Boone, North Carolina
October 2-3, 2009

Much has changed in the past twenty-five years, since the publication of The Prehistory of North Carolina: An Archaeological Symposium. Much has not. In his contribution to that book, Burton R. Purrington left us with many questions intended as guidelines for future research in mountainous North Carolina. As mountains have been leveled and valleys filled by developers, and as caves, rockshelters, and trash heaps have been plundered for profit, archaeologists have continued to discover, salvage, preserve, and unravel more evidence of the human past.

In this symposium on the archaeology of the western region of North Carolina, researchers from various private, state, and national institutions provided both general perspectives on the archaeology of the region and specific responses to some of Purrington’s questions. The conference was well attended by professional archaeologists, students, the public, and representatives from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Dr. Burton L. Purrington, former ASU professor of Archaeology, was the keynote speaker at Tom Whyte's North Carolina Appalachian Summit Archaeology symposium on October 2nd.