Ohio Valley History Retold by UC Archaeologist

A biography about a meticulous archeologist and his contributions to the Native American story are now retold in a book by the University of Cincinnati’s Kenneth B. Tankersley, professor of anthropology and geology.

The book,

“Dr. Charles Louis Metz and the American Indian Archeology of the Little Miami River Valley,”

written by Tankersley and his colleague Robert Brand Newman, a practicing attorney,

will be signed at an event from 2-4 p.m., Saturday, May 21, at the Milford Mystery Library, 19 Water St. in Milford, Ohio.

Stereotypes about Indigenous peoples of North America have historically endorsed tales of brutal savagery to images of flamboyant costume and ritual, especially during the 19th century.

Between the era of Manifest Destiny through the Industrial Revolution –– more than in any other time in American history –– the often-ignored realities of the Native American culture were spun far from the truth.

But during this time of government-mandated mass relocation of indigenous tribes to unfamiliar reservations, one local physician with an empathic appeal for that truth became immersed in the rich archaeological history of the Ohio Valley area. It was through the meticulous records of local excavations by Dr. Charles Louis Metz that inspired countless generations of future archaeologists and helped change the attitudes about American indigenous peoples.

The biography about Metz and his archaeological contributions about the Ohio and Miami Valley American Indians are retold throughout the book. Tankersley, a UC professor of geology and archaeology in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, along with attorney Newman, who has appeared in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Ohio and the U.S. Supreme Court, carefully reconstruct Metz’s records into a spellbinding dossier of human relationships, dramatic events through time and remarkable archaeological discoveries that have changed modern attitudes about the history of the American Indians.

HISTORICAL TIME MACHINE

During his early excavations, Metz’s work eventually caught the attention of archaeologists from Harvard University. The long history of collaboration that resulted contributed to a large body of Metz’s anthropological and archaeological artifacts being permanently curated in museums around the world, including Harvard University’s Peabody Museum, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., the British Museum in London, the National Museum in Berlin and the Museum Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Finally unleashing Metz’s meticulous records, Tankersley takes the reader back in time to familiar landmarks around the Ohio Valley area during the drama of the Civil War through the turn of the century. The authors intricately weave Metz’s personal interests in many well-known Ohio landmarks such as

Camp Dennison, the Waldschmidt House, early Madisonville

and his early archaeological excavations that helped to dispel the politically motivated pseudoscientific writings about the ancient mound builders.

Political rhetoric during the mid 19th century contributed to the attitudes of those in the government who shaped Indian policy, which contributed to their efforts to annihilate the American Indians through genocide. So to better understand Metz’s contributions to Ohio Valley archaeology and the history of American archaeology, Tankersley helps the reader discover and reconstruct the intellectual climate and academic currents during this era.

In the book, the portrayal of Metz’s human relationships and events are vividly tied with his dramatic archaeological discoveries. And as a modern archaeologist in the 21st century, Tankersley’s scientific expertise helps qualify and portray the data records from the many excavations documented by Metz and his collaborators.

Throughout his journal it is evident Metz continually strived to defend his discoveries and to see his theories and interpretations about American Indians vindicated. Unfortunately, Metz passed away before he saw his dreams realized. When his research records were later shared they ultimately paved the way for future typological classifications and the archaeological fusion of Ohio Valley prehistory.

A POWERFUL LEGACY

The book carefully details how Metz’s work ultimately served as the catalyst behind mid 20th century federal efforts toward the foundation for historical preservation, which included the Work Projects Administration (WPA), the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the National Youth Administration (NYA) –– who carefully reconstructed the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. Fort Ancient in Warren County and Fort Hill in Highland County, Ohio, were also reconstructed using Metz’s field notes and maps.

Tankersley cleverly helps blur the lines between then and now by vividly recounting Metz’s personal stories and detailed research. It was through Metz's discovery of copper, gold and other precious minerals, along with uniquely associated Indian pottery and carved arrowhead relics that Metz was able to dismiss former politically motivated notions that an ancient white race settled the area.

Tankersley’s account of Metz’s life successfully spans beyond his archaeological footprint to include an intimate look into all the lives he touched –– both personally and professionally. By the end of the book the reader will have enjoyed Metz’s up-close and personal journey to find the truth about who originally settled the Miami Valley area, forever preserving the accurate historical legacy of the American Indian heritage.

FUNDING

This book was funded by a grant from the Mariemont Preservation Foundation and support from the Court Family Foundation.

For more information about

“Dr. Charles Louis Metz and the American Indian Archeology of the Little Miami River Valley,”

contact Kenneth B. Tankersley at tankerkh@ucmail.uc.edu or by visiting the

book signing on Saturday, May 21, at the Milford Mystery Library in Milford from 2 to 4 p.m.

To order the book, go to:

Little Miami Publishing

or

Amazon.com