Some puzzles of the Cape Fear region’s past will be solved for visitors to the N.C. Coastal Federation’s Fred and Alice Stanback Coastal Education Center Nov. 12, when a state archaeologist will explain how he attributes meaning to artifacts as large as shipwrecks and as small as pottery scraps.
Nathan Henry, assistant state archaeologist and conservator with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, will discuss some of his current projects, including his quest to uncover the story behind a 19th-century shipwreck off the coast of Figure Eight Island and what Native American pottery unearthed during reconstruction of the original palisade fence at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area suggests about the changing landscape of the marsh.
Henry said his ultimate goal in all pursuits, whether extracting canons and artillery from Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge or trying to understand how indigenous tribes used shells as tools, is to learn something new — which usually begins by thinking about what he already knows.
When crews working on the Fort Fisher fence found pottery remnants beneath 5 or 6 feet of marsh, Henry used his knowledge about the Native American population of eastern North Carolina to learn something new about the evolution of the land.
Native Americans of North Carolina’s coast were transient, stopping by the same campsites near the sound or river to collect seafood and shellfish. They picked sites, Henry said, based on a few factors: elevation, good views and access to fresh water.
“You invariably see these prehistoric campsites adjacent to fresh water,” Henry said. “If you don’t see fresh water around it, that means that something has changed over time.”
Because no freshwater sources exist in that area today, Henry deduced that a freshwater creek once gurgled through the land before sea level rose and created a marsh atop the old creek bed.
“That, to me, is the most fascinating thing: to think about what was here before and how much it’s changed,” Henry said.
Mike Giles, coastal advocate for the coastal federation, said Henry was invited to discuss the link between the coast’s cultural and natural resources.
“The coastal federation is all about water quality and the environment, but our cultural history and the history of our coast shaped the resources we have, so it’s all interconnected,” Giles said.
Henry was invited to speak not only for his knowledge and experience, Giles said, but also for his ability to make history interesting.
“He spins the yarn. He’s a good storyteller and a very colorful character. I think the audience will enjoy his presentation,” Giles said.
The event is free for federation members and $10 for nonmembers.
The coastal speaker series, a new program launched in May, will resume in January.
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