November is Native American Heritage Month and the Botetourt Museum of History and Culture has a large collection of indigenous artifacts. The stone tools shown here are hammers, arrowheads, ax and grinding bowl from the prehistoric Archaic and Woodland period. The earliest archaeological study done in Botetourt occurred when workers with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad disturbed a Native American burial ground in Gala. The Smithsonian Institution was called and Gerald Fowke researched the area in 1991-1992. This site is now a National Historic Landmark. Artifacts can still be found all over Botetourt County. Today, Virginia recognizes seven tribes: the Monacans, Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Pamunkey, Nansemond, Chickahominy and Eastern Chickahominy. Keep history alive and learn from the past.
~ Botetourt Museum of History & Culture
