. An examination of the artifacts and canoes found in these occupational areas shows that they were used differentially throughout time, in many cases reflecting the larger regional settlement pattern trends seen across the rest of the North Carolina coastal plain.

This book presents an overview of the exciting new developments in underwater research in North America, ranging from new approaches for discovering submerged sites to an assessment of how these findings challenge the understanding of the North American past. Archaeological sites preserved on the world’s continental shelves are relevant to a wide range of major research questions and their importance increases with the heightened awareness of climate change and rising modern sea levels. Once thought lost forever, these sites survive underwater, preserved from the ravages of modern farming and development. To investigate the submerged landscapes, archaeologists use many of the same technologies developed for discovery of shipwrecks but, couple them with anthropological and environmental models to identify and study the way of life of people residing in these ancient lands. In this book, leading figures associated with submerged site exploration share an emphasis on the conduct and results of underwater research. It will be a fascinating read for advanced students of Archaeology, History and Environmental Studies. This volume was originally published as a special issue of The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology.

Plymouth and Washington County, North Carolina, are entwined with the beginnings of American history. The area surrounding the Albemarle Sound was the birthplace of North Carolina. Plymouth began as a 17th-century trading post on the Roanoke River, which empties into the sound. When the nearby Dismal Swamp Canal opened in 1805, Plymouth was linked to the deepwater harbor of Norfolk, Virginia, and quickly grew into one of North Carolinas busiest ports. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, young men from Washington County enlisted in both the Union and Confederate armies, and Plymouth was the scene of fierce fighting throughout the conflict. Today, Plymouth and Washington County attract visitors eager to enjoy boating, bass fishing, and bird-watching in an unspoiled coastal wilderness; visit Civil War sites; or absorb the fascinating maritime history.

Archeological salvage excavations were conducted in central North Carolina during the fall of 1979 at prehistoric sites called the Haw River group. Initial survey and test excavations at 31Ch8, 31Ch29 and 31Ch28 demonstrated that the the two former sites contained deeply-stratified deposits with artifactual remains representing some 10,000 years of prehistory. Field work at 31Ch8 and 31Ch29 included detailed surface mapping, test pitting and complete excavation of two large-scale block units. Due to the extreme complexity of natural and cultural stratigraphic processes at the site, a program of geomorphological testing and evaluation was made an integral part of the archeological investigations. The report resulting from the 1979 Haw River excavation details methodological aspects of the project, including field data recovery techniques and laboratory analysis procedures. A history of previous investigations is provided, as is an updated archeological background section; both are included to assist the reader in understanding the archeological and interpretive contexts of our work. Major portions of the report detail the innovative theoretical framework within which the Haw River site data are presented and interpreted. Sections are devoted to reconstruction of paleoenvironmental variables that affected natural site formation processes. Environmental models also are used to explain discerned patterns of lithic technological organization.