What is the basis for the paths that are shown?
All of the early historic reports make it clear that there were extensive, well delineated and well known “trails” throughout North America. A good discussion of these travel routes can be seen for Georgia at http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-790, for Tennessee at http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php?EntryID=T106. W. Myer in his “Indian Trails of the Southeast” in the 42nd Bureau of American Ethnography annual report (1928) summarized a great deal of data on trails (largely east of the Mississippi) and is on line (from France!) at http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k276550/f756.table . Manson (1998) has a useful article on trails as does Blakeslee and Blasing (1988). Village level travel routes (e.g. paths) are also shown in the John White watercolors. White traveled to “Virginia” in 1585 and was there for 13 months and made a number of detailed watercolors of Indian communities he visited. Images of the watercolors and engravings are available at t
