Research Catalog

Title

A dark pathway : precontact Native American mud glyphs from 1st Unnamed Cave, Tennessee / Jan F. Simek ; with contributions by Todd M. Ahlman, Nicholas P. Herrmann, Sarah C. Sherwood, and Marion O. Smith ; photographs by Alan Cressler ; foreword by Russell Townsend.

Author

Simek, Jan F.

Publication

• Knoxville : The University of Tennessee Press, [2022]
• ©2022

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Ahlman, Todd M., 1969-
• Herrmann, Nicholas P.
• Sherwood, Sarah C.
• Smith, Marion O., 1942-
• Cressler, Alan M.
• Townsend, Russell

Description

xviii, 195 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps; 26 cm

Summary

"In A Dark Pathway: Precontact Native American Mud Glyphs from 1st Unnamed Cave, Tennessee, Jan Simek and his colleagues present two decades of research at a precontact dark zone cave art site in East Tennessee. Discovered in 1994, 1st Unnamed Cave ushered in an extensive and systematic effort to research precontact cave art sites in the Eastern Woodlands, where the tradition of cave art production was widespread among ancient peoples. Indeed, when a preliminary report about 1st Unnamed Cave was first published in 1997, there were only seven known cave art sites across the Southeast; today, that number exceeds ninety. From the tale of the cave's discovery in chapter 1 to descriptions of its art in later chapters, A Dark Pathway boasts nearly one hundred maps, high-resolution photographs, and illustrations that bring the story of North America's premier cave art sites to life. Importantly, Simek and his colleagues also orient 1st Unnamed Cave within the borader context of cave art sites across the Southeast, elevating them as a whole to the notable prominence they deserve. Yet his analysis does more than present and situate the discovery of 1st Unnamed Cave within the greater realm of regional cave art site studies; it also calls for the protection and preservation of these fragile sites and for the acknowledgement of the still-vibrant indigenous cultures that produced them. With a foreword by Russell Townsend, tribal historic preservation officer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, A Dark Pathway is a long-awaited volume more than twenty years in the making. Even as he delivers a comprehensive archaeological analysis, Simek's clear presentation makes for accessible and thrilling reading not only for students of archaeology, anthropology, and Native American studies, but for general readers as well"--Back cover.

Subject

• Mud glyphs > Tennessee, East
• Indians of North America > Tennessee, East > Antiquities
• Antiquities
• Indians of North America > Antiquities
• 1st Unnamed Cave (Tenn.)
• Tennessee, East > Antiquities
• East Tennessee

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-186) and index.

Contents

Precontact Cave Art and the Discovery of 1st Unnamed Cave, Tennessee / with Todd M. Ahlman -- Site Context and Formation Processes at 1st Unnamed Cave / Sarah C. Sherwood -- The Archaeology of 1st Unnamed Cave -- The Precontact Art of 1st Unnamed Cave -- The Spatial Organization of Mud Glyphs in 1st Unnamed Cave -- A Regional Perspective on Mud Glyph Cave Art in Southeastern North America -- Discussion and Conclusions: 1st Unnamed Cave Art and the Precontact Native American Worldview -- Epilogue -- Appendix. Did Andrew Johnson, Seventeenth President of the United States, Visit 1st Unnamed Cave? / Marion O. Smith.

Call Number

JFF 22-663

ISBN

• 9781621907176
• 1621907171

LCCN

2021061598

OCLC

1295619240

Author

Simek, Jan F., author.

Title

A dark pathway : precontact Native American mud glyphs from 1st Unnamed Cave, Tennessee / Jan F. Simek ; with contributions by Todd M. Ahlman, Nicholas P. Herrmann, Sarah C. Sherwood, and Marion O. Smith ; photographs by Alan Cressler ; foreword by Russell Townsend.

Publisher

Knoxville : The University of Tennessee Press, [2022]

Copyright Date

©2022

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-186) and index.

Added Author

Ahlman, Todd M., 1969- contributor.

Herrmann, Nicholas P., contributor.

Sherwood, Sarah C., contributor.

Smith, Marion O., 1942- contributor.

Cressler, Alan M., photographer.

Townsend, Russell, writer of foreword.

Other Form:

Online version: Simek, Jan F. Dark pathway. First edition Knoxville : The University of Tennessee Press, [2022] 9781621907183 (DLC) 2021061599

Research Call Number

JFF 22-663