Professor of Anthropology Julia King and her crew of SMCM alumni and student archaeologists were highlighted in the Washington Post for significant discoveries at Fones Cliffs along the Rappahannock River in Virginia. The discoveries confirm oral histories and historical documents regarding Indigenous Rappahannock towns and villages marked by Captain John Smith more than 400 years ago.
The widely syndicated article, titled "Archaeologists find location of Native American villages noted by John Smith," examines the most recent artifacts the crew discovered in the summer of 2025 as part of an ongoing collaboration with the federally recognized Rappahannock Tribe to trace the history and development of the Tribe’s early American history.
King first began studying the Rappahannock Tribe’s history in 2016 at the request of the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Office, the Chesapeake Conservancy and the Rappahannock Tribe. The work was undertaken to provide interpretive support for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Following that project, King, her students and the Rappahannock Tribe have continued their collaboration and discovered literal pieces of the Tribe’s past.
“Archaeology can deepen, confirm and complicate what the oral history and historical documents relate about these past places,” King said.
In this instance, the thousands of artifacts discovered have confirmed the Tribe’s historical sources. King said while many are excited to highlight the find, she is eager to highlight the students in the field conducting the research.
“Our students, whether they stick with the project beyond graduation or not, have contributed to finding answers to real-world questions,” she said.
In 2024, St. Mary’s College named King the George B. and Willma Reeves Endowed Chair in the Liberal Arts in recognition of her outstanding scholarship in the humanities due to projects like the one at Fones Cliffs that serve to trace history and build trust between Indigenous communities and anthropologists in Maryland and Virginia.
