United States, Tennessee, 35.75035, -86.25027Stansberry, David1974This is a 1974 photograph of an archaeological pit feature at the former site of the mid-18th century Cherokee town of Chota. Pits were dug for burial purposes and for storage of refuse. Chota was recognized by Native Americans and European settlers as a powerful social and economic influence and was regarded as the capital of the Cherokee nation. Excavations of Chota and other Overhill Cherokee villages were conducted as part of the Tellico Archaeological Project by the University of Tennessee in anticipation of the flooding of the lower Little Tennessee River by the Tellico Dam Reservoir. The university worked under contract with the National Park Service and TVA. Principal investigator, Alfred K. Guthe. Field Director, Gerald F. Schroedl.Digital image and encoded transcription of an original manuscript, scanned, transcribed and encoded by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Libraries in 2000, as part of GALILEO, funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.text/htmlimage/jpegmm037engPhotograph held by the Frank H. McClung Museum, The University of Tennessee Knoxville, photograph mm037.Mode of access: World Wide Web.System requirements: AT&T DjVu browser plug-in needed to view images of documents.http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Cherokee IndiansCherokee artAntiquitiesArtSalvage archaeologyHistoric sitesRefuse and refuse disposalChota Site (Tenn.)[Photograph of an archaeological pit feature at the former site of the mid-18th century Cherokee town of Chota, taken in 1974] / [by David Stansberry]StillImage