You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Since prehistoric times, the process of cutting rock to make millstones has been one of the most important industries in the world. The first part of this book compiles information on the millstone industry in the United States, which dates between the mid-1600s and the mid-1900s. Primarily based on archival research and brief accounts published in geological and historical volumes, it focuses on conglomerate, granite, flint, quartzite, gneiss, and sandstone quarries in different regions and states. The second part focuses on the millstone quarrying industry in Europe and other areas.
Archaeologists across the Midwest have pooled their data and perspectives to produce this indispensable volume on the Native cultures of the Late Woodland period (approximately A.D. 300?1000). Sandwiched between the well-known Hopewellian and Mississippian eras of monumental mound construction, theøLate Woodland period has received insufficient attention from archaeologists, who have frequently characterized it as consisting of relatively drab artifact assemblages. The close connections between this period and subsequent Mississippian and Fort Ancient societies, however, make it especially valuable for cross-cultural researchers. Understanding the cultural processes at work during the Late ...
People, Plants, and Landscapes showcases the potential of modern paleoethnobotany, an interdisciplinary field that explores the interactions between human beings and plants by examining archaeological evidence. Using different methods and theoretical approaches, the essays in this work apply botanical knowledge to studies of archaeological plant remains and apply paleoethnobotany to nonarchaeological sources of evidence. The resulting techniques often lie beyond the traditional boundaries of either archaeology or botany. With this ground-breaking work, the technically and methodologically enhanced paleoethnobotany of the 1990s has joined forces with ecological and evolutionary theory to forg...
Stories from doctors, nurses, and therapists dealing on a daily basis with the opioid crisis in Appalachia should be heartbreaking. Yet those told here also inspire with practical advice on how to assist those in addiction, from a grass-roots to a policy level. Readers looking for ways to combat the crisis will find suggestions alongside laughter, tears, and sometimes rage. Each author brings the passion of their profession and the personal losses they have experienced from addiction, and posits solutions and harm reduction with positivity, grace, and even humor. Authors representing seven states from northern, Coalfields, and southern Appalachia relate personal encounters with patients or providers who changed them forever. This is a history document, showing how we got here; an evidenced indictment of current policies failing those who need them most; an affirmation that Appalachia solves its own problems; and a collection of suggestions for best practice moving forward.
Tommy Thompson arrived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1963, smitten by folk and traditional Appalachian music. In 1972, he teamed with Bill Hicks and Jim Watson to form the nontraditional string band the Red Clay Ramblers. Mike Craver joined in 1973, and Jack Herrick in 1976. Over time, musicians including Clay Buckner, Bland Simpson and Chris Frank joined Tommy, who played with the band until 1994. Drawing on interviews and correspondence, and the personal papers of Thompson, the author depicts a life that revolved around music and creativity. Appendices cover Thompson's banjos, his discography and notes on his collaborative lyric writing.
This work addresses how southern West Virginia's complex and often chaotic history still impacts key aspects of modern-day life for Mountaineers. At its center are fundamental elements of late 19th and early 20th century Appalachian existence such as the predominance of subsistence farming, the coming of the Industrial Revolution, the rise of company towns, growing coal company influence, and the resultant expansion of political corruption. It examines how the region's Appalachian culture and identity have adapted to and been affected by these factors as well as how stereotypical perceptions held by those outside the region have created both opportunities and barriers to modernization for southern West Virginians.
Mysterious nighttime lights near Brown Mountain in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest have intrigued locals and visitors for more than a century. The result of a three year investigation, this book identifies both manmade and natural light sources--including some unexpected ones--behind North Carolina's most famous ghost story. History, science and human nature are each found to play a role in the understanding and interpretation of the lights people see.
From his birth in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1947, to his 2020 album featuring the music of Lee Hammons, Wayne Howard has lived an exceptionally creative life. He seemed to be eternally present at fiddle festivals, involved in the creative forces working to preserve Southern Mountain music. In 1969, he relocated to West Virginia and was introduced to the Hammons family by Dwight Diller. Howard then recorded Lee, Sherman, Burl, and Maggie Hammons playing music and telling stories. Howard then became a professional computer programmer, a vintage book collector, and a woodworker, before turning to writing about the Hammons family, and producing CDs of their stories and music. This biography follows the threads of music and folklore through Howard's life, celebrating his profound knowledge that does much to sustain the interest of those who seek out Appalachian tunes, songs, and stories.
Dwight Hamilton Diller is a musician from West Virginia devoted to traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo music, and a seminary-trained minister steeped in local Christian traditions. For the past 40 years, he has worked to preserve archaic fiddle and banjo tunes, teaching his percussive, primitively rhythmic style to small groups in marathon banjo workshops. This book tells of Diller's life and music, his personal challenges and his decades of teaching an elusive musical form.
The Ravenscroft School, an Episcopal boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina, 1856 to 1901, had three distinct phases. It was first a "Classical and Theological School" (1856-1864) and then, following the Civil War, a Theological Training School and Associate Mission (1868-1900); in 1887 it split into two departments, a Theological Training School/Associate Mission and Ravenscroft High School for Boys (1887-1901). The purview of this book is from the early days of Asheville (1820s) to the building of Joseph Osborne's mansion in the 1840s (which would eventually house the school), through the years of the school's operation, and thence to the mid-20th century when the campus buildings were sold and repurposed. The book concludes with the efforts by historic preservationists in the late 1970s to save the few remaining buildings. The book includes biographical notes on notable alumni and histories of the churches established by the Ravenscroft Associate Mission and Training School.