Leake Archaeologist Scot Keith

Leake Site archaeologist Scot Keith will be the guest speaker at the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society?s meeting on Sunday, July 14, at 2:30 at the Chatsworth Depot in Chatsworth, Georgia. > Practicing professional archaeology for 20 years, Scot Keith is an archaeologist with the consulting firm of New South Associates based in Stone Mountain, Georgia. While he has worked in 13 states, his primary area of interest is northwest Georgia, stemming from his involvement with the Leake Site for nearly the last decade and from numerous other archaeological investigations in northwest Georgia. His research interests center on the extensive interaction networks among Middle Woodland period Native American peoples in the present-day area of the eastern United States. The Leake Site: A Prehistoric Native American Ceremonial Center in Northwest Georgia - Centuries before the well-known Etowah Mounds were built and two miles downstream on the Etowah River, a local Native American village developed into a vast ceremonial center covering over 700 acres. Due in large part to its geographical location, the Leake Site came to serve as a gateway between the Southeast and Midwest as peoples from these regions came to this place for religious ceremonies and interaction. While modern land development has heavily impacted the Leake site complex, the archaeological remnants of several mounds, a moat-like ditch enclosure, a hilltop stone wall enclosure, a stone burial mound, a cave, and the village are still present. Archaeological excavations undertaken from the late 1800s until the present have revealed a wealth of information regarding not only the prehistory of this area of Georgia 2000 years ago, but also the prehistory of the Eastern United States.