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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2007-03 > 1174684299


From: Cheryl Simani <>
Subject: Re: [DNA] mtDNA of H in Native American
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:11:39 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <200703231322.l2NDMXtk025285@mail.rootsweb.com>


There's a typo in my earlier posting regarding the discovery of the Bat Creek Stone.

The excavation in which the Stone was found took place on Feb. 14, 1889. John W. Emmert immediately wired Cyrus Thomas of the find.

Thomas reported that the inscription was an early form of Cherokee. It was flaunted as proof that Seqouya did not originate the Cherokee Syllabary, but that he had reworked a much earlier one. The inscription was used to prove that the Native American tribes developed on their own without outside influences. Papers were published, and the Bat Creek Stone was filed away among other artifacts and forgotten.

Then in 1950 Joseph Mahan, who knew the Cherokee language and syllabary, was puzzled because he could see no relationship whatever between the symbols on the stone and any possible connection to the Cherokee language – written or spoken. In the same year Dr. W.W. Strong recorded on a worksheet that when viewed upside down from the photographed position the Bat Creek inscription appeared to be “Phoenician.” Until then the Stone was authentic. When these observations were made known, Andrew Whiteford published an article (“A Frame of Reference for the Archaeology of Eastern Tennessee” in James B. Griffin, ed., Archaeology of Eastern United States, 1952. pp. 207-225.) denouncing all of Emmert’s work during his excavations in the Tennessee Area.




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Glenn Stroup <> wrote:

At 08:32 AM 3/23/2007, Cheryl wrote:

> The jaw-bone under which the Bat Creek Stone was found (mound 3
> Little Tennessee @ Bat Creek, 1894) was inscribed in Roman Era
> paleo-Hebrew - Rak leY'hudim = "Only for/to the Jews" - strangely
> disappeared from the Smithsonian collection just when efforts were
> being made to have it dated. :-{

The location of the find caught my eye, since I live in East
Tennessee, so I did a Internet search on "Bat Creek Stone" and found
that the stone is at the McClung Museum in Knoxville, TN, on loan
from the Smithsonian. Also noted that there's also a theory that the
inscription is possibly Welsh.

Glenn Stroup

>


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