Catawba Cultural Center Exhibit Info

On this page, you will find information about exhibits on display at the Catawba Nation’s Cultural Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina. These exhibits were designed by the Research Laboratories of Archaeology (RLA) in collaboration with the Catawba Cultural Center team during fall 2022.

The four exhibits focus on changing Catawba identity between 1750 and 1820, drawing largely on what we can learn about the past from archaeology. In 2001, in collaboration with the Catawba Nation, the RLA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill embarked on a project to understand the processes that led to the emergence of the Nation. Archaeologists identified and excavated sites within the boundary of the historic Catawba Reservation in South Carolina. The project explored changes in the daily lives of Catawba people during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Check out the PDFs linked below to learn more about the artifacts exhibited and view reading lists where you can go to delve deeper into each topic.

Exhibit 1. Military Prowess, 1750s

Exhibit 2. Entrepreneurial Spirit, 1760–1780

Exhibit 3: Business Ingenuity, 1790–1820

Exhibit 4. Catawba Identity