Description
The Roanoke, also spelled Roanoac, were a people whose territory comprised present-day Dare County, Roanoke Island, and part of the mainland at the time of English exploration and colonization. They were one of the numerous Carolina Algonquian tribes, which may have numbered 5,000 to 10,000 people in total in eastern North Carolina at the time of English encounter. The last tribal chief of the Roanoke was believed to be Wanchese, who traveled to England with colonists in 1584. However, he may have just been an influential individual.
Language
Algonkian
Culture
Southeastern cultures relies on evidence from diverse sources, including artifacts, historical documents, ethnography, linguistics, folklore, and oral history. Many cultural traditions reported by the earliest European explorers, such as the use of ceremonial mounds, the heavy reliance on corn (maize), and the importance of social stratification in some areas, were clearly developed during the Mississippian culture period (c. 700–1600 ce). The Mississippians maintained fine craft traditions and also engaged in long-distance trade throughout the Southeast and the surrounding culture areas.