Under a tent in the middle of an Anderson Township field, archaeologists are dredging up the past with hopes of learning more about the people who once lived here: Native Americans and Europeans.
It’s believed members of the Miami and Shawnee tribes migrated to this area 1,000 years ago and settled in villages.They are thought to have been the first to farm corn in the eastern U.S.
Their existence intersects with the Turpin family. The Turpins were given the property after the American Revolution and moved there in the 1700s.
As early as 1880, the area was attracting attention from people who wanted to study it. Dr. Charles Metz, a Mariemont physician, wrote about his efforts as an amateur archaeologist, attracting the attention of Harvard University.
Harvard researchers visited the area and excavated the site, saving, however, just one percent of what scientists today would save. Nonetheless, the Harvard dig is seen as the beginning of professional American archaeology.
Robert Cook, an Ohio State archaeologist and Cincinnati native, wanted to re-excavate the site. He started the project in conjunction with the Cincinnati Museum Center, Algonquin Consultants, Anderson Township, Harvard, Indiana University, and the New York Galaxy Research Institute.
They will dig every weekend for possibly the next ten years.
Cook says archaeologists don’t really know anything yet about the people who lived here. “But that’s a critical question to see how they interacted, what they learned from each other as well as sort of the negative stories that we know too well in terms of removal.”
Connecting Descendants To The Site
Cook is working with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and the Turpin family to connect living descendants to the site. He says this is important because nothing is written about their ancestors.
What Have They Found?
Cook points out two foundations on the Turpin family site. One may have been the original house, which may later have been turned into a barn.
“This would have been way too substantial for just a corn crib... like many things, it was recycled.”
They have found broken bits of ceramics, nails and glass objects related to the structure, and pieces of farm equipment related to the use as a barn.
Across a field, researchers dug up animal bones including a possum jaw, and pieces of wood which may indicate Native American inhabitants.
Eventually visitors might be able to picture life back then. One researcher is creating an augmented reality experience where people can walk into the village and use a tablet to look into houses and see wildlife.
