Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas

maps designated many of these lands “Indian fields” or “Indian
gardens” shows that this was fiction created to suit their
purposes. Over time, the Monacans faded from Euro-American
history. Jefferson’s excavations may be well known to any
archaeology student, but fewer have learned about the identity
of the people buried in the mounds.
As colonizers took increasing amounts of land, different
tribes reacted in different ways. The Monacans chose multiple
strategies to deal with them but mostly continued to avoid them.
As Euro-Americans encroached, the Monacans dispersed
locally and isolated themselves or migrated elsewhere to join
with other tribes. These strategies perhaps added to the
Monacan peoples’ survival into the present day; they provide a
striking example of resilience in the face of tremendous
adversity. Today the federally recognized Monacan Nation has
over 2,300 citizens and operates programs benefiting their
people and safeguarding their heritage on their reclaimed
ancestral homelands on and around Bear Mountain in Amherst
County, Virginia.
The Monacan tribe has worked with archaeologists and
biological anthropologists to better understand the history of
their ancestors buried within the mounds of Virginia.
These studies have confirmed that much of what Jefferson
recorded was extremely accurate. Consistent with what
Jefferson had observed, the Monacans built their mounds
gradually, adding layers of earth and stone with each new burial
event (11th to 15th centuries). Some of these mounds contained
an enormous number of individuals: 1,000 to 2,000 estimated in
Rapidan Creek (11).
Although it wasn’t his primary focus, in Notes on the State of Virginia,
Thomas Jefferson combined a detailed description of his archaeological
work with ethnographic and linguistic evidence to argue that the ancient
peoples who built the mounds were the same peoples living across eastern