The Sunwatch Archaeological Park, in Dayton OH, is the site of a Native American Village dating to around 1200 CE, from the period known as "Fort Ancient". It was discovered in the 1960's, but wasn't excavated until the 1970's, when a sewage treatment plant was scheduled to be built on the site. A team of archaeologists undertook an emergency excavation, but found the village so well-preserved that they were able to have the Federal Government list it on the National Register of Historic Places, and were able to excavate the entire site. Today, some of the artifacts recovered during the dig are on display at the site museum, while a series of reconstructed thatched shelters have been built on the site.
It is, alas, in an industrial part of town and is sort of hard to find. I asked four different bus drivers how to get to it, and none of them had ever even heard of it. Just goes to show--no matter where you are, there are probably some cool things around that you don't even know about. ;)
Here are some photos from a visit.
The onsite museum
The village is on the shore of the Great Miami River.
Inside the museum.
Pottery recovered during the excavation.
Bone tools
Stone tools
The reconstructed portion of the village. The reconstructed buildings are placed in the exact posthole footprint left by the original excavated buildings.
The farming plot. The natives here grew corn, beans, pumpkins and squash, and also fished in the river and hunted in the nearby forest.
In the center of the village was a large pole, the shadow of which aligned with particular buildings at certain solar events. This is where the name "Sunwatch" for the village comes from.
Two reconstructed homes.
The interior of one of the huts.
The ceremonial building at one end of the village, known as "The Big House". It was reconstructed back in 2008, but is currently being re-done using authentic native species of tree for the framework and prairie grass for the thatching.
The human figure gives a sense of scale. About 200-250 people lived in the village.
The center area of the village was empty, and was made up of large upraised squares. No one is sure what they were for.
From the widely-spaced postholes, archaeologists know the village was surrounded by a wattlework fence. This doesn't seem to have been strong enough for defensive purposes, and was more likely just to keep animals from raiding the food storage pits inside.