The Cherokee story abounds with trials and sadness. According to archeological finds, the first phase of Cherokee history began about 1000 AD, nearly 500 years before DeSoto first met them. The first two periods of history are the Pisgah phase, between 1000 and 1500 AD, and the Qualla phase, between 1500 and 1850 AD.
The Pisgah lived in western North Carolina, primarily in the southern Appalachian region. They typically built villages that were between one acre and over five acres in size, with houses around an open plaza surrounded by a palisade. Their diet seemed primarily vegetarian, although remains of weapons and knives indicate they also ate meat. They made pottery from local clay, decorated with patterns. They also wore beats and other kinds of trinkets made of shells and animal bone. Shells were also used in their method of burial.The Qualla, marking the beginning of the Cherokee people, lived in a culture quite similar to the Pisgah. This phase includes the merging of cultures between North Carolina Indians and those from east Tennessee and north Georgia.Written records about the Cherokee people began with the diaries of Spanish explorers Hernando DeSoto and Juan Pardo, who encountered the Cherokee in the 1500s. Historic records begin in the mid-17th century, describing Cherokee activities and trading.Cherokee often resided in small communities, which the British government in South Carolina defined in the early 1700s. Two communities of Cherokee lived in bordering states, and three lived in North Carolina. The Overhill inhabited the Overhill Towns along the Tellico and Little Tennessee rivers in east Tennessee. Cherokee in North Georgia, on the Tugalo, Keowee and upper Savannah rivers resided in the Lower Towns. North Carolina housed the Middle Towns along the Little Tennessee River, the Valley Towns on the Hiwassee and Valley rivers, and the Out Towns along the Tuckaseegee and Occonoluftee rivers.As British and French colonists moved into the region, the Cherokee found themselves alternating their alliances between the two in order to fight their enemies, the Tuscarora and Creek Indians. However, in 1730 the Cherokee found themselves subject to British rule as Sir Alexander Cuming met with several Cherokee chiefs and established a treaty at the Town of Nequassee. By 1750 the Cherokee were forced to trade with the British while they continued to lose more and more of their territory. Hostilities progressively flared up through the French and Indian War, in which one English force, commanded by Colonel Archibald Montgomery, destroyed the entire Middle Town community.As the war ended, the British continued to push the Cherokee off their land, serving to anger the Cherokee even more. During the Revolutionary War, the Cherokee willingly assisted the British against the American settlers. However, the Americans responded by attacking the Cherokees as a North Carolina militia destroyed the Middle, Valley, and Out Towns; South Carolina armies destroyed the Lower Towns; and Virginia forces destroyed the Overhill Towns. After the war, Americans continued to force the Cherokee into smaller and smaller territories until they were eventually driven out completely on the Trail of Tears.
Source: Moore, David. Cherokee Archaeology. North Carolina Archaeological Society, 1987.
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