SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park (Dayton, Ohio)

 museum, Mound Builders

SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park is a partially reconstructed Fort Ancient period Native American village along the Great Miami River in Dayton, Ohio. The Fort Ancient culture as defined by archaeologists occupied the Middle Ohio River Valley between about AD 1000 and AD 1650 from what is now southeastern Indiana east to modern day West Virginia. The Fort Ancient peoples who lived in this area were the first intensive farmers of the area, and the last prehistoric group to occupy it prior to the arrival of European settlers. Unfortunately we do not know exactly who their modern descendants are.

SunWatch, originally named the Incinerator site, was first excavated and reported on in the 1960's by amateur archaeologists John Allman and Charles Smith. When news came in the early 1970's that the City of Dayton planned to expand a nearby sewage treatment plant onto the property and impact the site Allman and Smith contacted James Heilman, the Curator of Anthropology at the Dayton Museum of Natural History, in hopes of recovering as much valuable information from the site as possible. In 1971 the Dayton Museum of Natural History (now the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery) began "salvage" excavations at the site with just this goal in mind.

This initial work was designed to recover as much data on the village as possible prior to the proposed destruction of the site to make way for the sewage treatment plant expansion. As excavations continued a planned, stockaded village which was estimated to have been occupied for about 20 years and included apparent astronomical alignments was revealed. The 2.5-3 acre village site contained many well-preserved artifacts, including fragile items such as crayfish pincers, fish scales, turkey egg shell fragments, and even uncharred wood remains. The work at the site also exposed many students and adult volunteers to archaeology for the first time and gave them an appreciation of the archaeology and history of the region.

With the cooperation of the City of Dayton the plans for the expansion of the sewage treatment plant were modified, and with the assistance of the city, numerous volunteers, scholars, and supporters the site was saved from destruction. Soon after planning began to interpret and open the site to the public.

On July 29, 1988, after 17 years of excavation and research by the Dayton Society of Natural History, SunWatch opened to the public. Seasonal excavations continued through 1989. The years of excavation at the site, combined with additional analysis and research, have resulted in a remarkable understanding of the site's original inhabitants. SunWatch currently combines experimental archaeological research, including the reconstruction of the Fort Ancient structures in their original 13th century locations, with an interpretive center that exhibits many of the artifacts that have been recovered from the site. The village reconstruction includes five lath and daub structures with grass thatch roofs, portions of a stockade, and a native garden and prairie with plants typical of the period. Inferred astronomical alignments originate from a complex of posts at the center of the village that have also been replaced. There is also a picnic shelter and picnic tables overlooking the village and are available for visitors to relax.

Because of its archaeological and historical significance the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1990.

sunwatch.boonshoftmuseum.org/index.html