David Sutton Phelps Jr. (1930 – February 21, 2009) was an American professor and anthropologist. He was born in Fort Pierce, Florida. From 1970–1996 Phelps taught

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

, which named an archaeology lab after him. Before teaching at East Carolina University Phelps had taught at Tulane University,

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, and Briefly at the University Of Georgia, respectively in that order. Phelps worked on many archaeological sites, some of his more notable sites are the Tar River site, the Neoheroka Fort Tuscarora war site (near snow hill),

Lake Phelps Lake Phelps is North Carolina's second largest natural lake. It has a surface area of , and is located primarily in Washington County on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula between the Albemarle Sound and the Pamlico Sound. The easternmost part of ...

Fort Raleigh Fort Raleigh National Historic Site preserves the location of Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in the present-day United States. The site was preserved for its national significance in relation to the founding of the first English ...

(near Manteo), and

Hatteras Island Hatteras Island (historically Croatoan Island, sometimes referred to as Hatorask) is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Ca ...

Tar river The Tar River is a river that is approximately long, in northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico River once it passes under the U.S. Highway 17 Bridge in Was ...

showed evidence of human occupation more than 11,000 years ago. At the Hatteras island near Buxton a 16th-century signet ring that may have belonged to the lost colonists. In 1992 Lake Phelps was archaeologically explored and over 30 ancient canoes were found. Out of the 30 canoes only 23 have been measured and studied. The process of making these canoes is through splitting a Cyprus log and burning/scraping the interior until the desired shape is acquired. The earliest inhabitants associated with this region are represented by small spear points of the palmer type dating back to the period of 8000BCE – 9000BCE. The late archaic period (3000BCE – 1000BCE) was represented by such items as spear points, spear thrower weight and bi-facial blades. Cooking vessels made of soap stone. The three earliest dated canoes belong to this time period. The early

woodland period In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BC to European contact i ...

was between 1000BCE- 300BCE) and was found to contain fabrics and artistic designs on paddles. Two of the canoes were found to belong to this period. The middle woodland period between 300BCE and 800AD and is classified as the most active time period for the site. 8 of the canoes belong to this time period. The late woodland culture from 800AD to 1650 is attributed with being the ancestral culture of the Carolina Algonkians. Only 3 canoes were found to belong to this time period. In 1998 Phelps discovered an unusual ball of clay that was later revealed to be a 10 carat gold signet ring. The ring is engraved with a prancing lion and is believed to date back to the 16th century. David Phelps, director of the East Carolina University Archaeology laboratory at the time, retired from East Carolina University in 2000 and moved back to Florida. On February 21, 2009 Phelps died at the age of 79.

References

External links

Ecu.eduDigital.lib.ecu.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, David Sutton Jr. 1930 births 2009 deaths East Carolina University faculty 20th-century American anthropologists