Discovering the Blue Ridge Exploradores: Celebrating Thirty Years of Public Engagement at the Berry Site
Author(s): Melissa Timo
Year: 2017
Summary
Juan Pardo and his men arrived in western North Carolina 450 years ago hoping to establish an overland route from the capital of Spanish Florida at Santa Elena (Parris Island, SC) to the silver mines of Zacatecas, Mexico. Excavations at one of the Pardo-established forts (known as Fort San Juan, Joara, and the Berry Site) began in 1986. Public engagement has been a key component from the first field season. This paper will discuss the evolving role outreach has played in the continuing excavations and subsequent dissemination of information about this often overlooked aspect of history. It will also highlight the efforts field researchers and the Exploring Joara Foundation, Inc. (EJF) have undertaken to responsibly commemorate the 450th anniversary of this Spanish and Native American encounter and explain its significance within American history with a local, regional, and national audience.
Cite this Record
Discovering the Blue Ridge Exploradores: Celebrating Thirty Years of Public Engagement at the Berry Site. Melissa Timo. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435410)
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Keywords
General
North Carolina
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Public Archaeology
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Spanish colonialism
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
Mid-sixteenth century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 318