Volunteer archaeologists with the Allendale Paleoindian Expedition uncover evidence of early human civilization beneath a shelter that a <strong>SCANA</strong> 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 <strong>SCANA</strong> 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 <strong>2007</strong>
SUMMER <strong>2007</strong> • INSIGHTS 25
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