Soapstone is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in subduction zones, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx of fluids but without melting. It has been a carving medium for thousands of years.
Jackson County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,109. Since 1913, its county seat has been Sylva, which replaced Webster. Cullowhee is the site of Western Carolina University (WCU). In the early 21st century, the university has more than 12,000 students, nearly twice the number of permanent residents of Cullowhee. The university has a strong influence in the region and county. More than 10 percent of the county residents identify as Native American, mostly Cherokee. The federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is based at Qualla Boundary, land that consists of territory in both Jackson and neighboring Swain County. This is the only federally recognized tribe in North Carolina, and one among three federally recognized Cherokee tribes nationally. The other two are based in what is now the state of Oklahoma, a former Indian Territory.
Cullowhee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. It is located on the Tuckasegee River, and the permanent population was 7,682 at the 2020 census up from 6,228 at the 2010 census.
Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system.
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs, estimated to be 20,000 years old are classified as protected monuments and have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the Greek prefix petro-, from πέτρα petra meaning "stone", and γλύφω glýphō meaning "carve", and was originally coined in French as pétroglyphe.
The Tuckasegee River flows entirely within western North Carolina. It begins its course in Jackson County below Cullowhee at the confluence of Panthertown and Greenland creeks.
Western North Carolina is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United States, with 125 peaks rising to over 5,000 feet in elevation. Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and mainland eastern North America. The population of the 23 most commonly associated counties for the region, as measured by the 2020 U.S. Census, is 1,149,405. The region accounts for approximately 11% of North Carolina's total population.
Nikwasi comes from the Cherokee word for "star", Ꮓꮘꮟ Noquisi (No-kwee-shee), and is the site of the Cherokee town which is first found in colonial records in the early 18th century, but is much older. The town covered about 100 acres (40 ha) on the floodplain of the Little Tennessee River. Franklin, North Carolina, was later developed by European Americans around this site.
North Carolina Highway 107 (NC 107) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The highway runs north–south from the South Carolina state line, near Cashiers, to US 23 Business in Sylva.
Track Rock is located in the Track Rock Gap Archaeological Area (9Un367) in the Brasstown Ranger District of the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia. This 52-acre (210,000 m2) area contains preserved petroglyphs of ancient Native American origin that resemble animal and bird tracks, crosses, circles and human footprints.
The Battle of Taliwa was fought in Ball Ground, Georgia, in 1755. The battle was part of a larger campaign of the Cherokee against the Muscogee Creek people, where a contingent of 500 Cherokee warriors led by war chief Oconostota defeated the Muscogee Creek people and pushed them south from their northern Georgia homelands, allowing the Cherokee to begin settling in the region.
Shining Rock is a mountain in western North Carolina, United States. The mountain is one of the Great Balsam Mountains which are a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains within the Appalachian Mountains. It is the 38th tallest mountain in the eastern United States.
Oxidizable carbon ratio dating is a method of dating in archaeology and earth science that can be used to derive or estimate the age of soil and sediment samples up to 35,000 years old. The method is experimental, and it is not as widely used in archaeology as other chronometric methods such as radiocarbon dating.
Tuckasegee, named after the historic Cherokee town of that name located near here, is an unincorporated community in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. It followed the earlier Cherokee town as developing on the upper Tuckaseegee River, at the confluence of its East and West forks.
Jackson County Public Schools is a public school district serving Jackson County, North Carolina, US. It is headquartered in the county seat of Sylva. The Jackson County School system is unique in the way that is still has a K–8 system with combined elementary and middle schools, with one central high school and one combined K–12 elementary/middle/high school. The county school system has eight schools, all with different histories and stories behind why they are the way they are today. The school system includes four kindergarten-through-8th-grade schools, two kindergarten-through-12th-grade schools, one traditional 9th-through-12th-grade high school, and one alternative 9th-through-12th-grade high school early college.
The Kenimer site (9Wh68) is an archaeological site near Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia in White County. The site contains two earthwork mounds located on top of a natural hilltop.
Archeological Site 38CK1, also known as the Upton Site, is a historic archaeological site located near Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina. The site contains well preserved examples of a specialized soapstone procurement site occupied primarily during the prehistoric, Late Archaic Period. The site is divided into two major areas and the quarry exhibits both historic and prehistoric utilization.
Too-Cowee, was an important historic Cherokee town located near the Little Tennessee River north of present-day Franklin, North Carolina. It also had a prehistoric platform mound and earlier village built by ancestral peoples. As their expression of public architecture, the Cherokee built a townhouse on top of the mound. It was the place for their community gatherings in their highly decentralized society. The name translates to "pig fat" in English. British traders and colonists referred to Cowee as one of the Cherokee Middle Towns along this river; they defined geographic groupings based in relation to their coastal settlements, such as Charlestown, South Carolina.
The historic Cherokee settlements were Cherokee settlements established in Southeastern North America up to the removals of the early 19th century. Several settlements had existed prior to and were initially contacted by explorers and colonists of the colonial powers as they made inroads into frontier areas. Others were established later.
Painted Bluff is a cliff overlooking the Tennessee River in Marshall County, Alabama that features over 130 individual prehistoric Native American pictographs and petroglyphs. Painted Bluff is located about 4 miles (6.4 km) downstream from the Guntersville Dam and is only accessible by boat. The bluff is divided into three levels: the low ledge along the river, a middle ledge above it, and a high ledge near the top of the cliff face. A small cave is located along the low ledge.
