The capital of the Province of the Tama-tli was the largest town de Soto visited in middle Georgia. The Tama-tli's name was Mesoamerican and they used many Maya and Totonac words. Credit: photo by Richard Thornton of Tama model at Muskogee-Creek Capitol
- The capital of the Province of the Tama-tli was the largest town de Soto visited in middle Georgia. The Tama-tli's name was Mesoamerican and they used many Maya and Totonac words.
- The village on the Ocmulgee River being excavated by the Fernbank Museum probably looked something like this one,
- In the region where the Fernbank is digging, access to the Ocmulgee is often blocked by swamps, jungle-like vegetation or steep banks.
- The Ocmulgee-Oconee-Altamaha River Basin once contains dozens of towns and villages along its banks, but now jungle-like vegetation successfull hides its past.
- Here at the site of the Creek town of Achese near Macon, GA, the Ocmulgee is not as deep. De Soto's horses were able to cross the river.
- Here, the Fernbank archaeological team has carefully removed topsoil to reveal the pattern of several prehistoric houses.
- A closer view of the soil reveal slight differences in color, which might seem meaningless to a layman.
- The author then used an electronic filter to pick up one spectrum of infrared light from the same trench. Numerous postholes appeared.
- Another spectrum of infrared light clearly defines a row of postholes.
- Here a volunteer at the Fernbank site is carefully masaging soil though a wire screen to isolate man-made artifacts.
- Another volunteer is using a cradle seive at the Fernbank site to isolate very small man-made objects, bits of bone and even fabric.
- The end result of careful archaeological work is the discovery of ancient shards of pottery, that might have been missed if shovel fulls of dirt had been carelessly tossed aside.
- Ornate pottery made with carved wooden paddles was produced in several different cultural periods in Georgia. Archaeologists must use several analytical techniques to determine which period these potsherds belong.
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