Kentuckians Before Boone

Preface

Preface A fascinating story lies beneath the feet of all Kentuckians. It is the story of prehistoric Kentucky. I wanted to share with Kentucky's new adult readers some of the story as I understand it. So I wrote about Fishes-With-Hands and his family, who lived in central Kentucky in 1585, about 150 years before Daniel Boone was born. I've drawn the information for this story from two different sources. One source is descriptions of Indian groups in the eastern United States made by Euroamerican traders and visitors and by people held captive by Indians. The other is information collected from archaeological sites in Kentucky, such as the Larkin site in Bourbon County, the Goolman site in Clark County, and the Hardin Village site in Greenup County. I had another reason for writing this book. I wanted to learn how to write about Kentucky's prehistory for people who are not archaeologists. To be able to do this, I first had to picture clearly for my readers how these Indians lived, worked, and died. To my surprise and delight, I have found that I have drawn the picture of their lives much more clearly for myself. I would like to thank the executive director of the Winchester/ Clark County Literacy Council, Peggy Greenwald, and the new readers and their tutors who read and commented on this book as it was becoming: Jearl Arthur, Lamar Street, Tamara Flinchum, Pat Noel, Floyd Flinchum, Lula Holman, Paul Griffee, Jo Brennan, Mary Newkirk, and Betty D. Snowden. They suffered with me through the early chapters until I finally found "my voice," and their suggestions and questions have helped make the book better. I would also like to thank the Kentucky Heritage Council for funding this project. This book represents another effort on the part of the Heritage Council to bring prehistory to the people of Kentucky. I owe many thanks to my friends, archaeologists and regular people alike, who expressed interest in my book. They made suggestions and gave me other books to read. They also reviewed the final draft to make sure that I wrote "The Truth," at least as far v as we know it. The outside reviewers' comments also were very helpful, and I thank them as well. Finally, special thanks go to Phyllis, who gave me support and friendship, and to David, who's clearly more of an anthropologist than I am. About the Author A. Gwynn Henderson, a Delaware native, has always been interested in old things. At 13, she decided to become an archaeologist after reading a story about Pompeii in a book her parents gave her. She went on to get a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Delaware in 1975 and to work on archaeological projects in Mexico, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana. Since graduating with a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Kentucky in 1982, the author has worked mainly for the University of Kentucky's Program for Cultural Resource Assessment. During her short stay at the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, she developed the Kentucky Archaeological Registry Program, which encourages landowners to protect and preserve archaeological sites located on their land. Her research, carried out at sites in Kentucky and West Virginia, focuses on the pottery-making Indian cultures of the central Ohio Valley. The author is especially interested in the Fort Ancient Indians (the subject ofthis book), who lived in this area before the Euroamerican settlers arrived. She and her husband, also an archaeologist, have written several articles and reports about Fort Ancient sites in Kentucky. VI ...