TUPELO-Archaeologists from the National Park Service Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC) will begin survey work at the Natchez Trace Parkway Chickasaw Village site on Tuesday, August 20, 2013. This survey is being conducted as part of an analysis for a proposed Chickasaw Cultural Center, to ensure that no cultural resources will be impacted.
The Chickasaw Village site, located at Parkway milepost 261.8, in Tupelo, interprets the story of the Chickasaw people who lived at the site and includes the outlines of buildings that once stood there. SEAC archaeologists are expected to finish the survey by August 29, 2013.
The site and associated trails will remain open to the public during the archaeological survey; however visitors are asked not to intrude on survey teams and the immediate area in which they are working. The greater Tupelo area is part of the traditional homelands of the Chickasaw people, and work at the Chickasaw Village site is being done in cooperation with the Chickasaw Nation.
For more information about the Natchez Trace Parkway, please visit www.nps.gov/natr.
Dr. Christina E. Smith, Christina_Smith@nps.gov 662-840-7560