When English explorers and colonists first
arrived on the coast of North America, they encountered Algonkian-speaking
peoples. The term Algonkian*
isn’t a tribal name; but one of the largest group of linguistically related
tribes in North America. Algonkian-speaking tribes lived in the area from
coastal North Carolina to Canada, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky
Mountains. They were the peoples who met the English at Roanoke in 1584,
at Jamestown in 1607, and at Plymouth in 1620, and they were among those
who first met French explorers and colonizers in Canada. (*Also
spelled Algonquin, Algonquian, Algonkin.)
The Algonkian, with whom we are concerned here,
were relative newcomers to coastal North Carolina, having come in a series
of migrations from the north. To some extent they retained cultural elements
from their Northeastern Algonkian traditions, but there was also cultural
borrowing from their neighbors as they adapted to the geographic and climatic
conditions of the area. They were more water-oriented and placed more emphasis
upon hunting, fishing, and gathering than did their neighbors. They lived
in the coastal area of North Carolina from the Neuse River northward to
the Chesapeake Bay. To the north they were bordered by the Virginia Algonkians;
on the northwest and west by the Iroquoian-speaking tribes of the Tuscarora,
Meherrin and Nottaway; and on the southwest by the Woccon and other Siouan-speaking
tribes. The approximate 6000-square mile Carolina Algonqkian territory
of northeastern North Carolina included the Chowanoke, Weapemeac, Poteskeet,
Moratoc, Roanoke, Secotan, Pomuik, Neusiok, Croatan and possibly the Chesepiooc.
On this web site will be posted source materials
by anthropologists, archaeologists and historians which deal with the Carolina
Algonkian, and links to related sources already online. As the reader will
note, the various authors offer different points of views on some issues.
It will be up to the reader to discern these differences. I only wish to
make these materials available to one and all.
Anyone aware of other source materials, new
publications, or any field work being conducted concerning the Carolina
Algonkian, please let me know. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Please
contact me at:
Kay Midgett Sheppard .
The
Algonquain of Coastal Carolina compiled by John McGowan
Remnants
of the Machapunga Indians of North Carolina by Frank G. Speck,
American Anthropologist 18 (1916): pp. 271-276
The
Ethnic Position of the Southeastern Algonquian by Frank
G. Speck. American Anthropologist 26; (1924): 184-200
Algonquian
Ethnohistory of the Carolina Sound by Maurice A. Mook, Journal
of the Washington Academy of Sciences 34: 6–7 (1944)
Decline
of the Coastal Tribes
Chapter IV, in The American Indian
in North Carolina by Rev. Douglas L. Rights, Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, (1947). Republished: Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1957
The
Archaeology of Coastal North Carolina by William G. Haag. Louisiana
State University Studies, Coastal Studies Series No. 2. (1958), Louisiana State
University Press, Baton Rouge
The
Mattamuskeet Documents: A Study in Social History by Patrick
H. Garrow, Archaeology Branch, Division of Archives and History, (1975),
Raleigh, North Carolina
Additional deeds from:
By
a Line of Marked Trees Abstracts of Currituck County, NC, Deed
Books [1], 1-2, and 3, pp. 1-122, by John A. Brayton, (2000), Memphis, TN
North
Carolina Algonquians by Christian F. Feest, in Handbook
of North American Indians, Volume 15, pp. 271-281, Bruce Trigger, Ed.,
(1978), Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC.
Archaeology
of the Native Americans: The Carolina Algonkians: Final Report by David S. Phelps, (1984), Department
of Sociology, Anthropology and Economics, East Carolina University, Greenville.
The
Carolina Algonkians: Archaeology and History from An America's
Four Hundredth Anniversary Slide and Narrative Presentation, by David S.
Phelps, (1984), East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
The Amity Site Reports (1985-1989)
The
Archaeology of 31HY43, "Pomeiooc" 1985-1986 Field Seasons
by Paul R. Green. (1987), America’s Four Hundredth Anniversary Publication,
Archaeology Laboratory, East Carolina University, Greenville.
Excavations
at the Amity Site: Final Report of the Pomeiooc Project: 1984–1989 by Paul S. Gardner, (1990), Archaeological Research Report No. 7,
East Carolina University, Greenville.
Ancient
Pots and Dugout Canoes: Indian Life as Revealed by Archaeology at Lake Phelps by David S. Phelps, (1989). Brochure distributed
at Pettigrew State Park, Creswell, NC.
A
Sub-Surface Radar Exploration of Lake Phelps, North Carolina, September,
1992 (1993), by Donald G. Shomette. Report prepared for The
North Carolina Division of Archives and History, Raleigh, NC.
Unearthing
Clues to Lost Worlds: An archaeological dig on the Outer Banks... reveals
evidence of the Croatan Indians...
by Nancy Gray, (1997). The ECU Report - Vol. 28, No. 2. ECU, Greenville, NC.
Between
'Savage Man' and 'Most Faithful Englishman': Manteo and the Early Anglo-Indian
Exchange, 1584-1590 by Michael L. Oberg, Volume XXIV (2000)
Number 2. Itinerario, European Journal of Overseas History, Leiden University,
The Netherlands.
Maps of Coastal Carolina
The
Algonquin in North Carolina (Mook)
Eastern
Virginia & North Carolina (Speck)
Carolina
Algonquin Tribes and Villages (Feest)
Copyright 2006
Carolina Algonkian Project
Beaufort County NCGenWeb Home Page
This site was last updated November 7, 2009
© 2007-2008
McGowan/Sheppard
© 2009
Kay Midgett Sheppard
