Highlighting Hoosier Archaeological Sites: East Central

In the fall of 1998, a member of the Upper White River Archaeological Society reported two features eroding out of a flood channel in a cultivated field in Delaware County. One feature was a dark circular stain approximately 1.5 meters in diameter, and the other feature was a smaller circular cluster of fire-cracked rock situated about 1.5 meters north of the larger feature. The features were within the boundaries of the Jarrett site (12DL689), a surface site previously recorded in the floodplain of the White River with Paleoindian and Late Woodland components. Since the features were threatened by continued erosion and ongoing cultivation, the features were recovered (McCord 2001). The investigation not only provided data on the Late Woodland Albee Phase, but highlighted the importance of avocational archaeologists in identifying, reporting and protecting cultural resources. 

The Albee Phase may be the most recognized Late Woodland culture in Indiana (Anslinger 1990; McCord and Cochran 2003; Redmond and McCullough 2000). The Late Woodland period in Indiana is typically defined between A.D. 500 and 1200. Across the Midwest, Late Woodland cultures are described as “good gray cultures” (Williams 1963:297) because they fall between the more artistically, architecturally and materially elaborate Middle Woodland Hopewell and later precontact Mississippian cultures. As a result, the Late Woodland period has been described as “nearly invisible” (Dunnell and Greenlee 1999). However, during the Late Woodland period, two important innovations occur: the adoption of bow and arrow technology and the full-scale adoption of corn agriculture.

Starting around A.D. 800, in the Late Woodland period, ceramic vessels across the Midwest began to be decorated with a thickened strip or collar around the lip of the jar (Kelly 2000). Earlier ceramic vessels such as Allison-LaMotte and Havana wares of the Middle Woodland, tended to have straight sided rims. This collared rim form was recognized in the lower Wabash River valley by Howard Winters, a prominent archaeologist of the twentieth century, who named them Albee Cordmarked after the Albee Mound site (Winters 1967). The Albee Phase initially represented a local variation of a generalized Late Woodland artifact assemblage that occurred throughout the Eastern Woodlands, but over time the Albee Phase has become synonymous with any collared ceramic, expanding the geographic extent to include much of Indiana (Figure 1). This seriously dilutes and undermines its validity as an archaeological construct (e.g., Lewis 1975). 

The excavations at the Jarrett site in Delaware County, along with those of the Morell-Sheets site (12MY87) in Montgomery County (McCord and Cochran 1994), have helped to clarify some of the notions defining the Albee Phase. These sites contain Albee Phase material that are not mixed with other archaeological components. While only two features were excavated at the Jarrett site, the contents of the features were consistent with Albee Phase artifacts and they provided additional information on subsistence and chronology from unmixed components (Table 1).

Albee Cordmarked ceramics are the most distinctive artifact class of the Albee Phase (Figure 2). Collared forms similar to the Albee Phase occur across the Great Lakes region and are associated with the Des Plains complex (Emerson and Titelbaum 2000) and the Vandalia complex (Gardner 1973) in northern Illinois; the Kekoskee Phase in southeastern Wisconsin (Salkin, 2000); and the late Allegan Phase in southwestern Michigan (Rodgers 1972). The Albee Cordmarked type is most similar to Aztalan Collared (Baerris and Freeman 1958) and Starved Rock Collared (Hall 1987) types that occur in Wisconsin and Illinois. The ceramic traits are so similar that the general conclusion is that one isolated sherd could fit into many types. The preponderance of current evidence indicates that only Triangular Cluster points are associated with the Albee Phase (McCord and Cochran 2003). However, not all researchers agree on this, and Jack’s Reef points are also cited as part of Albee Phase material culture (e.g., Wells 2008:87). Other than the pottery and points, the Albee Phase has a diverse artifact assemblage with numerous commonalities with Late Woodland sites that occur throughout the Eastern Woodlands.

Albee Phase subsistence data is limited primarily to two habitation sites: Morrel-Sheets and Jarrett (McCord 2001; McCord and Cochran 1994). From floral and faunal remains recovered at these sites, we know that subsistence practices included the cultivation of Eastern Agricultural Complex plants (little barley, maygrass and knotweed) and maize in addition to wild plants such as raspberry/blackberry, blueberry/cranberry, hazelnut and hickory nuts (Bush 1994, 2001). Maize or corn agriculture is not a primary food source prior to A.D. 900 (Simon et al. 2015), and Albee populations never relied on this crop as a primary food source. Squash was also identified at both sites. Animal remains identified have been dominated by white-tailed deer but turtle, porcupine, elk, beaver, raccoon, turkey, and mussels are present. Waterfowl and fish were largely absent from these sites, which is interesting given their proximity to a large creek or river. Recent excavations at site 12T1154, that contains an Albee Phase component, also identified the cultivation of maize, little barley and goosefoot along with wild resources such as camas, plum and nut (Smith et al. 2012). However, the site is multicomponent and deposits range between A.D. 600 and 1200. More data is necessary before we can legitimately characterize Albee Phase subsistence.

The Late Woodland settlement patterns were similar to historical Native American occupations. Planting sites, located in the floodplains, were focal points for the population during planting and harvesting (McCord and Cochran 1994:165). Sites such as Morell-Sheets (12MY87) (McCord and Cochran 1994), Jarrett (12DL689) (McCord 2001), the more recently excavated 12T1154 (Smith et al. 2012), and others fit the pattern for seasonal Late Woodland occupations focused on horticulture that were repeatedly occupied. It presently appears that cemeteries and habitations were associated, but spatially segregated with the habitation sites occurring on the valley floor and cemeteries occurring along upland or terrace edges (Cochran et al. 1988; McCord and Cochran 2003; Tomak 1970). However, human remains were recovered from the Demerly habitation site (12C44) within the habitation area (Bergman-Bell 1999). Albee sites are likely dispersed into the uplands also, but distinguishing aceramic Albee sites from other Late Woodland or Late Prehistoric sites is hindered. These patterns are unfortunately incomplete and represent only a component of a larger Albee Phase distribution.

References

Anslinger, Michael (1990). The Akers Site: A Late Woodland Albee Phase Burial Mound in Warren County, West Central, Indiana. Technical Report 10. Indiana State University Anthropology Laboratory, Terre Haute.

Baerris, David A. and J. E. Freeman (1958). Late Woodland Pottery in Wisconsin as Seen from Aztalan. Wisconsin Archaeologist 39 (1):35–61.

Bergman-Bell, Karen (1999). Preliminary Ceramic Typology for Surface Finds from Demerly I: 12-C-44. On file at Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette.

Bush, Leslie (1994). Floral Material. In Morrell-Sheets: An Albee Phase Habitation, by Beth McCord and Donald R. Cochran, 90-103. Reports of Investigation 38. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie. 

Bush, Leslie (2001). A New Albee Cultigen from the Jarrett Site, 12 Dl 689. In Recovery of Two Albee Features at the Jarrett Site (12-Dl-689), by Beth McCord, B1–B7. Reports of Investigation 57. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie. 

Cochran, Donald R., Lisa Maust, Eric Filkins, Mitch Zoll, Sharon Staley, and Ronald Richards (1988). The Hesher Site: A Late Albee Cemetery in East Central Indiana. Reports of Investigation 24. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie.

Dunnell, Robert C. and Diana M. Greenlee (1999). Late Woodland Period ‘Waste’ Reduction in the Ohio River Valley. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 18:376-395.

Emerson, Thomas E., and Anne R. Titelbaum (2000). The Des Plaines Complex and the Late Woodland Stage of Northern Illinois. In Late Woodland Societies: Tradition and Transformation across the Midcontinent, edited by Thomas E. Emerson, Dale L. McElrath, and Andrew C. Fortier, pp. 413-427. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London.

Gardner, William (1973). The Vandalia Complex: A Late Woodland Complex in the Central Kaskaskia River Drainage. In Late Woodland Site Archaeology in Illinois I: Investigations in South Central Illinois, edited by James A. Brown, pp. 214-227. Bulletin 9. Illinois Archaeological Survey, Urbana.

Hall, Robert L. (1987). Type Description of Starved Rock Collared. The Wisconsin Archaeologist 68:65-70.

Kelly, John Martin (2000). Delineating the Spatial and Temporal Boundaries of Late Woodland Collared Wares from Wisconsin and Illinois. Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Lewis, R. Barry (1975). The Hood Site, A Late Woodland Hamlet in the Sangamon Valley of Central Illinois. Reports of  Investigation 10. Illinois State Museum, Springfield.

McCord, Beth K. (2001). Recovery of Two Features at the Jarrett Site (12-Dl-689), Delaware County, Indiana. Reports of Investigation 57. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie.

McCord, Beth Kolbe and Donald R. Cochran (1994).  Morell-Sheets: An Albee Phase Habitation. Reports of Investigation 38. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie.

McCord, Beth Kolbe and Donald R. Cochran (2003). The Morell-Sheets Site: Refining the Definition of the Albee Phase. In Facing the Final Millennium: Studies in the Late Prehistory of Indiana, A.D. 700 to 1700, edited by Brian G. Redmond and James R. Jones, III, pp. 32-60. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Indianapolis.

Redmond, Brian G. and Robert G. McCullough (2000). The Late Woodland to Late Prehistoric Occupations of Central Indiana. In Late Woodland Societies: Transformation across the Midcontinent, edited by T. Emerson, D. McElrath and A. Fortier, pp. 643-683. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. 

Rodgers, Margaret B. (1972). The 46th Street Site and the Occurrence of Allegan Ware in Southwestern Michigan. The Michigan Archaeologist 18(2):47-108.

Salkin, Philip H. (2000). The Horicon and Kekoskee Phases: Cultural Complexity in the Late Woodland Stage in Southeastern Wisconsin. In Late Woodland Societies: Tradition and Transformation across the Midcontinent, edited by Thomas E. Emerson, Dale L. McElrath, and Andrew C. Fortier, pp. 525-542. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London.

Simon, Mary, Kristin Hedman and Thomas Emerson (2015). The Role of Maize in Cahokia’s Big Bang. Paper presented at the 59th Annual Midwest Archaeological Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Smith, Andrew, Eric Sanchez and Jamie Cochran-Smith (2012). Archaeological Phase II and III Investigations and Monitoring of Site 12-T-1154 for the State Road 25 Wetland and Forest Mitigation Areas, Des. No. 0901664 (Formerly Des. No. 9802920), Prophetstown State Park, Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Reports of Investigations 1010. IPFW Archaeological Survey, Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne.

Tomak, Curtis H. (1970). Aboriginal Occupations in the Vicinity of Greene County, Indiana. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Wells, Joshua J. (2008). The Vincennes Phase: Mississippians and Ethnic Plurality in the Wabash Drainage of Indiana and Illinois. Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Williams, Stephen (1963). The Eastern United States. In Early Indiana Farmers and Village Communities, edited by William G. Haag, pp. 267-325. National Park Service, Washington D.C.

Winters, Howard D. (1967). An Archaeological Survey of the Wabash Valley in Illinois. Reports of Investigation 10. Illinois State Museum, Springfield.

Many early Hoosiers moved west from the east coast through the states of Ohio and Kentucky and found Indiana as their new home. While living in Butler County, Ohio, Philip Shrader purchased 160 acres in 1823 near Bentonville, Indiana, and built a Federal style brick home on the property in 1830. Phillip had two sons with his first wife, and five surviving children with his second wife. He was a farmer, produced maple sugar and molasses, and was involved in real estate. The Shraders became one of the more successful families in the community. The Shraders sold the property (unknown date) to the Weavers (a neighboring family). The son of the Weavers and the daughter of the Shraders were married in 1859 and moved into the house in 1869, thus connecting the property to both families (Draeger-Williams 2019). The property stayed in the family until it became a nature preserve. 

Sometime after 1955 when James Weaver’s youngest son passed away, the Weavers donated the property to The Nature Conservancy, who turned it over to Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Nature Preserves in 1973. The property was listed as a National Natural Landmark in 1974 (DNR, Nature Preserves 2020; The Nature Conservancy 2020). The home site consists of the brick house (Figure 1), barn, granary, wood shed and garage. Features surrounding the house include a brick-lined cistern, limestone walkway, and hand pump.

Starting in 2005, multiple DNR divisions met to discuss moisture concerns at the house, which threatened the integrity of the structure. One of the proposed remedies included constructing a drain around the perimeter of the house. Archaeological investigations were conducted in 2005 and 2006 around the edge the house in anticipation of the proposed drainage project (Plunkett 2007), and the site (12F446) was recommended as eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Additional monitoring was completed by the DNR’s Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA) in 2006 during the construction of the drain (Draeger-Williams 2019). 

A majority of the artifacts recovered by the DHPA archaeologists were found along the southern side of the house behind the kitchen, near the cistern, and in the suspected garden location. Most of the artifacts were for domestic use (Figure 2). Historic ceramics consisted of 72% of the assemblage, which included various types and styles of dishware and serving containers. Sherds from a pitcher, a serving dish, bowls, cups, and plates were encountered. Whiteware vessels included various decorative styles: plain, hand painted, transfer print, sponge, annular, cable, mocha, shell-edged, molded edge with bud, and edged dot and plume. The plates exhibited at least seven different design patterns. Plus, sherds from at least two Rockingham yellowware plates were found. Four fragments of a glass decorative bowl with rounded feet were also encountered. The diverse assemblage of domestic dishware is consistent with a prominent family in the community. Other artifacts found during these investigations represent more utilitarian function in rural living. Sherds representing several stoneware jugs and crockery were found as well as redware and yellowware sherds. A double hinge metal animal trap, a cast iron metal leg (probably for an appliance), a utensil handle, a button, construction material, and faunal remains were also in the assemblage. The date range of the construction materials recovered spans the time of the house occupation, with earlier material representing when the house was constructed and later material showing repairs over the years. The artifacts from these investigations are curated at the Indiana State Museum.  

The Shrader-Weaver home site (12F446) is considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. There is much more that could be learned about the site, as fieldwork was only completed around a small portion of the property near the house. The brick-lined cistern is still intact and uninvestigated. Locations of possible privies throughout the property remain unknown. Remote sensing of the grass lawn could aid in the identification of features that are not apparent from the ground surface. Additional investigations at the site, with further research into the artifact assemblage, could provide a regional perspective of the Shraders, the community near Bentonville, and rural Fayette County.  

References

DNR, Nature Preserves (2020). Shrader-Weaver Nature Preserve Old-growth Woods. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indianapolis, Indiana. Https://www.in.gov/dnr/naturepreserve/files/np-ShraderOldGrowth.pdf, accessed on January 2, 2020.

Draeger-Williams, Cathy (2019). Proposed foundation improvements at the Shrader-Weaver Nature Preserve near Bentonville, Fayette County, Indiana. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Plunkett, Jeffrey (2007). Archaeological Investigations around the Historic Shrader-Weaver Homestead Site (12F446) in Fayette County, Indiana. Landmark Archaeological and Environmental Services, Inc., Sheridan, Indiana.

The Nature Conservancy (2020).  Shrader-Weaver Woods. Https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/shrader-weaver-woods, accessed on January 2, 2020.

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Archaeological site 12H1391 was discovered in Survey Area 1 (SA1) as part of a survey of 565 acres (228.6 ha) in Hamilton County conducted by the Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL), Ball State University (Nolan 2014a; Swihart and Nolan 2013). The project was funded by a FY2012 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grant (#18-12-41921-4) administered by the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA). SA1 is a 32-acre (12.9-ha) parcel in Noblesville Township surveyed while actively sown with a mature corn crop on September 30, 2012. Conditions were excellent for pedestrian survey with nearly 100 % visibility between corn rows. SA1 is on upland landform between two tributaries to the White River (> 3 km, 1.86 miles, west) constituted of loamy soils of glacial origin. The soils formed in a combination of poorly drained wet prairie (Aquoll) and wet forest (Aqualf) and rises of moderately well drained dry forest (Udalf) (Soil Survey Staff 2011).

Upland landforms far removed from navigable waterways are often not considered places with high potential for significant archaeological remains. Such settings are often found to contain small, low density lithic scatters, and are often not considered for additional research. Because of this, they are regularly overlooked in publicly funded archaeological surveys (Dunlop 2018; Peacock and Rafferty 2007; Nolan 2020). However, as part of the HPF funded survey, the AAL conducted an exploratory geochemical and geophysical survey to attempt to identify typically invisible patterns in the archaeological record, particularly gardens and fields (Nolan 2014b). In addition to typical surface survey where artifacts are collected, 155 soil samples were collected from just below the surface (within the plowzone, Ap horizon) for soil phosphate and magnetic susceptibility analysis. Phosphate analysis has a long history of use in archaeology to identify villages and garbage disposal areas (Eidt 1973; Holliday and Gartner 2007; Roos and Nolan 2012; Solecki 1951) due to it being universally present in organic remains that decay on such sites. However, it is also a vital nutrient extracted from the soil by crops and can also be used to track agricultural extraction, not just intensive habitation (Nolan 2014b). Indigenous communities often used burning to encourage useful plants and maintain ecological communities, including burning of crop residues to facilitate management of nutrients and weeds. Burning creates a special kind of magnetic particle (superparamagnetic grains) that increase the ability of a soil sample to conduct a low frequency magnetic field (magnetic susceptibility) (Dearing 1999; Tite and Mullins 1971). It is suspected that some Indigenous, precontact agricultural systems employed burning as a land clearance and fertilization technique, and therefore places of increased magnetic susceptibility and decreased phosphate may represent precontact gardens or agricultural fields.

A total of 11 new sites (12H1391 through 12H1401) were defined within SA1, eight of which were located on dry forest soils above the poorly drained areas. Site 12H1391 is the largest site with 10 of the 37 precontact artifacts recovered from SA1, including Late Woodland and Middle Archaic diagnostic tools (Figure 1). The remainder of the artifact assemblage consists of expedient ground stone tools (n=2), expedient chipped stone tools (n=3), and the remnants of stone tool productions (n=3). As a small (0.2 acres, 900 m2) lithic scatter, many investigations would not dig further into the nature of the site (literally or metaphorically). However, Swihart and Nolan’s (2013; Nolan 2014b) phosphate and magnetic survey revealed that the largest clusters of artifacts were immediately adjacent to areas where the soil was depleted in phosphate (P anomalies) and magnetically enriched (MS anomalies). These anomalous soil properties were not explained by soil type or local landform contours (Nolan 2014b) (Figure 2).

Site 12H1391 is interpreted as a precontact Indigenous garden measuring approximately 0.6 acres (0.24 ha), possibly associated with the Late Woodland period (Nolan 2014b; Swihart and Nolan 2013). It appears to be the result of repeated usage (depleted nutrients) and possibly repeated, low intensity burning (increased magnetic susceptibility). Further chemical analysis (Nolan et al. 2014) revealed that areas suspected as gardens (red “targets” in Figure 2) were also depleted in iron, potassium, copper, and zinc. Site 12H1393 is another lithic scatter consisting of seven precontact artifacts on the edge of a possible garden. Six of the seven artifacts are tools (Swihart and Nolan 2013: Appendix F). Both 12H1391 and 12H1393 contain a high proportion of utilized expedient tools as confirmed by use-wear analysis (Swihart 2016). Site 12H1391, and potentially site 12H1393, are consistent in size and activity distribution with documented Indigenous household gardens documented in ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and other archaeological work (Nolan 2014b:151-152). Very few Indigenous gardens and fields have been identified in the Ohio Valley (see Purtill et al. 2006).

Site 12H1391 illustrates the possibility of identifying typically ignored types of archaeological signatures, or behaviors that are invisible to standard archaeological methods (see especially Dunlop 2018; Hasenstab 2008; Shott 1985). One of the most common site types encountered in federally funded compliance surveys are small lithic scatters. As these sites often lack artifacts indicative of the period of occupation, or large quantities of artifacts, archaeologists tend to classify them as “insignificant” and opt not to collect more information. The investigation of SA1 -- encompassing traditional survey but expanding into geoarchaeological analysis and use-wear -- demonstrates that these small sites in the uplands can yield surprising data on the nature of Indigenous life, food production, and environment interaction. That is, these traditionally overlooked sites have “information potential” (sensu Nolan 2020), and archaeologists can and should find creative ways to extract more data from these unknown portions of the archaeological record (for other examples see Nolan et al. 2018; Peacock et al. 2008; and others cited in Nolan 2020). For these reasons, site 12H1391 was recommended as eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D (36 CFR 60.4(d)).

References

Dearing, John (1999). Environmental Magnetic Susceptibility: Using the Bartington MS2 System. Second Edition. Bartington Instruments, Oxford.

Dunlop, John E. (2018). Pushing the Limits: Testing, Magnetometry and Ontario Lithic Scatters. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Graduate Program in Anthropology, University of Western Ontario, London.

Eidt, Robert C. (1973). A Rapid Chemical Field Test for Archaeological Site Surveying. American Antiquity 38:206-210.

Hasenstab, Robert J. (2008).  The “Lithic Scatter” as an Artifact of Field Testing. In Current Approaches to the Analysis and Interpretation of Small Lithic Sites in the Northeast, edited by CB Reith, pp. 11-36. New York State Museum Bulletin Series 508, New York State Education Department, Albany, New York.

Holliday, Vance T. and William G. Gartner (2007). Methods of Soil P Analysis in Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science 34(2):301-333.

Nolan, Kevin C. (2014a). Prehistoric Landscape Exploitation Strategies Through Time in Central Ohio: A GIS Analysis. Journal of Ohio Archaeology 3:12-37.

Nolan, Kevin C. (2014b). Prospecting for Prehistoric Gardens: Results of a Pilot Study. Archaeological Prospection 21:147-54.

Nolan, Kevin C. (2020). Bringing Archaeology into the Information Age: Entropy, Noise, Channel Capacity, and Information Potential in Archaeological Significance Assessments. Quality and Quantity 54:1171-1196. doi:  10.1007/s11135-020-00980-0 .

Nolan, Kevin C., James Leak, and Cameron Quimbach (2018). The Single-Pass Survey and the Collector: A Reasonable Effort in Good Faith? In Collaborative Engagement: Working with Responsible Private Collectors and Collections, edited by Michael Shott, Mark F. Seeman, and Kevin C. Nolan, pp. 51-66. Occasional Papers No. 3, Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology.

Nolan, Kevin C., Matthew R. Swihart, and Brad R. Painter (2014). Geochemical Analysis of Possible Garden Sites in Hamilton County, Indiana. Poster presented in the “Learning in Action: Student Centered Research at the Applied Anthropology Laboratories 2010-2014” symposium organized by K.C. Nolan at the 58th Annual Midwest Archaeological Conference, Urbana, Illinois.

Peacock, Evan, James K. Feathers, Jeffrey Alvey, and Keith Baca (2008). Space, Time, and Form at the Pinnix Site (22GR795): A “Lithic Scatter” in the North Central Hills of Mississippi. Mississippi Archaeology 43(1):67-106.

Peacock, Evan and Janet Rafferty (2007). Cultural Resource Management Guidelines and Practice in the United States. In Quality Management in Archaeology, edited by Willem Willems and Monique van den Dries, pp. 113-134. Oxbow Books, Oxford.

Purtill, Matthew P., Cinder Miller, Donald A. Miller, Marcia Vehling, Brandon L. McCuin, and Susan E. Allen (2006). Phase II Archaeological Investigations at Sites 15BE485 and 15BE489 as part of the Proposed Sanitation District No. 1 Western Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, Boone County, Kentucky. Gray & Pape, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Roos, Christopher I. and Kevin C. Nolan (2012). Phosphates, Plowzones, and Plazas: A Minimally Invasive Approach to Infer Settlement Structure of Plowed Village Sites in the Midwestern USA. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(1):23-32, doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.06.033.

Shott, Michael J. (1985). Shovel-Test Sampling as a Site Discovery Technique: A Case Study from Michigan. Journal of Field Archaeology 12(4):457-468.

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA (2011). Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database for Hamilton County, Indiana. Available online at  http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov.  Accessed 03/23/2011.

Solecki, R. S. (1951). Notes on Soil Analysis and Archaeology. American Antiquity 16:254-256.

Swihart, Matthew R. (2016). Delineating Potential Site Functions through Use-Wear Analysis of Flaked Stone Tools: A Study of Archaeological Sites in Hamilton County, Indiana. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Department of Anthropology, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Swihart, Matthew R. and Kevin C. Nolan (2013). Distributional Analysis of Archaeological Remains in the Upper White River Basin: An Archaeological Survey of Hamilton County, Indiana. Reports of Investigation 82, Volume 1 and 2, edited and compiled by K.C. Nolan. Applied Archaeology Laboratories, Department of Anthropology, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Tite, Michael S. and Christopher Mullins (1971). Enhancement of the Magnetic Susceptibility of Soils on Archaeological Sites. Archaeometry 13:209-219.

Henry County has several impressive individual archaeological sites that deserve to be highlighted but presenting one landscape seemed more appropriate. The Blue River valley is beautiful with rolling topography and a seemingly misnamed “Big” river, since it is little more than an underfit stream in a large valley. However, if you go back ten to twelve millennia to the melting of the glaciers and imagine the torrents of water that carved the valley, it would have truly been a big river. Today the river valley is fed by many small streams. Several natural springs occur on the valley slopes (Burkett and Hicks 1986). In the previous millennia, the valley hosted diverse biotic communities from hardwood forests to prairies and marshes. There have been numerous archaeological projects in the Big Blue River valley from avocational to professional field surveys identifying new archaeological sites; resurveys of previously recorded sites; conducting collector interviews; test excavations for determining the eligibility of sites for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP); and reanalysis of previous artifact collections. A few sites from this landscape have been chosen for recognition.

The New Castle site (12HN1) is a Middle Woodland earthwork complex located along the eastern valley edge. The site contains several subrectangular enclosures, one conical mound, and a linear wall (Figure 1). The earthworks were documented in some of the earliest county histories. Redding (1892) noted that early cultivation had damaged Earthworks 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11. In 1906, 1,042 acres north of New Castle were selected as the site for the Indiana Village of Epileptics (Radford 1992:162). In 1913, Colony No. 3 was built at the location of the earthwork complex, causing the destruction of largest enclosure and several small enclosures (Flynn 1974). Excavations at the complex were conducted by Ball State University (BSU) archaeological field schools between 1965 and 1972 (Swartz 1976), and limited testing and re-mapping in the late 1990s occurred (McCord 1998, 1999, 2008). The excavations focused on the small mound (Mound 1), a small subrectangular enclosure (Earthwork 6), and an elliptical/panduriform mound and enclosure (Mound 4). Investigations of Mound 1 revealed at least four construction episodes and recovered burned bone, charcoal, red ocher, ash, lithic debris and a sheet of untrimmed mica associated with fragmented human remains. Excavation of Earthwork 6 recovered several Archaic points predating the construction of the enclosure, lithic debris from the central platform and a deposit of over 100 Middle Woodland sherds in the ditch. Approximately 85 to 90% of Mound 4 was excavated. Primary features documented by the excavations were two extensive ash deposits, one at the east end of the mound and one at the west end. Burials discovered throughout the mound occurred as extended inhumations, dis-articulated inhumations and cremations. The excavations recovered a variety of materials, but most noteworthy were several thousand sherds isolated on the west end of the mound, a platform pipe and five conch shell containers from the west central area, a copper panpipe from the center of the mound, a zoned rocker dentate stamped ceramic vessel from the east end, and four copper covered imitation bear canines also from the east end

In 1972 the land containing the New Castle site was transferred to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for the development of the Wilbur Wright State Recreation Area (Radford 1992). The site was listed in the NRHP in 1976. The site is part of the regional Middle Woodland New Castle Phase dating between 250 BC and AD 350 based on radiocarbon evidence and has close affinities to the earthwork complex at Mounds State Park in Anderson, Indiana (see Madison County). 

Two other New Castle Phase sites that lie on eastern edge of Big Blue River valley include the White site (12HN10) and the Chrysler enclosure (12HN16). The White site, located in the city of New Castle, originally consisted of three reported mounds, but only a quarter of one mound remained when the site was salvaged in 1968 by Ball State University prior to its destruction (Swartz 1973). The salvaged mound was estimated to be 24 meters in diameter and 3.5 meters in height. Within the excavated portion of the mound were two primary mounds and three log tombs; only one of the log tombs was within a primary mound. At least 14 individuals were interred in the mound. Burials were in extended or semi-flexed positions and were primarily within the log tombs, but three burials (one a possible cremation) were found outside of the log tombs. Other features included a burned area and discrete artifact caches. Some of the artifacts included Adena points, expanded center bar gorgets, a stone pendant, copper bracelets, a copper crescent, copper pins, copper beads, disk shell beads and pottery sherds. The Chrysler enclosure is also located within the city of New Castle and was investigated in 1997 (McCord 1998). There are eight isolated enclosures documented in the early literature in east central Indiana, but Chrysler is the only known surviving isolated enclosure in the area. The enclosure is well preserved and is approximately 43 meters in diameter with a low embankment wall approximately 0.3 meters high. The gateway is oriented to the southeast and aligns to sunrise at the winter solstice. A small mound approximately 5 meters in diameter and 0.15 meters high is located on the west edge of the central platform. The Chrysler enclosure was listed in the NRHP in 1999.

The Late Woodland-aged Commissary (12HN2) and Hesher (12HN298) cemeteries are located within the area that was once the Village for Epileptics. Portions of the Commissary site were excavated by BSU field schools between 1966 and 1968 and 1970 and 1973 (Swartz 1982) and salvage excavations occurred in 1984 (Burkett and Cochran 1984). A portion of the Hesher site was salvaged in 1987 (Cochran et al. 1988). Both sites are associated with the Albee Phase. (The Albee Phase is discussed more fully in the Delaware County article). The BSU field schools at the Commissary site recovered 104 individuals along with a variety of chipped stone tools, ground stone, pottery and modified animal bone (Swartz 1982). The excavations at Hesher recovered 12 burials and 26 other features consisting of circular pits that were likely defleshing pits, fire pits, artifact caches and dog burials. The Commissary site was interpreted as a long-term use cemetery, while Hesher was used over a shorter duration (Cochran et al. 1988:119). While the two sites were closely related by geographic proximity and artifact styles, the burial modes and frequency of non-burial feature types indicate social differences (Cochran et al. 1988:121).

The Van Nuys site typifies what a persistent place the Big Blue River valley was for precontact peoples. The Van Nuys site (12HN25) is multicomponent with material remains dating between the Early Archaic and Late Woodland time periods. The site had a prairie environment at the time of historic settlement. The location of the site provided ready access to the marsh resources to the north and the surrounding upland forest resources. The site was surveyed in 1967 by a BSU field school. The survey found an extensive site but collected only 51 artifacts consisting of tools and pottery (Morris 1968). A plowed-out fire pit was noted on the surface. Excavations were undertaken in 1968 and 1969 in the southeast portion of the site recovering lithics, pottery and documenting post molds (Ferguson 1970; Morris 1969). In 1986, the Van Nuys site was systematically surveyed, and site boundaries were delineated. A total of 3,601 artifacts were recovered from an area of approximately 60 acres. Nine features were also noted. Late Woodland artifacts represented the primary component, but Early Archaic points and Middle Woodland blades were also recovered (Burkett and Hicks 1986). Investigations in the central portion of the site were conducted in 1997 and recovered 1,080 lithic artifacts, 232 sherds, and numerous pieces of burned animal bone (McCord 1998). Investigations were again undertaken in 2018 resulting in the recovery of 319 precontact era artifacts including lithic artifacts, a few sherds and documented a precontact hearth feature (Szmutko et al. 2019). While Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Early Woodland and Middle Woodland artifacts have been recovered from the site, the most intensive occupation(s) occurred during the Late Woodland period and are related to the Albee Phase. The Van Nuys site along with the Commissary and Hesher cemeteries exemplify the pattern Albee Phase settlement in east central Indiana with habitations occurring on the valley floor and mortuary sites occurring on the terrace edge.

Only the most illustrious sites from Big Blue River valley landscape have been highlighted, but many exist. Nearly 500 archaeological sites have been identified in Henry County, and most are either within or near the valley. The topographic, physiographic, and biotic diversity within the Big Blue River valley provided a rich environment for human populations.

References

Burkett, Frank and Donald R. Cochran (1984). The Commissary Site Revisited. Reports of Investigation 14. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Burkett, Frank and Ronald Hicks (1986). Archaeological Investigations in the Upper Big Blue River Glacial Sluiceway. Reports of Investigation 21. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Cochran, Donald R., Lisa Maust, Eric Filkins, Mitch Zoll, Sharon Staley, and Ronald Richards (1988). The Hesher Site: A Late Albee Cemetery in East Central Indiana. Reports of Investigation 24. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Ferguson, Roger J. (1970). The Continued Excavation of the Van Nuys Site, A Probably Late Woodland Occupation. Archaeological Reports Number 6, edited by B.K. Swartz Jr., pp. 5-15. Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Flynn, Marta Paul (1974). A History of the New Castle State Hospital, formerly the Indiana Village for Epileptics, 1890-1920. Master’s thesis, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

McCord, Beth K. (1998). An Archaeological Assessment of Three Unique Woodland Sites in Henry County, Indiana. Reports of Investigation 52. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. 

McCord, Beth K. (1999). The New Castle Site Revisited. Reports of Investigation 54. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

McCord, Beth K. (2008). 1999 Excavations at Mounds State Park (12-M-2) and the New Castle Site (12-Hn-1). Reports of Investigation 73. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Morris, Ben J. (1968). A Preliminary Report on the Van Nuys Site, A Probable Woodland Occupation Area. Archaeological Reports 3:23-24, edited by B.K. Swartz, Jr. Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Morris, Ben J. (1969). The Initial Excavation of the Van Nuys Site. Archaeological Reports Number 4:23-30, edited by B.J. Swartz Jr. Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Radford, Darrel (1992). New Castle Indiana: A Pictorial History. G. Bradley Publishing, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri.

Redding, Thomas B. (1892). Prehistoric Earthworks of Henry County, Indiana. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 2:98-106. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Swartz, B.K., Jr. (1973). Mound Three, White Site, Hn-10 (IAS-BSU): The Final Report on a Robbins Manifestation in East Central Indiana. Contributions to Anthropological History, No. 1. Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Swartz, B.K., Jr. (1976). The New Castle Site: A Hopewell Ceremonial Complex in East Central Indiana. Contribution to Anthropological History, No. 2. Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Swartz, B.K., Jr. (1982). The Commissary Site: An Early Late Woodland Cemetery in East Central Indiana. Contribution to Anthropological History, No. 3. Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Szmutko, Cecilia M., Christina Hahn, Sean Coughlin, Kelli Wathen, Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson (2019). An Archaeological Survey of the Wilbur Wright Fish and WildlifeArea. Reports of Investigation 108. Applied Anthropology Laboratories, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

When human remains are uncovered, there can be varied responses, such as awe, excitement, disappointment, fear, and frustration. The deceased should be respected and honored, but there is not always a consensus on how this should be done. Avoidance is often an option, but it may not always be feasible. A great amount can be learned from cemeteries, graves, artifacts, and human remains themselves, and this information can be valuable to the descendants of the deceased and the wider community. When a historical grave located in the middle of a Johnson County road could no longer be protected, it provided opportunities for all involved to reach an agreeable outcome. 

Nancy Kerlin was born on May 14, 1793 in Virginia to Thomas and Anna Kerlin. She married William Barnett in 1808 in Kentucky and had three children. On Dec. 1, 1831 at the age of 38, Nancy Kerlin Barnett passed away and was buried on top of a hill overlooking a beautiful landscape in central Indiana (Find a Grave n.d.). Other burials shortly followed. As the population grew, the community needed another road. The plan was to move the cemetery to another location in order to build the new road in the early 1900s. However, according to local lore Nancy’s grandson stood with his shotgun insisting to keep Nancy Barnett’s grave there. So, CR 400 S was built around the grave, and the story of the “grave in the road” was born. At some point in time, a headstone was placed in concrete over a mound of dirt in the median, and a historical marker was later added. This cemetery is recorded as CR-41-8 in the DHPA's Cemetery and Burial Ground Registry.

As CR 400 S become more traveled with larger vehicles, accidents led to damage to the grave area, eventually exposing human remains. When human remains are found, the coroner’s office and law enforcement are required to be notified, as well as the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) when the remains pre-date 1940. When this burial area was damaged by a vehicle, Johnson County officials notified all relevant parties, secured the site, and coordinated a site visit on October 7, 2015 to discuss the different options. Representatives from the Johnson County Commissioners’ office, legal counsel, the highway department, the County Coroner’s office, and Sheriff’s department met at the site, along with staff from Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Law Enforcement and Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA) (Figure 1). The Commissioner’s office also reached out to the Johnson County Historical Society and to descendants of the Barnett family

The exposed human remains were the immediate concern. Avoidance often can be an option; however, due to the narrow path of the existing road, larger agricultural vehicles, and increased traffic, this situation could easily occur again. Disinterring and reinterring the grave(s) to another cemetery was another possible option, but this would not honor the county’s oral history regarding the location. The preferred solution was to disinter the grave(s) within the median, construct a vault at a lower grade, and rebury the remains in the vault with curbing to prevent cars driving over the graves. This resulted in the protection of the graves, the safety of the community and drivers, and the preservation of the history of the county of having the “grave in the middle of the road.

Archaeologists from the University of Indianapolis (UIndy), under the direction of one of the authors (CWS), conducted remote sensing, archaeological excavation, and meticulous screening of the soil from the median to locate, document, and recover human remains and any associated artifacts (Schmidt 2016). The first feature they encountered was a pit on the south side of the median filled with human remains that turned out to be from an adult male originally placed on the north side of the median. This pit was not a burial; rather, it was a deposit of reburied remains, likely put there by local people who noticed human remains spilling from the median in previous instances of exposure of bones at the site. The archaeologists then encountered a large concrete block that looked somewhat like a burial vault. However, it had no floor and contained no human remains. Based on a few artifacts found within the soil it contained, the concrete block dated to the mid-twentieth century and may have been built as an attempt to stabilize the median. Below the concrete block were the remains of a 30-50 year-old female, likely Nancy Kerlin Barnett. The remains had some damage to them caused, in all likelihood, by the construction of the concrete block. A similarly aged female burial was to the east of the burial thought to be Nancy Barnett. Near the two adult females were four children ranging in ages from newborn to around 10. All seven individuals were within the median. The archaeologists informed relevant parties each time another grave was encountered. 

Osteological analyses of the remains took place at the UIndy Bioarchaeology Laboratory. Along with the remains of an adult male from the reburial pit, a thumbscrew was found that indicated the individual was originally interred in a mid-nineteenth century casket. The other burials were in wooden coffins held together with iron nails and screws consistent with burials from the early to middle nineteenth century. The child immediately south of Nancy had a glass bead necklace, but no other burial had personal effects. The lack of buttons indicates simple funerary clothing such as shrouds or nightshirts. Most of the people had few if any signs of disease on their bones, but one child had a cyst at its sacroiliac joint. Otherwise, pathology was limited to dental caries (cavities) and degenerative joint disease in the adults. Developmentally, the children had no evidence for growth disruption, and their statures were consistent with their dental ages. In all, the adults show signs of physical labor, but there is no evidence for chronic illness among these people, and the deaths of the children and adult females may be attributable to acute conditions like infections. The male’s age was difficult to assess given its condition, but he may have lived long enough to die from age-related issues.     

Upon completion of the new burial vault within the median, UIndy archaeologists placed all human remains and burial artifacts in new wooden caskets built by the Willard family, who descend from Nancy Kerlin Barnett. Importantly, the archaeological excavation and analyses allowed the re-association of human remains disturbed during their time in the median. The child with the necklace, Nancy, and the adult male had parts of their skeletons disturbed by damage to the earthen median. Careful recovery in the field, and study in the lab, allowed archaeologists to return dozens of bones to their respective set of remains. Finally, hearses transported the new caskets from UIndy to a graveside service where living descendants placed the deceased in the new vault in their original relative positions. Workers then filled the vault with earth and eventually covered the entire median with concrete (Figure 2). The original headstone and historic marker were taken to the Johnson County Museum of History. A new headstone was placed flat in the median concrete, and a new marker is planned to be placed off to the side of the road.

Successfully protecting cultural heritage requires close cooperation between communities and those trained in its preservation. Archaeology provides a unique window to human history, but our work must acknowledge the concerns of those affected by our studies. The Nancy Kerlin Barnett excavation is a positive example of people working together to professionally and respectfully deal with the sensitive nature of excavating human remains. Its success as an archaeological project stems directly from the efforts of several Johnson County leaders, departments, and agencies, as well as the vital input of the descendant families and community members who helped to recover, protect, and learn from these precious human remains. This collaborative effort received the Indiana Archaeology Award from the DHPA in 2017.

References

Find a Grave (n.d.). Nancy Kerlin Barnett. Electronic document,  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7605185/nancy-kerlin_barnett , accessed on May 28, 2020.

Schmidt, Christopher W. (2016). Excavation Permit Request, Nancy Kerlin Barnett grave. University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana.

People around the world have created monuments of earth and stone for at least 4,000 years. Historic records show that there were once more than 2,100 earthen monuments contained in 1,100 sites in Indiana alone; several thousand more were scattered throughout the Ohio Valley (McCord and Cochran 2015). Anderson Mounds is one of these monumental earthwork sites. The term earthwork refers to any structure made from earth, including the forms of mounds and enclosures. Mounds are artificial piles of earth, while enclosures have shapes of earth that enclose a space. Most enclosures are made by excavating a ditch and piling the dirt to the outside to form a wall or an embankment, although some enclosures are made by building an earthen wall without an associated ditch.

The earliest historic settlers of the land containing Anderson Mounds were the Bronnenberg family, who preserved the earthworks in their original wooded setting. In the 1890s the land passed into the hands of the Union Traction Company, who built an amusement park around the earthworks but still managed to preserve them relatively unharmed. They passed into the protective care of the State of Indiana in 1930, and the site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Today the site is within Mounds State Park, the second smallest park in the state park system. Anderson Mounds is the most well-preserved Middle Woodland earthwork complex in the state.

Mounds State Park contains several kinds of archaeological remains. The most prominent remains are the 2,000-year-old Middle Woodland earthworks, but the land within the park was used by earlier and later aboriginal people. Archaeological surveys of the park have documented several small sites where a few chipped stone tools and fire-broken rocks occur. None of these sites are large, and they represent intermittent and repeated use of the area over 10,000 years, beginning by 8,000 BC and continuing up through at least AD 1400. No large village sites are documented within the park, suggesting the land was used for ceremonial, not residential, purposes. Only one aboriginal site other than the enclosures has been excavated by archaeologists. The park also contains several historic era sites including the archaeological deposits left by the Bronnenberg family and the Union Traction Company.

In 2001, a synthesis of the archaeology of the Anderson Mounds site was completed (Cochran and McCord 2001). Since then, archaeological research within the earthwork complex and related sites in east central Indiana has continued with the acquisition of new information and refined interpretations. The earthwork complex consists of 12 reported earthworks including 11 enclosures and one mound (Figure 1). The enclosures are divided between a southern group of seven and a northern group of three. The southern group is traditionally described as circular in shape and the northern group as rectangular in shape. In the southern group, four enclosures have been verified, mapped and tested; one reported enclosure location has been tested but not found; and the three remaining reported enclosures have been variously described as destroyed or missing. A reconnaissance survey and an intense documents investigation identified the potential locations of these three enclosures (Cochran and McCord 2019). In the northern group, two enclosures have been found and mapped but one is considered badly damaged or destroyed by construction of the campground. The latter enclosure was clearly recorded on a 1930 aerial photograph (Lilly 1937). The one isolated mound in the complex was severely looted and is positioned about halfway between the two groups. Radiocarbon dates show that the earthwork complex was built and used for over 400 years beginning about 250 BC and continuing until at least AD 100. The people who constructed and used the site were a local group participating in the Ohio Valley ceremonial patterns known as Adena and Hopewell, but interpreted at a regional level. Anderson Mounds is one of five earthwork complex sites that define the local group termed the New Castle phase in east central Indiana (Cochran and McCord 2001; Cox 1879; Lilly 1937; McCord and Cochran 2014; Smith 1932).

Anderson Mounds does not exist in isolation and can only be understood in relation to other earthwork sites in east central Indiana. Ceremonial and ritual activities, including mortuary activities, are commonly associated with the sites. The observation of solar events has also been documented at the site (Cochran 1992). Other activities likely included social gatherings, dances, singing, trade, celebrations, games, gambling and storytelling. These activities could not be empirically documented but are suggested by historic sources (Brown 1997; DeBoer 1997; Miller 2001). Of course, the category of “ceremonial activities” has long been associated with earthwork sites (e.g., Squier and Davis 1848; Webb and Snow 1945). Such ceremonies conducted for world renewal, creation, death and rebirth, rites of passage, reincorporation, production of ceremonial objects, feasting, renewing and creating kinship ties and ancestor worship are possibilities (Brown 1997; Carr 2005; DeBoer 1997; Hall 1997; Miller 2001; Romain 2000; Seeman 1979). Differences in the site structure and arrangement of earthworks within the regional sites are viewed as indications that different activities were meant to occur at the various sites. Anderson Mounds represents only one site within a network of sites that were carefully placed within east central Indiana to satisfy complex layers of ideas about the organization and relationships of the people that built the site. 

References

Brown, James A. (1997). The Archaeology of Ancient Religion in the Eastern Woodlands. Annual Review of Anthropology 26:465-485.

Carr, Christopher (2005). Salient Issues in the Social and Political Organizations of Northern Hopewellian Peoples. In Gathering Hopewell, edited by Christopher Carr and D. Troy Case, pp. 73-118. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

Cochran, Donald R. (1992).  Adena and Hopewell Cosmologies: New Evidence from East Central Indiana. Proceedings of the East Central Indiana Native American Cultural Symposium. Minnetrista Cultural Center, Muncie, Indiana.

Cochran, Donald R. and Beth K. McCord (2001). The Archaeology of Anderson Mounds, Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana. Reports of Investigation 61. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Cochran, Donald R. and Beth K. McCord (2019). Updating the Archaeology of Anderson Mounds. Indiana Archaeology 14(1):7-23.

Cox, E. T. (1879).  Eight, Ninth and Tenth Annual Reports of the Geological Survey of Indiana. Indiana Department of Geology and Natural History, Indianapolis.

DeBoer, Warren R. (1997). Ceremonial Centers form the Cayapas (Esmeraldas, Ecuador) to Chillicothe (Ohio). Cambridge Archaeological Journal 7(2):225-253.

Hall, Robert L. (1997). An Archaeology of the Soul: North American Indian Belief and Ritual. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois.  

Lilly, Eli (1937). Prehistoric Antiquities of Indiana. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis.

McCord, Beth K. and Donald R. Cochran (2014). Redefining the New Castle Phase. Indiana Archaeology 9(1):137-156.

McCord, Beth K. and Donald R. Cochran (2015). Native American Mounds and Earthworks of Indiana: A Statewide Inventory. Prepared for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

Miller, Jay (2001). Instilling the Earth: Explaining Mounds. American Indian Culture and Research Journal 25(3):161-177.

Romain, William F. (2000). Mysteries of the Hopewell: Astronomers, Geometers, and Magicians of the Eastern Woodlands. The University of Akron Press, Akron.

Seeman, Mark F. (1979). Feasting with the Dead: Ohio Hopewell Charnel House Ritual as a Context for Redistribution. In Hopewell Archaeology: The Chillicothe Conference, edited by David S. Brose and N’omi Greber, pp. 39-46. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.

Smith, Dudley (1932). The Mound Builders of Indiana and Mounds State Park. Indiana Department of Conservation Publication 15.

Squire, E.G. and E. H. Davis (1848). Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley. Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge Series. Bartlett & Welford, New York.

Webb, William S. and Charles E. Snow (1945). The Adena People. University of Kentucky Reports in Anthropology and Archaeology 6. Lexington, Kentucky.

Introduction

From November 2014 through April 2016, AECOM managed the archaeological monitoring program during the construction of the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation’s (IndyGo) Julia M. Carson Transit Center Project (the Project) located in downtown Indianapolis. This monitoring resulted in the identification and eventual data recovery studies on site 12MA979, an extensive subterranean resource previously unknown prior to excavation work for the Project. Encountered following the removal of the late twentieth century parking lot which covered the 2.02-acre city block since the 1970s, this site contained the extensive archaeological footprint of the urban block, with intact features and deposits dating from the mid-late nineteenth and early twentieth century occupation of downtown Indianapolis. Conducted concurrent with the development of the new Transit Center, the data recovery investigations documented over 200 historic-era foundations and subsurface features and recovered over 100,000 artifacts, which collectively represent one of the largest archaeological data sets available for pre-modern Indianapolis, and as such illuminates both the urban history of the city and the potential for intact archaeological deposits beneath the modern landscape of Indianapolis.

2014-2016 Construction Monitoring and Data Recovery at Site 12MA979

Starting in November 2014, IndyGo initiated construction for the new Transit Center, located on the 0.82-hectare (2.02-acre) city block directly across Washington Street from the Marion County Justice Center and Richard G. Lugar Plaza in downtown Indianapolis. Upon removal of the pavement and initiation of subsurface excavations, structural evidence of the pre-modern occupation of this block was quickly encountered, manifest as remnant walls correspondent with buildings dating from the late nineteenth through mid-twentieth century. In consultation with the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology and the Federal Transit Administration, IndyGo and AECOM enhanced the initial monitoring regimen with a series of protocols for effectively documenting, assessing and recovering archaeological data from the extensive degree of intact cultural features and deposits uncovered across the city block over the next 18 months. Subsequently inventoried as site 12MA979, these investigations, conducted in tandem with a large construction crew and aggressive completion schedule for this critical public infrastructure, provided invaluable and unique information on the occupation and activities of an urban block in the heart of downtown Indianapolis from the mid-nineteenth century and into the early modern era.   

In total, the monitoring and data recovery efforts undertaken on site 12MA979 resulted in the identification and thorough documentation of 166 foundation remnants and 111 extant historic-era features, and the recovery of 134,593 cultural specimens (including 113,496 individual historic-era artifacts, 21 precontact artifacts and extensive faunal and ethnobotanical remains; Favret et al. 2019). These materials, foundations, and features represent an extensive array of historic-era elements diagnostic to every recognized historic period for the city of Indianapolis, extending from the founding of the city in the 1820s up to the encapsulation of these archaeological deposits with the installation of the surface pavement for use as a city parking lot in the 1970s.

Historic Context of Site 12MA979

Site 12MA979 is located in the north half of Block 63, established in 1820 as part of the “mile square” of downtown Indianapolis, and fronts onto East Washington Street, the centrally located, principal commercial thoroughfare in the city directly south of courthouse square. Washington Street functioned as the center of commercial activity in early Indianapolis, and its importance grew with the coming of the National Road by 1834. Available historic documents for site 12MA979 suggest that Daniel Yandes, a prominent local businessman and early settler in the area, built a double log cabin and later a frame residence along Washington Street at this location (Sulgrove 1884). In addition, the Indianapolis Hotel (later the Union Inn), which was owned by the third Governor of Indiana, James B. Ray, also occupied 12MA979 during the first three decades of the city’s existence (Orr 2006). Over the next several decades, the block continued to develop commercially and residentially; city directories from the 1850s through 1870s list a variety of occupants and activities, including residences and boarding houses, groceries and provisions shops, law offices, liveries, silversmiths, home furnishings stores, barbers, doctor’s offices, stove and carriage manufacturers, cabinet makers, undertakers and masonic lodges. By the mid-1870s, 12MA979 was also home to gathering places for German social societies and what may have been the first Jewish synagogue in Indianapolis (Hawes & Co. 1865; IHC 2016) as well as possibly the first African-American masonic lodge in the city (Sulgrove 1884). 

During the 1860s and 1870s, numerous abutting buildings were constructed along East Washington Street and South Delaware Street. By the 1880s, the section of Washington Street within site 12MA979 was fronted by 21 individual businesses, from 101 through 149 along the south side of the street; by the early 1900s, similar commercial buildings also extended along South Alabama Street (R.L. Polk & Company 1878, 1885, 1895). The area to the rear of these buildings, in the southern quarter of the site along East Pearl Street, was less developed and underwent many cycles of construction and demolition of above ground structures over the years. Following nearly 150 years of continual urban use of the block, the buildings were razed in the 1970s and the site converted into a parking lot, which remained in use through 2014.

Features, Foundations and Artifacts; The Archaeological Footprint of Pre-Modern Indianapolis

The archaeological monitoring and investigations of site 12MA979 identified 166 brick and cut stone foundation remnants associated with 32 former buildings that fronted East Washington Street, South Delaware Street, East Pearl Street, and South Alabama Street. These foundations are generally consistent with construction materials and techniques common to the documented occupation of the city and represent buildings which once stood at this location over an approximate 110-year period originating in the 1850s. These buildings were largely utilized for commercial business operations, although the city directories indicated there were boarding houses, residential spaces above businesses, and residential buildings along East Pearl Street as early as 1855.   

A total of 111 archaeological features were identified at 12MA979. Feature types identified include architectural or building (12), water collection/storage (23), refuse pits (29), privies (7), post molds (22), linear trenches (9), indeterminate function/other (2), and non-historic (4). In general, the features were concentrated in the “open space” behind, between or adjacent to buildings, with the exception of a small number of features on the inside of foundations, indicating they predate the associated structure(s). These features reflect use of the site through most of the urban occupation of Indianapolis and exhibit various changing needs of the community, such as the termination of water supply features (cisterns and wells) once public water became available in the 1880s, and the integration of electrical systems into the commercial buildings in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Refuse pits contained artifacts dating from the early 1800s, the earliest historic occupation of 12Ma979, through the modern era, consistent with the continual commercial and residential occupation of the site beginning in the 1820s. 

The archaeological investigations at site 12MA979 yielded a total of 134,593 precontact, historic and faunal specimens. The extensive historic artifact assemblage recovered from the site encompass a wide range of types and functional classes, including architectural elements such as bricks, window pane glass, nails, and architectural embellishments; a wide range of domestic materials such as tablewares, container glass, and utilitarian crockery pieces; medicine bottles; as well as personal items including buttons, smoking pipes, coins, toys, and leather shoe fragments. The depositional context and wide range of recovered artifacts and faunal remains collectively reveal significant information concerning the domestic and commercial activities and historic lifeways which occurred in downtown Indianapolis from as early as the 1820s and into the mid-twentieth century. A small amount of precontact lithic artifacts (n=20) was also recovered from site 12Ma979, consisting of 16 flaked debitage, two fragments of bifacial tools and two projectile points, typed as Terminal Archaic Merom Cluster specimens (Justice 1987).

The Story of Site 12MA979

In the intervening years since the conclusion of the frenetic archaeological investigations across what was a constantly evolving spread of historic features, structures and deposits on an active construction site, sifting through the voluminous mountain of data has been just as daunting as the data collection itself. Condensing the record of historic occupation at site 12MA979 into a concise summary narrative discussion obscures the individual and often discrete stories illuminated across the “IndyGo Collection.” Pulling at seemingly obscure threads within the assemblage offers tantalizing glimpses into the daily life of a thriving urban block near the center of Indianapolis. To cite several examples:

• The 154-count inventory of tobacco pipe fragments, primarily of clay but also including metal specimens, suggests a link between several refuse pit features and at least one of the tobacconists which occupied this city block from the 1860s through 1890s (Edwards 1866);

• A Civil War-era shoulder epaulet recovered from a pit feature which also contained 1860s-era ceramics is particularly interesting given the presence in 1865 of the U.S. Army Paymaster’s Office for the District of Columbia at 111 East Washington Streeton this city block (Edwards 1866);

• A circular brick cistern which yielded over 15,000 specimens dating to the last half of the nineteenth century, including a relatively large amount of glass mugs. This hints at an association with the Union Boarding, Saloon and Billiards Hall, which occupied several locations on this block and was likely owned by former Governor of Indiana James B. Ray prior to his death in 1848 (Orr 2006);

• An intact blacksmith’s quenching trough which contained artifacts dating to the 1890s and first two decades of the twentieth century, located at the site of a large brick structure at 14 Alabama Street and labeled on the 1898 Sanborn map as a “Blacksmith” (Sanborn Map & Publishing Company 1898);

• The white marble fragment of a child’s gravestone marker, recovered in close proximity to a feature identified as the window well of the structure once located at 15 Washington Street, identified in the 1864 Indianapolis City Directory as the residence and business of “Jacob Hermann, Undertaker” (Buell & Williams 1864);

• A possible refuse pit feature in the southwest corner of the site which may have been associated with a discrete residential occupation during the Civil War at the rear of the city block. This feature primarily contained early-mid nineteenth century debris in context with three specimens of Civil War era origin: a brass Union General Service button (embossed with “Extra Quality” on the interior), an unfired lead Minie ball bullet, and an intact glass bottle stamped “Philo M. Clark Indianapolis IND// F&A Co.” Philo Clark established a soda bottling company across several midwestern cities, including Indianapolis, and supplied the Union Army with soda water during the Civil War before selling off his operations at the end of the war in 1865 (Morgan 1911);

• An elevator traction sheave, hoist cable and sign labeled as the “Parkhurst Manufacturing Company,” a local manufacturer of passenger and freight elevators in Peru, Indiana between 1891 and 1906, at which point the Parkhurst Brothers sold their elevator business to the Otis Elevator Company; and 

• A large section of a well-laid soft mud brick floor located below depositional contexts from the 1840s through 1870s, which given horizontal and vertical context likely represents either an intact remnant of the early/mid nineteenth century Indianapolis Hotel and stable, established near this location in 1823, or the frame house constructed by Daniel Yandes at this location in the 1820s, one of the earliest documented occupations in the city (Figure 1; Sulgrove 1884). Several early post-molds identified in the same area may also be associated with this residential occupation.

As evidenced above, this site represents an extensive and unique urban archaeological assemblage of artifactual and depositional data not likely rivaled elsewhere for historic-era Indianapolis. The archaeological investigations conducted at the request of IndyGo have provided an invaluable window into the urban history and development of the city, extending over at least a 130-year period prior to the modern era. The archival research demonstrates that the historic activities documented at 12MA979 are reflective of the development of downtown Indianapolis. Cultural materials, features, and foundations diagnostic to not just periods in the historic development of Indianapolis were encountered during excavation of this city block, but also materials which could be attributed to specific urban contexts, including individual persons and businesses, particularly between the 1860s and 1910s. Further, the presence of this extensive and, in many cases, intact archaeological deposit beneath a 40-year-old parking lot hints at the potential for the presence of similar archaeological sites in these types of urban settings, in areas that are usually assumed to have been severely, if not entirely, impacted by modern development. Site 12MA979 is therefore an important representative example of the possibility that these types of large, intact elements of the pre-modern landscape may yet remain extant beneath the modern asphalt surface of urban centers across both Indiana and neighboring states in the Midwest.  

The archaeological deposits of pre-modern Indianapolis encountered during the 2014-2016 investigations provide important information about the city’s development, including the types of materials available to and used by the residents of Indianapolis from the 1820s through the 1970s. The permanent curation of this collection with the Indiana State Museum therefore provides a potentially unparalleled data set for current and future archaeologists and researchers to mine in seeking to better understand and illuminate the history of urban Indianapolis.

References

Buell & Williams (1864). Indianapolis City Directory and Business Mirror for 1864. Indianapolis. Electronic Document:  http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu/cdm/search/collection/ICD/page/1 , accessed March 2015.

Edwards, Richard (1866). Edwards’ Annual Directory to the Inhabitants, Institutions, Incorporated Companies, Manufacturing Establishments, Business Firms, etc., etc. in the City of Indianapolis for 1865-6. Edwards, Greenough, & DeVed. Electronic Document,  http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu/cdm/search/collection/ICD/page/1 ,  accessed February 2015.

Favret, Amy C., Tammy L. Seiter, Alexander Wise, and Nicholas Arnhold, Benjamin Goodwin, Leeanne Mahoney, and Christopher Leary (2019). Archaeological Monitoring and Investigation, Site 12MA979, the Julia M. Carson Transit Center Project, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana (DHPA #14893). AECOM, Cincinnati.

Hawes & Co. (1865). The Indianapolis City Directory for 1865. Hawes & Co., Indianapolis. Electronic Document,  https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/ICD/id/35902/rec/1  accessed March 2015.

Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation (IHC) (2016). History. Electronic Document,  https://ihcindy.org/who-we-are/ , accessed June 2020.

Justice, Noel D. (1987). Stone Age Spear and Arrow Points of the Midcontinental and Eastern United States. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.

Morgan, Perl W. (1911). History of Wyandotte County, Kansas and its People, Volume II. Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois.

Orr, Patricia S. (2006). The Union Inn, aka Indianapolis Hotel, Indianapolis, 1821 to 1836. The Hoosier Genealogist 46(4):197-199.

R.L. Polk & Company (1878). R.L. Polk & Co.’s Indianapolis Directory for 1878. R.L. Polk & Company, Indianapolis.

R.L. Polk & Company (1885). R.L. Polk & Co.’s Indianapolis Directory for 1885. R.L. Polk & Company, Indianapolis.

R.L. Polk & Company (1895). R.L. Polk & Co.’s Indianapolis Directory for 1895. R.L. Polk & Company, Indianapolis.

Sanborn Map & Publishing Company (1898). Insurance Maps of Indianapolis, Indiana. Sanborn Map & Publishing Company, Limited, New York.

Sulgrove, B.R. (1884). History of Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana. L.H. Everts & Company, Philadelphia.

The Fudge site (12R10) is a large rectangular earthen enclosure approximately 31 acres in size located in White River Township in Randolph County (Figure 1). The site is within the New Castle Till Plains and Drainageways and the surrounding terrain is characterized as a relatively featureless till plain of low relief. The Fudge site (12R10) is the largest earthen enclosure recorded in Indiana (Lilly 1937) and is the only Indiana site to be featured in the illustrated Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (Squier and Davis 1848). An adaptation of this drawing was included in several other references (Baldwin 1872:40; Bancroft 1883:762-763; Shetrone 1930). An elliptical mound 100’ in diameter and 8' to 15' high was in the center of the enclosure (Cox 1879:135; Lilly 1937; Setzler 1931; Squier and Davis 1848:93; Tucker 1882:14). The site has been associated with the broader Adena and Hopewell complexes of eastern North America (Cochran and McCord 2001; Kellar and Swartz 1971; Lilly 1937; McCord and Cochran 2000; Setzler 1931; Vickery 1970) and more recently as part of the regionally defined New Castle Phase (McCord and Cochran 2008, 2014). As early as 1865, the earthwork was being destroyed by various activities including quarrying for clay and gravel, and agricultural, residential, transportation, recreation and communication activities (Anonymous 1885, 1980; Cox 1879:134; Phinney 1882:193; Tucker 1882:14).  

Under the auspices of the Indiana Historical Bureau, Indiana Historical Society and Smithsonian Institution, Frank Setzler (1930, 1931) excavated the mound and tested a portion of the embankment. Setzler’s excavation occurred just before the landowner had planned to remove the mound with a steam shovel to level the ground for farming. The mound contained a submound burial pit 3' deep containing the skeleton of an adult male. The skeleton had been placed on a layer of bark within a wooden structure. Along the sides of the pit vertical post holes 6" in diameter had been placed. The burial was disarticulated, apparently due to settling of the mound after burial. Above the abdomen of the burial was a human skull of an adult. Around the burial pit on the north, west, and east sides were found two distinct lines of vertical posts on the original ground surface. Unfortunately, the post hole pattern was not noticed within the pit or around it on the south side until that area had been excavated, but it was assumed that the post hole pattern encompassed the burial pit. A layer of red ochre and bark covered an area of 20 by 20 feet above the burial pit. Two caches of artifacts were recovered from the mound. The first cache contained cremated animal and bird bones, two large points, a sandstone tablet, and a concave‑sided gorget. The artifacts were placed over the cremated bone. This cache was “covered with a heavy layer of bark and ocher” (Setzler 1930:220). The second cache was deposited on the original sod line and was surrounded by ochre, bark and cremated animal bone. It contained two badly decomposed leather pouches containing eight copper bracelets in each. The pouches were lined with several layers of twined cloth. The bracelets encircled strips of bark and a material that looked like human arm bones. An undrilled expanded center gorget was found beneath one of the pouches. This offering was also covered with bark and red ochre. In addition to the two caches, five broken chipped flint objects and one piece of pottery were recovered from the mound fill. The test excavation in the south wall of the embankment revealed the same kind of soil found in the mound. Small fragments of charcoal, burnt clay and ashes were above the original sod line, and a heavy concentration of charcoal was found near the center of the embankment. No evidence of posts such as those reported by Phinney (1882) were encountered.

In 2005 the Archaeological Resources Management Service (ARMS) at Ball State University recognized that this site still contained tremendous potential for understanding the regional Early/Middle Woodland ceremonial/mortuary system and investigated the site under a Historic Preservation Fund Grant administered by the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. This project involved a review of the archaeological setting and changes in landuse, pedestrian surveys of the enclosure and surrounding area, an instrument survey of portions of the site, limited test excavations along the northern embankment wall, completion of a National Register nomination, and public outreach. The main objective of the project was to further our understanding of Early/Middle Woodland ceremonial and settlement systems in eastern Indiana and the Ohio River valley through investigations of the Fudge site chronology, construction and function (McCord 2006). 

 The project documented that approximately 46% of the embankment walls had been destroyed, and the remaining walls were reduced significantly in height. However, more of the site was preserved than was visible on the surface. Magnetometer surveys of the site defined the presence of subsurface anomalies relating to the excavated mound and the plowed-down western gateway extension. While these features were no longer visible, they retain the potential to produce important information concerning the site construction and function.

 The pedestrian survey of the Fudge enclosure and surrounding areas identified several new archaeological sites. It confirmed the absence of large amounts of precontact habitation debris within the enclosure and found only tentative examples of Middle Woodland occupation in the nearby area. Historical artifacts were identified within the enclosure indicative of the more modern use of the landscape and disturbances to the enclosure.

 The 2005 excavations were limited to nine small test units placed along the northern embankment wall. The excavations recovered few artifacts. but three radiocarbon dates were obtained from various locations in the embankment wall. The calibrated dates ranged between 110 B.C. to A.D. 220. The radiocarbon dates and the stratigraphy recorded suggest multiple stages of construction. The original ground surface at the northern embankment wall was also prepared by removing the original ground surface. The embankment wall was most likely constructed from locally available soils that were deposited by baskets or sweeping.

 In sum, the 2005 project confirmed that important archaeological information still exists within the Fudge site. While the site was disturbed by various activities during the Historic era, a large portion of the site retains integrity. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

 The Fudge site is part of a unique collection of earthworks in east central Indiana that have been identified as part of the New Castle Phase (McCord and Cochran 2014). Three types of earthwork sites are recognized in this regional phase: enclosure complexes, mounds, and isolated enclosures (Cochran 1992). The Fudge site is identified as a complex due to the large size and is one of only three sites in the east central Indiana region with a rectangular shape. It is unprecedented in size in the region and the state. The rectangular structure without an associated circle and the placement of gateways along the middle of the wall also appears to be an unusual form of earthwork construction throughout the Ohio Valley (Squier and Davis 1848). Only three other earthworks sites from east central Indiana are listed on the National Register: Anderson Mounds within Mounds State Park, the New Castle site within Wilbur Wright Fish and Wildlife Area, and the Chrysler Enclosure in New Castle (see Madison County and Henry County for more information on these sites). The current radiocarbon chronology for the sites shows that the enclosure complexes have the earliest dates. While sampling error might be a problem, it appears that the constructed landscape began with the demarcation of the complexes. While the enclosure complex sites were in use, the isolated mounds representing other ritual activities were added to the constructed landscape. They were gathering areas for the region and each likely has a unique function within the regional system, but the mechanics of these different roles within the system are not fully understood at this time.

Anonymous (1885). Prehistoric Men, Mound-Builders in Indiana. The Indianapolis News, September 14, 1885.

Anonymous (1980). Combined Atlas of Randolph County, Indiana. Including 1865 Wall Map, 1874 Atlas, 1909 Plat Book and Historical Appendix. Reprinted by the Bookmark, Knightstown, Indiana.

Baldwin, John D. (1872). Ancient America in Notes on American Archaeology. Harper and Brothers Publishers, New York.

Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1883). The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Vol. 4, The Native Races. A.L. Bancroft and Co. Publishers, San Francisco.

Cochran, Donald R. (1992). Adena and Hopewell Cosmologies: New Evidence from East Central Indiana. In Proceedings of the East Central Indiana Native American Cultural Symposium, edited by Ronald Hicks, pp. 26-40. Minnetrista Cultural Center, Muncie.

Cochran, Donald R. and Beth K. McCord (2001). The Archaeology of Anderson Mounds, Mounds State Park, Anderson, Indiana. Reports of Investigation 61. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Cox, E. T. (1879). Eight, Ninth and Tenth Annual Reports of the Geological Survey of Indiana. Indiana Department of Geology and Natural History, Indianapolis.

Kellar, James H. and B.K. Swartz, Jr. (1971). Adena: The Western Periphery. In Adena: The Seeking of an Identity, edited by B.K. Swartz, Jr. Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

Lilly, Eli (1937). Prehistoric Antiquities of Indiana. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis.

McCord, Beth (2006). The Fudge Site: A New Look at an Ancient Monument. Reports of Investigation 67. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

McCord, Beth and Donald R. Cochran (2000). A Survey of Collections: An Archaeological Evaluation of Eight Earthworks in Eastern Indiana. Reports of Investigation 58. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.

McCord, Beth and Donald R. Cochran (2008). The Adena Complex: Identity and Context in East Central Indiana. In Transitions: Archaic and Early Woodland Research in the Ohio Country, edited by Martha P. Otto and Brian G. Redmond. Ohio University Press, Columbus.

McCord, Beth and Donald R. Cochran (2014). Redefining the New Castle Phase: Middle Woodland Landscapes in East Central Indiana. Indiana Archaeology 9(1):137-156. 

Phinney, Arthur J. (1882). Geology of Randolph County. Twelfth Annual Report. Indiana Department of Geology and Natural History, Indianapolis.

Setzler, Frank M. (1930). The Archaeology of the Whitewater Valley. Indiana History Bulletin 7(12):351-549.

Setzler, Frank M. (1931). The Archaeology of Randolph County and the Fudge Mound. Indiana History Bulletin 9(l).

Shetrone, Henry C. (1930). The Mound Builders. Kennikat Press, Inc., Port Washington, New York.

Shetrone, Henry C. (1930). The Mound Builders. Kennikat Press, Inc., Port Washington, New York.

Squier, E. G. and E. H. Davis (1848). Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley. Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge Series. Bartlett & Welford, New York.

Tucker, E. (1882). History of Randolph County, Indiana. A.L. Kingman, Chicago.

Vickery, Kent D. (1970). Excavations at Mounds State Park, 1969 season. MS on file at Indiana University, Bloomington Indiana.

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The general perception of archaeology in Wayne County is dominated by the well-known Middle Woodland Bertsch earthwork complex and the Hayes Arboretum and Waterworks Mounds. Wayne County also has the distinction of figuring prominently in pioneering Late Archaic research, particularly in defining the McWhinney point type and documenting local sites (Heilman 1976). Although Late Archaic artifacts and sites dominate the archaeological record in Wayne County and throughout the Whitewater drainage basin (Angst 1994; Heilman 1976), excavated sites are rare (Cochran 2009). Thus, any site with excavated Late Archaic contexts is vital for research into local and regional Late Archaic subsistence-settlement systems. An excavated Wayne County site that meets those criteria is the Boyd site (12WY289) (Pope 2005).

 The Boyd site was first reported by an avocational archaeologist in 1994. Surface collections from the site included Early and Late Archaic point types and ground stone artifacts. Late Archaic artifacts, particularly Late Archaic Stemmed Cluster points, dominated the diagnostic artifacts. Fire-cracked rock was abundant across the site. The previously cultivated site was located on an eroded Miami silt loam soil on the upland valley edge overlooking the shallow valley of a tributary of the Whitewater River and less than a mile from the river. The site was just over an acre in size. Because of planned construction, test excavations were carried out by Landmark Archaeological and Environmental Services, Inc., to determine whether subsurface features were present. Testing of about 18% of the site area through excavation of backhoe trenches to the base of the plow zone revealed two areas of preserved Late Archaic midden and artifacts duplicating the surface collections. No features other than midden were recorded. The site was determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and, because the site would be damaged or destroyed by the impending construction, data recovery through excavations within the midden deposits was required (Plunkett and Hilton-Plunkett 1998; Pope 2005; White 2000).

 Excavations at the Boyd site were conducted by the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology (GBL) in 2001 and 2002 (Pope 2005; White 2000). Goals of the mitigation included establishing the age of the midden, defining the natural and cultural contexts of the midden, and analysis of the role of upland sites in Middle to Late Archaic subsistence-settlement systems, particularly the role of small upland sites. Excavations within the midden deposits consisted of 35 hand excavated units involving a total area of 40 square meters. Additional testing of a pipeline corridor in the southeast corner of the project area did not encounter intact archaeological deposits (Pope 2005; White 2000).

The stratigraphy of the site included three zones: plow zone (including test excavation backdirt), midden, and subsoil. The midden was dominated by broken rock and included chipped and ground stone artifacts and manufacturing byproducts, as well as floral remains. Faunal remains were not preserved. No discrete cultural features were found within or below the midden. The midden contained an upper and lower cultural zone although both appeared to be of the same age. Cultural deposits extended to a maximum depth of about 60 cm below surface and ranged between 10 and 20 cm thick. Analysis of the midden contents was inconclusive in determining if it was primary refuse from habitation or secondary refuse from processing activities (Pope 2005). White’s (2005) analysis of fire-cracked rock and midden deposits suggested that the midden was secondary refuse from nearby habitation or processing areas that was dumped on the surface and subsequently buried. Pope (2005), however, seemed to favor an interpretation of primary refuse or a combination of primary and secondary refuse.

 Artifacts from the site surface and excavations were numerous, dominated by fire-cracked rock (fcr) and chipped stone flakes. Test excavations documented over 3,000 artifacts, 2,400 of which were fcr. Over 10,000 chipped and ground stone artifacts were recovered from GBL excavations. Chipped stone artifacts included cores and flintknapping waste, utilized and retouched flakes, burins, gravers, bifaces and biface fragments, perforators and perforator fragments, wedges, chipped adze, and points. Diagnostic points included Early, Middle-Late Archaic and Late Archaic types dominated by Late Archaic Stemmed Cluster types McWhinney Heavy Stemmed and Karnak Stemmed. Ground stone artifacts included grooved axes, shaped slate, a sandstone pendant, a grooved hematite plummet or net weight, hammerstones and pitted stones. The artifact classes from the midden are duplicated in the plow zone except that Early Archaic points were only found in the plow zone and upper midden. Local raw materials dominated the chipped stone assemblage (Plunkett and Hilton-Plunkett 1998; Pope 2005).  

The age of the midden at the Boyd site was established through diagnostic point types and a radiocarbon date. The Boyd site artifacts were dominated by Late Archaic Stemmed cluster point types, particularly McWhinney Heavy Stemmed, indicating site occupations in the range of ca. 4,000 years ago. Late Archaic Stemmed Cluster points were found throughout the midden. Carbonized nutshell from the contact between the upper and lower cultural zones produced a calibrated date of 4410 +/- 90 BP (BC 3360 - 2880), consistent with the date range for the Late Archaic Stemmed Cluster point types (Pope 2005).  

 Floral remains from the Boyd site were consistent with the types of plants that would be expected from the forested environment surrounding the site. The floral assemblage was dominated by carbonized nutshell, particularly hickory. Hickory nuts, while available in the fall, could be processed at any time. Walnut, hazelnut and acorn nutshell were also recovered. In addition to nutshell, seeds of hawthorn, a wild legume, bramble, spicebush and bedstraw were also found. These seeds suggest food and medicinal plants that were used by the site inhabitants. The low percentages of wood charcoal present were dominated by hickory and sycamore. Various other species of wood charcoal were documented but in lesser quantities (Bush 2005).

 Generalized models of Late Archaic subsistence and settlement identify larger riverine settlements and smaller upland sites where small groups engaged in extraction of resources. The lack of data from upland sites has hampered modeling of their specific roles in the broader Late Archaic system. The data from the Boyd site is important for understanding this role for Late Archaic groups in the Whitewater River basin. The site structure and documented activities suggests occupation by a small group over a portion of the year. The diversity of tool types indicates a variety of domestic maintenance activities including making and using stone tools as well as processing nuts, especially hickory nuts, and gathering other wild plants (Pope 2005).

 The Boyd site has provided new information on Late Archaic subsistence and settlement in the glaciated portion of the Whitewater River basin. Combining the new information from the Boyd site with that from nearby sites dominated by McWhinney Heavy Stemmed components such as the Metamora Church site (12FR40A) (Erickson et al. 2000); 12WY97 and the McWhinney Village site (Heilman 1976); and Raisch-Smith (Moffatt 1949) greatly enhances modeling of Late Archaic subsistence and settlement in the Whitewater drainage basin. 

References

Angst, Michael G. (1994). An Archaeological Survey of Fayette County. Reports of Investigation 40. Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie.

Bush, Leslie (2005). Macrobotanical Remains from 12 Wy 289. In A Small Late Archaic Settlement in the Central Till Plain Region: Data Excavations at the Boyd Site (12-Wy-289), edited by Melody Pope, pp. 59-69. Report of Investigations 01-37, Office of Cultural Resource Management, Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Bloomington, Indiana.

Cochran, Donald R. (2009). Natural and Cultural Setting of the Whitewater River Basin. In Phase III Archaeological Evaluation of Site 12Fr310 for the Rockies Express Pipeline-East (REXEAST) Project, Franklin County, Indiana, by Karen Niemel, pp. 5-32. Gray & Pape, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio.        

Erickson, Annette G., Jennifer DeMuria Cohen, and Rae Norris Sprague (2000). The Results of Data Recovery for INDOT Project STP-082-6(9), U.S. 52, Metamora Township, Franklin County, Indiana, of Site 12 Fr 40A (INDOT Site 24-36), the Metamora Church Site. ASC Group, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.

Heilman, James M. (1976). Archaeological Survey of Wayne County, Indiana. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.

Moffatt, Ross (1949). The Raisch-Smith Site, an Early Indian Occupation in Preble County, Ohio. The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 58(4):428-441.

Plunkett, J.A. and M.A. Hilton-Plunkett (1998). Phase II Archaeological Test Excavations: The Boyd Site, Wayne County, Indiana. Report of Investigations 94IN0017-P2r01. Landmark Archaeological and Environmental Services, Inc., Sheridan, Indiana.

Pope, Melody, editor (2005). A Small Late Archaic Settlement in the Central Till Plain Region: Data Excavations at the Boyd Site (12-Wy-289). Report of Investigations 01-37. Office of Cultural Resource Management, Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Bloomington, Indiana.

White, Andrew (2000). Interim Report of Phase III Investigations and the Boyd Site (12-Wy-289), Wayne County, Indiana. Report of Investigations 01-37 (Interim). Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Bloomington, Indiana.

White, Andrew (2005). Fire Cracked Rock Distribution and Site Formation Processes. In A Small Late Archaic Settlement in  the Central Till Plain Region: Data Excavations at the Boyd Site (12-Wy-289), edited by Melody Pope,  pp. 70-85. Report of Investigations 01-37. Office of Cultural Resource Management, Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Bloomington, Indiana.

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