Date Awarded

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Anthropology

Advisor

Danielle Moretti-Langholtz

Committee Member

Brad Weiss

Committee Member

Martin Gallivan

Abstract

Town Creek Indian Mound is a rural museum and historic site located in Montgomery County, North Carolina. Archaeological excavations at Town Creek historic site have occurred in varying capacities for nearly ninety years. Since 1955, Town Creek’s museum has served to represent archaeological endeavors occurring at the historic site. Therefore Western-trained and white archaeologists have been the sole voices presented within the museum space. Town Creek’s current museum exhibits are stuck in a state of pastness, only representing a small portion of Native lifeways; namely discourse on ritual, ceremony, and death. Current exhibits and historical interpretations at Town Creek’s museum view Native pre-history as separate from extant, historic Native groups, creating ruptures between representations of the past and present. Public memory that is held by tourists and returning visitors supports similar interpretations of a separate and mysterious Native past. The last two years have been a period of change at Town Creek’s museum. The museum exhibits at Town Creek, which are some of the oldest in the North Carolina Historic Sites division, and are being critically re-examined for the first time since 1983. And for the first time, the museum has begun processes of Native stakeholder engagement. Town Creek’s museum has the unique opportunity to move forward with new interpretations. How can the museum at Town Creek situate itself in these developing dialogues of change?

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-c8z7-ap25

Rights

© The Author

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