(Chattanooga)—Dr. Nick Honerkamp spends four weeks of his summer turning the dirt of Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia, where he and his archeology students uncover the history of slaves who worked the plantations.  

Gullah/Geechee slave settlements remain archeologically intact on this protected island, offering clues for Honerkamp, director of the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archeology and UC Foundation Professor of Anthropology at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC).

“I am able to attempt to reconstruct the lives of the people who were responsible for every single success that plantation owner Thomas Spaulding had.  It was all their labor—they built the mansion, they plowed the fields, they cut the trees, they harvested the Sea Island cotton and sugar.  The only mention of them other than a census indicating that Spalding owned some slaves is a map.  To me, on a personal level, I think the lives of people who have accomplished so much deserve more than a map of some cabins that’s not even accurate,” Honerkamp said. 

Dr. David Crass, State Archaeologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division, agrees, saying this archeological work has been the vehicle to reconnect the Gullah/Geechee population with a part of history that was in danger of being forgotten. 

“The Department of Natural Resources depends on...