A permanent exhibit at the University of Tennessee’s Frank H. McClung Museum tells the story of 14,000 years of human culture. The entire collection of “Archaeology and the Native Peoples of Tennessee” boasts several million artifacts assembled by archaeologists beginning in the 1930s.
Pellissippi State Community College is hosting a discussion and presentation of the exhibit by Joan Markel, McClung’s outreach educator, on Nov. 17. The one-hour event takes place at 12:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Magnolia Avenue Campus, 1610 E. Magnolia Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
The presentation is part of the college’s Common Academic Experience, a program in which one book is chosen each academic year to serve as a common denominator in developing curricular and co-curricular activities.
The 2009-2010 Common Book, “Storming Heaven,” by Denise Giardina, is required reading for many students. The novel is the centerpiece for activities ranging from author presentations to art exhibits to film showings. Both the book and the McClung exhibit examine the native peoples of the South.
The collection, which includes genuine artifacts as well as visual images, grew out of UT’s involvement with the Tennessee Valley Authority in protecting the remains of Native American sites inundated by reservoirs. The archaeological agreement started in 1934.
For additional information, contact Rosalyn Tillman, assistant dean of the Magnolia Avenue Campus, at (865) 329-3100 or rtillman@pstcc.edu.