The historic Cherokee and Catawba peoples of this region were generally the ones to encounter European explorers and colonists, beginning in the mid-16th century.
The rich bottomlands near their villages were planted with many staples of indigenous agriculture, including the Three Sisters (corn, beans, and squash/pumpkin), and sumpweed (Iva annua).
[7] Pisgah phase sites ranged from individual farmsteads to large nucleated villages surrounding platform mounds and defended by palisades.
The majority of these sites are located in the Eastern and Central Appalachian Summit area, around the Asheville, Pigeon, and Hendersonville basins.
The construction of platform mounds, followed by building temples, residences, and sometimes mortuary structures on top of these, marked the development of a more stratified society with hereditary elites.
Trenches were dug for an entry way, with rows of saplings arched over them and covered in wattle and daub for a tunnel-like effect.
A larger council house fronted the homes surrounding the central plaza and opposite the village entrance.
The bodies of high-ranking adults and infants were placed within the side-chamber location in a loose flexed position, with their heads toward the west.
Remains from these burials show adult skulls with artificial cranial deformation, likely induced for cultural reasons.
Included within certain graves in some sites that express a social ranking are stone, clay, bone, shell, and wood artifacts.
[10] While William Henry Holmes of the Smithsonian Institution first identified Pisgah ceramics in 1884, it was not until the late 20th century that a detailed study of the pottery was completed.