Tanasi's relationship with Chota has long puzzled historians and archaeologists.
 Some have speculated that the two towns were a single community with two districts and two governments, not unlike the situation that reportedly existed in Great Tellico and Chatuga around the same time.
 Excavators in the early 1970s noted virtually no differences in the types of cultural materials and features uncovered at the two village sites.
 18th-century traders and diplomats, however, clearly identified these as two separate towns.

Tanasi was reported by Euro-American traders from their first explorations in the region in the early 18th century, but Chota does not appear in the historical record until around 1745.
 The maps of John Herbert and George Hunter, drawn in 1727 and 1730, respectively, show Tanasi but not Chota.
 In 1746, English agent George Pawley met with Cherokee leaders at the Chota townhouse, indicating Chota had usurped Tanasi as the more dominant town.
 Missionary William Richardson visited the Overhill towns in the late 1750s and described Chota and Tanasi as being separated by a "small river."
 Richardson's description is supported by Timberlake's 1762 map, which recorded the two towns' sites.
Tanasi's relationship with Chota has long puzzled historians and archaeologists.  Some have speculated that the two towns were a single community with two districts and two governments, not unlike the situation that reportedly existed in Great Tellico and Chatuga around the same time.  Excavators in the early 1970s noted virtually no differences in the types of cultural materials and features uncovered at the two village sites.  18th-century traders and diplomats, however, clearly identified these as two separate towns.
Tanasi was reported by Euro-American traders from their first explorations in the region in the early 18th century, but Chota does not appear in the historical record until around 1745.  The maps of John Herbert and George Hunter, drawn in 1727 and 1730, respectively, show Tanasi but not Chota.  In 1746, English agent George Pawley met with Cherokee leaders at the Chota townhouse, indicating Chota had usurped Tanasi as the more dominant town.  Missionary William Richardson visited the Overhill towns in the late 1750s and described Chota and Tanasi as being separated by a "small river."  Richardson's description is supported by Timberlake's 1762 map, which recorded the two towns' sites.
Tanasi