Joara

Joara was a large Native American settlement, a regional chiefdom of the Mississippian culture, located in what is now Burke County, North Carolina. Joara is notable as a significant archaeological and historic site. It was a place of encounter in 1540 between the Mississippian people and the party of Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto. A later expedition under Juan Pardo in 1567 created the first brief European settlement in the interior of the continent.