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There Is No Cherokee Syllabary at Red Bird River Shelter (15CY52): Reply to Tankersley and Weeks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2020

Jan F. Simek ,
Beau Duke Carroll ,
Julie Reed ,
Alan Cressler ,
Tom Belt ,
Wayna Adams  and
Mary White
Jan F. Simek*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 502 Strong Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN37996, USA
Beau Duke Carroll
Affiliation:
Tribal Historic Preservation Office, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee, NC, USA
Julie Reed
Affiliation:
Department of History, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA16802, USA; and Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Tahlequah, OK, USA
Alan Cressler
Affiliation:
1790 Pennington Place SE, Atlanta, GA, USA
Tom Belt
Affiliation:
Cherokee Language Program, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA (Ret.); and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, Tahlequah, OK, USA
Wayna Adams
Affiliation:
Daniel Boone National Forest, Winchester, KY, USA
Mary White
Affiliation:
Daniel Boone National Forest, London, KY, USA
*
(jsimek@utk.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

Despite new arguments by Tankersley and Weeks that we misinterpreted petroglyph engravings and ignored site formation processes at the Red Bird River Shelter in Kentucky (15CY52), we remain convinced that there is no evidence for Cherokee Syllabary writing at the site. The petroglyphs are clearly not symbols present in any version of the Cherokee Syllabary. There is no empirical evidence for any site formation processes that have altered the shelter or its petroglyphs in the ways they suggest. There is still no evidence that Sequoyah ever spent any time in the vicinity of Red Bird River Shelter.

Pesar de los nuevos argumentos de Tankersley y Weeks de que malinterpretamos los grabados de petroglifos e ignoramos los procesos de formación del sitio en el Red Bird River Shelter en Kentucky (15CY52), seguimos convencidos de que no hay evidencia de la escritura del Syllabario Cherokee en el sitio. Los petroglifos claramente no son símbolos presentes en ninguna versión del Syllabario Cherokee. No hay evidencia empírica de ningún proceso de formación del sitio que haya alterado el refugio o sus petroglifos en las formas que sugieren. Todavía no hay evidencia de que Sequoyah haya pasado algún tiempo cerca de Red Bird River Shelter.

Keywords

Cherokee SyllabaryKentuckyRed Bird River ShelterSyllabario CherokeeKentuckyRed Bird River Shelter
Type
Comments
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 2 , April 2020 , pp. 388 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by the Society for American Archaeology

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References

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