Our story begins in 1969, when the famous archaeologist, Arthur Kelly, announces the discovery of apparent Mesoamerican artifacts on Georgia's Chattahoochee River. His regional peers in archaeology are outraged and railroad him out of the University of Georgia. Soon thereafter, I am awarded the first Barrett Scholarship to study Mesoamerican architecture in Mexico. My faculty advisor at Georgia Tech, who is also a friend of Dr. Kelly and President of the Atlanta Archaeological Society, suggests that my research question be, "Are there similarities between the indigenous architecture of Georgia and some area of Mexico." Because so little is really known about the Olmec Civilization and the early history of the Creeks, I do find a region, Tabasco, where there are many mounds, but cannot go much further than that. Most of the answers to the mystery would not come until the 21st century.
