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Red Bird and Sequoyah: A Reply to Simek et al.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2020

Kenneth Barnett Tankersley Open the ORCID record for Kenneth Barnett Tankersley [Opens in a new window]  and
William Rex Weeks Jr.
Kenneth Barnett Tankersley*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH45221, USA
William Rex Weeks Jr.
Affiliation:
Chattanooga State Technical College, Chattanooga, TN37406, USA (william.weeks@chattanoogastate.edu)
*
(tankerkh@uc.edu, corresponding author)
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Abstract

Red Bird was a Cherokee murdered at the Red Bird River Petroglyph site (15Cy51) and buried at the Red Bird River Rockshelter (15Cy52) during the late eighteenth century, where he left an important record of traditional petroglyphs. His legacy is key to understanding the origins of Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary and its relationship to rock art. Personal testimonies of Red Bird's descendants are supported by primary documents and archaeological evidence, including the letters of Sequoyah's maternal uncle, John Watts, and prototypes of Cherokee Syllabary characters engraved at 15Cy52 in 1808, when members of Sequoyah's matrilineal family resided nearby.

Red Bird fue un Cheroqui asesinado en el sitio de Red Bird River Petroglyph (15Cy51) y enterrado en Red Bird River Rockshelter (15Cy52) a fines del siglo XVIII, donde dejó un importante registro de petroglifos tradicionales. Su legado es clave para comprender los orígenes del silabario Cheroqui de Sequoyah y su relación con el arte rupestre. Los testimonios personales de los descendientes de Red Bird están respaldados por documentos primarios y evidencia arqueológica, incluidas las cartas del tío materno de Sequoyah, John Watts, y prototipos de caracteres silábicos Cheroqui grabados en 15Cy52 en 1808, cuando los miembros de la familia matrilineal de Sequoyah residían cerca.

Keywords

Native AmericansCherokeesyllabaryhistoric archaeologyoral historyCumberland PlateaupetroglyphsNorth AmericaKentuckyNativos americanosCherokeesilabarioarqueología históricahistoria oralMeseta CumberlandpetroglifosNorteamérica Kentucky
Type
Comments
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 2 , April 2020 , pp. 383 - 387
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by the Society for American Archaeology

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References

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