I know some of my readers think the author is too far out but I am sort-of rooting for the guy. He sends the following:
Recently published is my last comprehensive book on Native American history, the Native American Encyclopedia of Georgia. It is the result of 16 years of research and learning how to translate 28 different languages. Through linguistics, it proves that peoples from several parts of the Americas, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Iberia settled in Georgia - particularly in the gold-mining region - then mixed to become the Creek Indians. Henceforth, most of my energies will be put into the study of individual archaeological sites and the output will be animated films, showing what these towns looked like when occupied. I have recently obtained state-of-the-art virtual reality software from France (Artlantis) plus professional quality video and acoustical software from companies in the United States.
Coming in 2021 is an annotated transliteration of Cherokee Principal Chief Hicks' History of the Cherokee People. Handwritten in 1826, Chief Charles Hicks planned for it to be printed by the Cherokee Phoenix, but he died in January 1827. For unknown reasons, Phoenix editor, Elias Boudinot never got around to printing it. The original manuscript was stolen last year, so this book will be the only public source.
In the past two years, my archaeological research has absolutely proven that during the Bronze Age, bands of people from northwestern Europe settled in the Georgia Gold Belt. I am documenting their town sites right now. The Itza and Soque Maya colonists built mounds and towns on top of the earlier European settlements.
I will be on the cast of a History Channel documentary to be broadcast in 2021. It was filmed in late October. Lost Worlds documents my discovery of a large Maya-like town in the northern corner of this county. Its founders were the Soque from southern Mexico, who were first associated with the Olmec Civilization before associating with the Maya Civilization .
Wishing you the best in the coming year, despite this terrible pandemic. Like a lot of other people in the Nacoochee Valley, I had Covid19 last December.
Sincerely yours,
Richard Thornton
Let's see the physical evidence.
ReplyDeleteHis subject matter is linguistic research and cartography. What kind of physical evidence would be relevant?
ReplyDeleteArchaeological research usually means: (1) artifacts, (2) ecofacts, (3) structures, and (4) features associated with human activity.
ReplyDeleteAre you following Thornton's thesis? He is saying the Creek Indians are an amalgam of previous people including Europeans who came ashore before Columbus. That seems like a reasonable hypothesis. Physical evidence would be, I guess, some kind of genetic comparisons. But linguistic comparisons and use of old place names are an alternative for someone without an expensive genetics laboratory.
ReplyDeleteAlso, his thesis that the Caribbean was a broad avenue of cultural exchange seems well founded. So I am in favor of giving Thornton a listen.
Have any artifacts shown up at the sites like Track Rock?
ReplyDeleteI know the land he speaks of concerning witches and wild beast in Pickens country Ga is my family land… found some amazing artifacts there to be sure.
DeleteNo.
ReplyDeleteYes, at Skeleton Mtn. in Alabama.
ReplyDeleteJannie found some broken pipe fragments at Track Rock, suggestive of a possible burial, and halted excavation - and talks about some other mounds with other artifacts (starting at page 38): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291620862_Track_Rock_Gap_in_its_archaeological_and_ethno-historical_setting
ReplyDeleteHi Tim!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reference. I’m very familiar with the Track Rock excavations since I was there and helped pay for them. Artifacts that were found are typical of those found in the region. The excavations at the wall site date to the Connestee Middle Woodland of 200-800 AD and the excavations at the suspected burial site date to the Transitional Woodland to Mississippian period of 1000-1100 AD. In the “Related Sites and Traditions” section of Jannie’s report, he mentions those sites in the region that relate to the Track Rock area. No mention of a Mayan connection or artifacts that would support Thornton’s hypotheses.
To recount, my answer “No” is in reference to the question of artifacts found at Track Rock that would support Thornton’s hypotheses. If there were well documented artifacts, petroglyphs, petroforms, pictographs, ethnographic accounts, etc, that demonstrated a Mayan presence in North Georgia, I would be the first to acknowledge it. I would be thrilled, but the old adage “extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof” keeps coming to mind.
It reminds me of the Burrows Cave controversy I was involved in many years ago. I temporarily lost a couple of good friends over that one.
I’ve been to the Morton Hill Complex and Skeleton Mountain sites many times and would be interested in any artifacts that relate to Thornton’s work. Do you have a link?
By the way, I’m semi-retired now and I’m writing up and pulling together info on sites I’ve documented over the years. I intend to share more of it on Rock Piles if possible.
Tommy
Let me summarize: I mentioned Thornton's book on history of Georgia. Norman asked for physical evidence - of the thesis that the Creeks are an amalgam. I don't know what kind of evidence Norman is asking for. So I am not looking for evidence of Mayans but of something supporting the European thesis contained in Thornton's Creek "amalgam". Short of finding a European coin, I am still wondering what Norman would accept as evidence.
ReplyDeleteHave any of us read the book?
Tommy:
ReplyDeleteI think we would all love to see new information about the sites you know.
Pwax,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification. I let my passion for Georgia’s past get the best of me and veered of the path a bit.
The same argument applies to early Europeans as it does to Mayans, and I agree with Norman, where’s the proof?
I’ve not read Thornton’s book. I feelI don’t need to, because I’ve read enough of his work to know the book would just be a rehash of previous writings. In fact, I’ve read quite a bit of his work including blogs, Youtube, interviews, etc. and as I’ve noted in the previous post, I would love to find new info on Georgia’s past, but with Thornton, in my opinion it’s just not there. Too much unverifiable info.
I’ll give you an example of my skepticism of Thornton’s work. He says that Chief Hicks wrote “A History of the Cherokee People” in 1826, but the original manuscript was stolen last year, so according to Thornton his accounting will be the only public source. I take issue with that, particularly since he appears to have a long running grudge with the Cherokee. And it’s more unverifiable info, which brings into play not just proof, but having a trustworthy source.
He also claims there was a European “civilization” here prior to Native American occupation. If there’s a European culture buried beneath Native American culture, I’ve never seen any evidence of it. I’d also consider such claims a bit of a Eurocentric insult to Native Americans.
Early artifacts, mostly coins and bits of metal, have been found and the claim is that they are pre-columbian, but the provenance is always an issue. Again, I would like to see any artifacts that prove Thornton’s hypotheses.
I could ramble on about such things for hours, but the bottom line is, until Thornton’s claims make a stir in the archaeology or history worlds they are just so much verbal popcorn.
So wait...are you saying they DID find coins?
ReplyDeleteI know of two coins that I’ve held and examined.
ReplyDelete30 years ago an actual Phoenician coin was found in south Georgia, but there’s a problem. The man that found it was heavily involved in his own research to determine if Phoenicians, 12 tribes of Israel, etc traveled to North America before Columbus. He said he found it while helping his neighbor clear a garden, or some such. An unbelievable coincidence.
About 40 years ago another coin was supposedly found near Rome, Georgia. The guy made the rounds of the various local archaeology and history groups and I heard he sold it to an artifact collector. The “coin” looked like a nickel sized brass slug that had been beaten with a hammer. No one who looked at it in my presence believed it to be a coin. The finder said it was a Roman coin. A Roman coin found in Rome, Georgia. Unbelievable.
In my opinion, just the unverifiable provenance of the two items disqualifies them.
Fair enough. Debunking Thornton may be a productive activity. I intend to keep bringing him up though, as he is puzzling over the same data we are.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the discussion of Old World coins found in America: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2741739?seq=1
ReplyDeleteThis is a paper by my former prof at UT Austin. It has been considered the authoritative academic analysis of the subject. Hope it can shed some more light. I would have a lot to say on Thornton's History, but I'm recovering from cataract surgery this week, and anything else seems too challenging at the moment.
Respectfully,
David G Merritt
Tommy: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264308123_Preliminary_Investigations_At_The_Skeleton_Mountain_Snake_Effigy_Site_1CA157_Calhoun_County_Alabama
ReplyDelete