Summer 2007 - SCANA Corporation

Volunteer
archaeologists with
the Allendale
Paleoindian
Expedition uncover
evidence of early
human civilization
beneath a shelter
that a SCANA
contribution helped
provide.
come for a few weeks to dig into the dirt to quarry
history. They range in age from retirees like Cole and
Ted Brown from Pascagoula to Paula Zitzelberger, a
high school classmate of Goodyear’s who read about his
discovery and spent her vacation at Topper , as well as
three University of Tennessee students — Betsy McLean,
Marina Margolin and Adam Russell.
Unwittingly, this group may have been in on the most
significant event at the site since the discovery of the
pre-Clovis artifacts in 1998. “It’s widely accepted that
about 13,000 years ago, mastodons, mammoths and the
Clovis people disappeared just like that,” Goodyear said
snapping his fingers.
One theory is that a large comet struck North
America and began another ice age, one that would
have killed mammoths, mastodons and Clovis man
alike. “Scientists came to our site and at the Clovis level,
checked the sediment for iridium, the tell-tale sign of a
comet strike. At that level at our site, they found iridium
in abundance,” Goodyear said.
He and 22 other scientists presented their findings
at a scientific symposium in Mexico earlier this year.
The journal Nature did a breaking news story on this
conference, which has given further momentum to the
comet theory.
With purpose and determination, Goodyear and his
volunteers are both discovering history and changing
our notions of it. Centimeter by centimeter they scrape
and brush away sand to uncover who we are and where
as a culture we came from. And with partners like
SCANA and others, their search for answers is done
more efficiently, and more comfortably, than ever before.
Archaeological projects at SCE&G
SCE&G has a long-standing history of involvement in
discovering and protecting archaeological sites around
the state.
One of the most significant projects to date is the
Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve, a 627-acre tract
of land purchased for the people of South Carolina in
1998 through the Governor’s Legacy Trust Fund, the
Department of Natural Resources’ Heritage Land Trust
Fund and donation of property by SCE&G valued at
$500,000.
Located in Cayce, S.C., the 627-acre preserve is
tucked away in a pristine setting where visitors can
enjoy bountiful wildlife, forest parks and 12,000 years of
history and pre-history.
Archaeological studies have indicated that Native
Americans moved through the area as much as 12,000
years ago, drawn to the clean, clear waters of the
Congaree River.
The first Anglo-Saxon settlement in the area was
established at Fort Congaree in 1718, followed by the
community of Saxe Gotha Township in 1731. Gradually
settlers migrated across the river to higher ground that
became the City of Columbia. By the mid-1700s Saxe
Gothe all but vanished until rediscovered during an
archaeological study funded by SCE&G.
Today, the area is managed by the Department of
Natural Resources and is open to the public during
daylight hours year-round. Visit www.dnr.sc.gov/
managed/heritage/congcreek/description for more
information and directions.
SCE&G continues to conduct archaeological surveys
as part of its hydroelectric relicensing projects. A
survey is currently underway on Lake Murray and the
lower Saluda River as part of the Saluda Hydroelectric
relicensing project.
Surveys completed in conjunction with the
relicensing of the Stevens Creek and Neal Shoals
Hydroelectric Projects can be found on the company’s
Web site at www.sceg.com/arch.
Visit www.scana.com/insights to view a video about Topper.
24 INSIGHTS • SUMMER 2007