The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology Reports digital collection contains reports of archaeological and documentary research in the greater Chattanooga area and the Southeastern United States.
Materials in the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology Reports digital collection are currently under review for compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
While under review, materials are available for access upon request. Please review the UTC NAGPRA Policy and send inquiries to the .
If you have questions about this series, please Director, Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology.
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An archaeological investigation of the Charleston Convention Center site, Charleston, South Carolina
Nicholas Honerkamp, R. Bruce Council, and M. Elizabeth Will
Results of archeological testing-limited data recovery conducted at the Charleston Center Site by the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology are reported. The site consists of a single city block in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, occupied from the mid-eighteenth through twentieth centuries. The entire site is slated for development as a private hotel. Nine weeks of fieldwork were carried out in the spring of 1981 to determine the presence, extent, and condition of archeological resources in accessible areas of the site, and to evaluate the need for further mitigation. A total of 250 m surface area was excavated, resulting in the recovery of substantial intact, interpretable archeological remains. Data generated from fieldwork and documentary research is integrated and applied to research questions about the site's temporal parameters, structure and function, and patterns of eighteenth and nineteenth century resources utilization. The utility of several methodological approaches for interpreting historic site data are examined, including South's "pattern recognition" approach. Explicit models of animal exploitation and urban land use are also tested. Finally, suggestions for further research at similar sites in Charleston are presented.
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Archaeological assessment and report of investigations involving Sweetwater Creek Watershed (PL-566), Philadelphia, Loudon County, Tennessee
E. Raymond Evans and Nicholas Honerkamp
An archaeological survey-reconnaissance of the Sweetwater Creek project area, located in Philadelphia, Tennessee, was conducted by one of the authors during April, 1981. At least 15 archaeological sites were defined in the project area on the basis of combined documentary and archaeological evidence. These include three nineteenth century mill sites, a historically significant spring, and at least eleven domestic-craft occupations. In addition, the presence of a Civil War battlefield in the project area is strongly inferred, although its exact location has not been defined archaeologically; no evidence of prehistoric occupations was noted. It is recommended that all sites in the project area be preserved. Secondary testing and/or mitigation of the archaeological resources will be required if preservation of the sites is not feasible. It is further recommended that the town of Philadelphia, including the project area, be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District.
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Prehistoric and historic cultural resources in the Chattanooga area and an assessment of four prospective sites for the proposed River Port at Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
E. Raymond Evans and Nicholas Honerkamp
In July, 1981, personnel of the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted a preliminary assessment of four prospective sites under consideration for the construction of a river port facility at the city of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, in accordance with an agreement between the Institute and the firm of Sverdrup and Parcel and Associates, Inc. The study was based on a review of available archival, documentary, and published data relevant to the Chattanooga area. This study revealed that all four prospective sites are known to contain cultural remains, but the overall significance of these remains could not be determined at the documentary level of research. Furthermore, it is highly probable that each of the sites contain additional cultural resources not presently recorded, including deeply buried prehistoric material. Additional archaeological research will therefore be necessary for any of the prospective sites that will be subjected to development or other land-altering activities. In order to determine the nature and extent of the cultural resources present at each of the sites slated for development, we make the following recommendations: 1. a thorough surface rennaissance of the site area; 2. subsurface testing in the form of small hand-excavated units in all areas of low surface visibility and additionally as deemed necessary; 3. extensive mechanical testing for deeply buried components; 4. determination of National Register eligibility based on the results of the testing program outlined above.
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A report on archaeological testing of the Twelfth Street right-of-way from Market Street to Chestnut Street including archaeological monitoring of street improvement from Chestnut Street to Carter Street
R. Bruce Council, Loretta Lautzenheiser, and Nicholas Honerkamp
As part of a major redevelopment of a portion of downtown Chattanooga occasioned by the construction of a Tennessee Valley Authority office complex, the City of Chattanooga proposed to extend Twelfth Street from Chestnut Street to Market Street. This extension of Twelfth Street would run roughly east to west across the southern border of the TVA office complex site, crossing existing Chestnut, Broad and Market Streets, and connecting with Newby Street. Concommitant with new street construction would be the improvement of surfaces and buried services and utilities along or under existing streets. Such an improvement would affect Twelfth Street from Chestnut to Carter Streets. Under provisions of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, the City of Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley Authority were to contract for the performance of archival research and limited archaeological testing and reconnaissance on their respective properties in order to assess the presence or absence of historic or prehistoric cultural remains which might be eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and, if eligible, a plan to mitigate the adverse impact on the remains would be formulated and implemented. A Memorandum of Agreement was executed between the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the City of Chattanooga. The City of Chattanooga was provided a Scope of Services outlining the archaeological services to be performed by an appropriate contractor. The following is a report on archaeological testing performed by the Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, on behalf of the City of Chattanooga, through their agents, the firm of Hensley-Schmidt, Inc., engineering consultants. This report consolidates data gathered under three contracts funded through an Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) No. B-80-AA-47-0003 (Contract No. 2). These three projects were identified as "Archaeological Testing of the Twelfth Street Extension Right-of-Way, Market to Broad Streets," (May 28, 1980), "Archaeological Monitoring of the Twelfth Street Extension Right-of-Way, Chestnut to Carter Streets," (June 6, 1980), and "Archaeological Testing of the Twelfth Street Extension Right-of-Way, Chestnut to Broad Streets," (June 12, 1980). The field portion of the archaeological testing and monitoring program was conducted between 2 June and 11 July, 1980, and was directed by R. Bruce Council, Research Instructor, and Loretta Lautzenheiser, Assistant Archaeologist, both of the Institute of Archaeology. Dr. Jeffrey L. Brown served as Principal Investigator of the monitoring phase of the work, and R. Bruce Council was Principal Investigator on the testing portions of the program.
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The camp site beneath the Cravens House porch
Jeffrey L. Brown
Archaeological investigations beneath the porch of the Cravens house on the Lookout Mountain battlefield revealed the presence of a camp site apparently occupied by newspaper writers and artists. The camp site and its contents are described.