Time before History - by H Trawick Ward & R P Stephen Davis (Paperback)

About the Book

Time before History: The Archaeology of North Carolina

Book Synopsis

North Carolina's written history begins in the sixteenth century with the voyages of Sir Walter Raleigh and the founding of the ill-fated Lost Colony on Roanoke Island. But there is a deeper, unwritten past that predates the state's recorded history. The region we now know as North Carolina was settled more than 10,000 years ago, but because early inhabitants left no written record, their story must be painstakingly reconstructed from the fragmentary and fragile archaeological record they left behind.

Time before History is the first comprehensive account of the archaeology of North Carolina. Weaving together a wealth of information gleaned from archaeological excavations and surveys carried out across the state--from the mountains to the coast--it presents a fascinating, readable narrative of the state's native past across a vast sweep of time, from the Paleo-Indian period, when the first immigrants to North America crossed a land bridge that spanned the Bering Strait, through the arrival of European traders and settlers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Review Quotes

Weaving together a wealth of information, it presents a fascinating narrative of the state s native past across a vast sweep of time.

"Indian Artifacts"

It is an irresistible story of 10,000 years of history beginning with the first Americans.

"American Archaeology"

This well-written book on the archaeology of Native American sites in North Carolina will be of interest to everyone.

Stanley South, author of "Method and Theory in Historical Archaeology"

"It is an irresistible story of 10,000 years of history beginning with the first Americans.

"American Archaeology""

"This well-written book on the archaeology of Native American sites in North Carolina will be of interest to everyone.

Stanley South, author of "Method and Theory in Historical Archaeology""

"Time Before History" will educate and entertain its intended audiences for some years to come.

"North Carolina Historical Review"

"Weaving together a wealth of information, it presents a fascinating narrative of the stateUs native past across a vast sweep of time.

"Indian Artifacts""

The work is essential for placing the state in the larger context of eastern archaeology.

"Choice"

About the Author

H. Trawick Ward and R. P. Stephen Davis Jr. are research archaeologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Both collaborated with Vincas P. Steponaitis and Patrick Livingood to create Excavating Occaneechi Town: Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century Indian Village in North Carolina, an award-winning CD-ROM multimedia publication.