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Tanasi

Chota and Tanasi Cherokee Village SitesU.S. National Register of Historic Places

Monument overlooking the Tanasi site

Location: Monroe County, Tennessee

Nearest city: Vonore

Coordinates: 35°32′55″N 84°07′57″W

Built: c. 1600–1700 A.D.

Governing body: Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation

NRHP Reference#: 73001813

Added to NRHP: 1973

Tanasi (also spelled Tanase, Tenasi, Tenassee, Tunissee, and other such variations) (Cherokee: ᏔᎾᏏ) is a historicOverhill Cherokee village site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The village is bestknown as the namesake for the state of Tennessee. Although now submerged by the Tellico Lake impoundment ofthe Little Tennessee River, Tanasi served as the de facto capital of the Cherokee from as early as 1721 until 1730,when the capital shifted to Great Tellico.The town of Chota developed immediately north of Tanasi (the two sites were divided by an unnamed stream) andby the 1740s had become the more prominent of the two towns. Although Chota and Tanasi had distinct political,social, and demographic traits, excavators in the late 1960s determined that the two towns are archaeologicallyindistinguishable.[1] The two towns are grouped as a single listing on the National Register of Historic Places,although Tanasi was given its own site designation (40MR62) in 1972.[2]

In the 1980s, the Tennessee Valley Authority placed a monument on the shoreline above the submerged site ofTanasi that commemorates its history and its legacy as the origin of the name Tennessee. This monument isapproximately 12 miles (unknown operator: u'strong' km) south of Vonore, just off Highway 455 (Citico Road).The site is managed by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.[3]

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Geographical setting

The Tanasi site, looking northwest from the Tanasimonument

The Little Tennessee River flows northwestward from its sourcein the Appalachian Mountains and traverses a 40-mile(unknown operator: u'strong' km) stretch of northern MonroeCounty before emptying into the Tennessee River near LenoirCity. In 1979, the construction of Tellico Dam at the mouth ofthe river created a reservoir that spans the lower 33 miles(unknown operator: u'strong' km) of the Little Tennessee andthe lower 22 miles (unknown operator: u'strong' km) of itstributary, the Tellico River.[4] Tanasi is located along the westbank of the Little Tennessee 27 miles (unknown operator:u'strong' km) upstream from the river's mouth.[5] The site isopposite a sharp bend in the river known as Bacon's Bend.

Before inundation, Tanasi was situated on a relatively flat terrace flanked by the river on one side and a series ofhigh, steep hills on the other. These hills, noted on Timberlake's 1762 map, are part of the AppalachianRidge-and-Valley Province, which spans much of the upper Tennessee Valley. The Appalachian Range proper risesa few miles south of the Chota-Tanasi site.

Historical background

Tennessee Historical Commission marker along CiticoRoad

Tanasi first appears in the historical record in the early 18thcentury, at a time when the fur trade between the English andthe Cherokee had grown to the extent that it required regulation.Ethnologist James Mooney reported that the meaning of thetown's name is unknown, but noted its occurrence elsewhereamong Cherokee lands in Tennessee and North Carolina.[6] TheCherokee name for the river upon which Tanasi was situatedwas probably "Callamaco," but early Euro-American explorersand traders renamed the river after Tanasi.[7][8]

The Tanasi monument, up close

Among the earliest English agents to reside at Tanasi wasEleazar Wiggan— nicknamed "Old Rabbit" by the Cherokee—who operated out of Tanasi as early as 1711 and would serve asa guide for later diplomats and emissaries.[9] In 1725, SouthCarolina dispatched Colonel George Chicken to Tanasi to obtainCherokee assistance in the colony's struggles with the Creeks.Chicken indicated in his journals that the chief of Tanasi—known as the Tanasi Warrior or Head Warrior of Tanasi—ruled over the Cherokee Overhill, Middle, and Valley towns inthe region. Chicken recorded a speech in which the Tanasi

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Warrior pledged support for the English, and the two later engaged in a pipe-smoking session in which the TanasiWarrior told Chicken of recent Creek hostilities in the area.[10] Colonel John Herbert visited Tanasi on a similarmission in 1727, and reported meeting with the "King and Long Warriour" of Tanasi at the Tanasi townhouse.[11]

In 1730, Sir Alexander Cuming— claiming to be an emissary of King George II— made an ambitious journey toTanasi in which he managed to obtain the Tanasi Warrior's allegiance for England. As evidence of his successCuming sought an esteemed symbolic headdress known as the Crown of Tanasi— described as resembling a wigmade of dyed possum hair— which he hoped to present to the king of England. To obtain this headdress, Cumingenlisted the aid of Moytoy, chief of Great Tellico. Cuming used his flamboyance and influence to convince theCherokee to crown Moytoy "Emperor of the Cherokee," and in exchange, Moytoy obtained the headdress sought byCuming. Cuming departed for England shortly thereafter, taking with him a party that included Eleazar Wiggan,future Cherokee leader Attakullakulla, and two Tanasi warriors named Clogoittah and Oukanaekah.[12]

The crowning of Moytoy in 1730 shifted the Cherokee center of power to Great Tellico, which was situated alongthe Tellico River roughly 16 miles (unknown operator: u'strong' km) southwest of Tanasi. After the death ofMoytoy in 1741, however, Old Hop, the chief of Chota, began to consolidate power. The influence of Chota soonovershadowed that of Tanasi, and by the early 1750s, Chota was clearly the more dominant town. In 1765, HenryTimberlake, who had visited the Overhill towns as an emissary in 1761–1762, reported 12 dwellings and 21 warriorsat Tanasi, and identified Old Hop as chief of both Chota and Tanasi.[13] In 1775, the Tanasi Warrior was among thechiefs who signed a treaty with the Watauga Association.[14]

Tanasi's relationship with Chota

Detail of Tanasi (spelled "Tennessee"), as shown on Henry Timberlake's1765 "Draught of the Cherokee Country"

Tanasi's relationship with Chota has long puzzledhistorians and archaeologists. Some havespeculated that the two towns were a singlecommunity with two districts and twogovernments, not unlike the situation thatreportedly existed with Great Tellico and Chatugaaround the same time. Excavators in the early1970s noted virtually no differences in the typesof cultural materials and features uncovered at thetwo village sites. 18th-century traders anddiplomats, however, clearly identified twoseparate towns.[15]

Chota doesn't appear in the historical record untilaround 1745, whereas Tanasi existed whenEuro-American traders first reported on the region in the early 18th century. The maps of John Herbert and GeorgeHunter, drawn in 1727 and 1730, respectively, show Tanasi but not Chota. In 1746, English agent George Pawleymet with Cherokee leaders at the Chota townhouse, indicating Chota had already usurped Tanasi as the moredominant town. Missionary William Richardson visited the Overhill towns in the late 1750s and described Chota andTanasi as being separated by a "small river." Richardson's description is supported by Timberlake's map, whichrecorded the two towns' situation in 1762.[16]

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Archaeological findingsCyrus Thomas, working for the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of Ethnology, conducted a mound survey at theChota-Tanasi site in the late 1880s. Thomas reported the discovery of 13 burials and several artifacts. In 1939,Thomas Lewis and Madeline Kneburg directed an excavation at the Chota-Tanasi site with the help of the WorksProgress Administration. Lewis and Kneburg, who were searching for cultural data with which to compare theirearlier finds at Hiwassee Island, uncovered 22 burials, 85 pit features, 982 postmolds, and one structure.[17] Between1969 and 1974, University of Tennessee archaeologists conducted excavations at the Chota-Tanasi site inanticipation of the flooding of the site by the construction of Tellico Dam. Two excavations— one in 1970 and onein 1972— were focused specifically on Tanasi.Although artifacts dating to the Archaic period (and even a fluted projectile point dating to the Paleo-Indian period)were uncovered at the Chota-Tanasi sites, excavations were mostly focused on the sites' Cherokee occupation. Alongwith locating the two village sites, investigators hoped to find evidence that would shed light on the Cherokees'relationship to the region's Mississippian-era (c. 900–1600 A.D.) occupants.[18]

The 1972 excavations uncovered 191 features, 22 burials, 1005 postmolds, and 6 structures at the Tanasi site alone.Two townhouses were uncovered at the Chota-Tanasi sites, one of which was slightly smaller and older than theother. The older of the two townhouses may have been the Tanasi townhouse, the existence of which was reportedby traders and emissaries in the 1720s. However, it's also possible that the older townhouse was an earlier version ofthe Chota townhouse, and that excavators failed to uncover the Tanasi townhouse. The older townhouse had adiameter of just over 50 feet (unknown operator: u'strong' m). In 1986, the remains of the 22 burials uncovered atTanasi— along with those uncovered at Chota— were reinterred in a burial mound at the Sequoyah Museum nearVonore.[19]

References[1] Gerald Schroedl (ed.), Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee (Report of Investigations 38, University of Tennessee Department

of Anthropology, 1986), 5.[2] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee, 29.[3] Gerald Schroedl, " Overhill Cherokees (http:/ / tennesseeencyclopedia. net/ imagegallery. php?EntryID=O020)." The Tennessee Encyclopedia

of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: 26 March 2008.[4] Richard Polhemus, The Toqua Site — 40MR6 Vol. 1 (Knoxville, Tenn.: The Tennessee Valley Authority, 1987), 1.[5] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee, 5.[6] James Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee (Nashville, Tenn.: C and R Elder, 1972), 534.[7] J.G.M. Ramsey, The Annals of Tennessee (Johnson City, Tenn.: Overmountain Press, 1999), 47.[8] Mary Rothrock, end note in John Haywood's The Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee (Jackson, Tenn.: McCowat–Mercer Press,

1959), 424.[9] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanassee, 8.[10] Samuel Cole Williams, Early Travels in the Tennessee Country, 1540–1800 (Johnson City, Tennessee: Watauga Press, 1928), 97–101.[11] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanassee, 9.[12] Williams, Early Travels in the Tennessee Country, 122–127.[13] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee, 9–12.[14] Ramsey, The Annals of Tennessee, 120–121.[15] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee, 5, 10, 534, 548.[16] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee, 9–12, 534, 539, 548.[17] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee, 16–20, 38–39.[18] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee, 1, 16, 379, 531.[19] Schroedl, Overhill Cherokee Archaeology at Chota-Tanasee, 170–181, 204, 265.

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Resources• "History and Genealogy:Frequently Asked Questions "What is the meaning of the name 'Tennessee'?"" (http:/ /

www. state. tn. us/ TSLA/ history/ history_faqs. htm#01). Tennessee State Library and Archives. Retrieved2006-03-19.

• "History" (http:/ / www. smokymountainsvisitorsguide. com/ history. htm). Smoky Mountain Visitors Guide.Retrieved 2006-03-19.

•• Mooney, James. "Myths of the Cherokee" (1900, reprint 1995).

External links• Frank H. McClung Museum (http:/ / mcclungmuseum. utk. edu/ )• Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation (http:/ / www. nc-cherokee. com/ )

Article Sources and Contributors 6

Article Sources and ContributorsTanasi  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=494243246  Contributors: Bkonrad, Bms4880, CalicoCatLover, Embryomystic, Ganymead, Gazpacho, Hmains, Jllm06, JohnCardinal, Khatru2, Noformation, Pfly, RxS, Tet1969, TreyGreene, WillOakland, 12 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Tanasi-monument-tn1.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tanasi-monument-tn1.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0  Contributors: Brian StansberryImage:Tanasi-site-tennessee1.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tanasi-site-tennessee1.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0  Contributors: Brian StansberryImage:Tanasi-thc-marker-tn1.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tanasi-thc-marker-tn1.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0  Contributors: BrianStansberryImage:Tanasi-monument-cherokee-tennessee.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tanasi-monument-cherokee-tennessee.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution3.0  Contributors: Brian StansberryImage:Timberlake-map-tanasi-1765.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Timberlake-map-tanasi-1765.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Henry Timberlake

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