Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology) Research Papers (original) (raw)

The surrounding images are from the WPA work at Angel Mounds including from the top the 1941 Mound F excavation exposing the primary mound surface, opening a large area across a palisade ridge, exposing several bastions along the east... more

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- History, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology

The Applied Anthropology Laboratories at Ball State University conducted a data enhancement project for archaeological resources in Newton County, Indiana for a FY2015 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-15FFY-05). This grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Newton County, Indiana with a focus on the Kankakee River, Beaver Lake, and the northern half of the county. Approximately 856.1 acres (ac) (346.45 hectares [ha]) of agricultural land were pedestrian surveyed, which included 7.1 ac of resurveyed area, and 76 new archaeological sites were recorded. The survey recovered 525 prehistoric artifacts and 1,761 historic artifacts from nine parcels of land within Newton County. No human remains were discovered as a result of this grant project. Cultural periods that are represented in the artifact assemblage include Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Late Archaic/Early Woodland, and Late Woodland/Late Prehistoric components that
were documented from the precontact era, in addition to Historic components. The average site density recorded in the project area for precontact sites was one site per 42.45 ac. The average site density recorded in the project area for historic sites was one site per 13.69 ac.

- by Christine Thompson and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Survey (Archaeological Method & Theory), Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology)

The Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology (GBL) at Indiana University conducted an archaeological
survey in Monroe County, Indiana for a FY2017 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (18-17-17FFY#-03). This project
was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service’s Historic Preservation
Fund (CFDA #15.904) administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic
Preservation and Archaeology. This grant project explored the history and cultural resources of the Beanblossom
Creek watershed in northern Monroe County. Approximately 511.5 acres (207 hectares) of nature preserves were
surveyed as part of the project, resulting in the identification of 56 new archaeological sites and one new cemetery. A
total of 833 artifacts (547 precontact and 286 historic) were recovered from nine different nature preserves. Cultural
periods represented in the survey assemblage include unidentified precontact, Middle Woodland, and nineteenth-twentieth
century historic components.

The Applied Archaeology Laboratories (AAL) of Ball State University conducted an archaeological reconnaissance project for archaeological materials in Hamilton County, Indiana, for an FY2012 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-12-41921-4). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Hamilton County, Indiana. This specific project focused on the White River and its associated tributaries, as well as the southern half of the county. Approximately 565 acres (228.55 ha) of agricultural land underwent pedestrian survey, uncovering 230 new archaeological sites and 1625 artifacts. Over 157 acres (63.54 ha) underwent soil phosphate survey, revealing multiple possible prehistoric agricultural fields or gardens. The project recovered 1154 prehistoric artifacts and 471 historic artifacts from 9 different parcels of land within Hamilton County. Multiple cultural periods are represented in the artifact assemblage, including diagnostics of the Early Archaic, Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, and Historic periods. The average site density recorded for the project was one archaeological site per 2.46 acres (0.41 sites/acre). The average artifact density was one artifact per 0.34 acres (2.9 artifacts/acre).
A total of 13 sites are recommended as potentially eligible for Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures or the National Register of Historic Places.

The Fisher phase is an Upper Mississippian cultural manifestation primarily located around the base of Lake Michigan in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. Fisher ceramic wares have long been recognized in the region by their unique blend of both Oneota and Fort Ancient stylistic attributes and the predominance of cordmarking on ves-sels' exterior surfaces. Until recently, however, few detailed analyses of ceramic assemblages illustrating regional and chronological variation within what we recognize ceramically as the " Fisher phase " have been available. Over the course of the last two decades, new data has emerged from central Indiana, additional AMS and 14 C dates have been obtained from sites in both Illinois and Indiana, and modern attribute analyses have been conducted on many old and new Fisher phase ceramic assemblages. These data are brought together here to provide an updated understanding of Fisher phase ceramic variation from the early thirteenth through the fifteenth century A.D. across the region.

- by Christopher Moore
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- Archaeology, Public Archaeology, Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology), Archeology
- by michael strezewski and +3
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- Archaeology, Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology), Indiana

Archaeologists have been aware of the presence of a significant Fort Ancient occupation in southeastern Indiana since Warren K. Moorehead‘s excavation of a burial mound at the Laughery Creek site (12O18) in Ohio County in 1897 (Moorehead 1906). Investigations in Dearborn and Ohio counties by Glenn A. Black in the early 1930s confirmed the Fort Ancient affiliation of this site and made the archaeological community aware of such important villages as Haag, State Line, Guard, and Laughery Creek (Black 1934). Aside from excavations at Haag in the 1970s (e.g., Reidhead and Limp 1974), professional investigations of the region‘s Fort Ancient sites have been limited to surveys and small-scale cultural resource management mitigations. While Fort Ancient research has expanded rapidly in Kentucky and Ohio, our knowledge of comparable groups in southeastern Indiana has remained limited. The purpose of this article is to summarize what information is available pertaining to non-Oliver Fort Ancient groups in southeastern Indiana as a means of facilitating future research into this important component of Indiana prehistory.

- by Nancy Ross-Stallings
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- Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology)

This report describes grant-

This document is designed to provide an introduction to the rich, varied, and complex nature of the prehistoric cultures who once inhabited Indiana, as well as early historic peoples, to inform the reader about the science of archaeology,... more

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In order to provide a clearer picture of the availability of chert raw material resources in glaciated north-central Indiana, the author collected chert cobbles from three gravel bars along a short stretch of the Wildcat Creek in southern Carroll County. As a result, 6032 grams of workable Kenneth, Liston Creek, and other unidentified glacial cherts (some of high quality) were recovered from these gravel bars. In addition, the author was able to locate Kenneth and other glacial cherts eroding from poorly sorted till deposits located upstream from the collection sites. This would seem to indicate that glaciated landscapes lacking bedrock outcrops are not characterized by a dearth of chert raw material. Furthermore, prehistoric trade and mobility models that are based on raw material types recovered from sites in the area may need to be reconceptualized in light of the fact that many, if not all, of these cherts may be locally available in the glacial till. Archaeologists attempting to interpret prehistoric settlement and subsistence patterns in glaciated landscapes, therefore, need to be cognizant of local resource availability in the form of gravel and till deposits and to incorporate these underappreciated resources into their models.

The Applied Anthropology Laboratories at Ball State University conducted a data enhancement project for archaeological resources in Benton County, Indiana for a FY2015 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-15FFY-03). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Benton County, Indiana with a focus on the northern half of the county. Approximately 841.29 acres (ac) (340.46 hectares [ha]) of agricultural land were surveyed, and 85 new archaeological sites were recorded. The survey recovered 81 precontact artifacts and 442 historic artifacts from 12 parcels of land within Benton County. Cultural periods that are represented in the artifact assemblage include precontact components dating to the Late Archaic, Terminal Middle Woodland/Late Woodland, and possibly the Early Archaic, in addition to 54 Historic components. The average site density recorded in the project area for precontact sites was one site per 20.03 ac. The average site density recorded in the project area for Historic sites was one site per 15.58 ac. Through these surveys we have been able to document special use of unique microenvironments that are characterized by dry upland rises surrounded by a combination of diverse ecozones within a small area providing rich and diverse resource for precontact inhabitants of northwest Indiana.

- by Kevin C. Nolan and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Survey (Archaeological Method & Theory)

The Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL) at Ball State University conducted a data enhancement project for archaeological resources in Jasper County, Indiana for a FY2014 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-14-FFY-02). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Jasper County, Indiana with a focus on major waterways such as the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers in the southern half of the county. Approximately 900 acres (364.22 hectares) of agricultural land were surveyed, and 112 new archaeological sites were recorded. The survey recovered 209 prehistoric artifacts and 307 Historic artifacts from seven parcels of land within Jasper County. No human remains were discovered as a result of this grant project. Cultural periods that are represented in the artifact assemblage include Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, and Late Woodland/Late Prehistoric components that were documented from the precontact era, in addition to Historic components. The average site density recorded for the project area for precontact sites was one site per 15 acres and for Historic was one site per 13.85 acres. This article will concentrate on the Prehistoric results of this project.

- by Kevin C. Nolan and +1
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology)

The Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL) of Ball State University conducted an archaeological reconnaissance and reinvestigation project for archaeological materials in Dearborn County, Indiana, for a FY2013 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant 13FFY03). We specifically focused on Late Prehistoric period (cf. Fort Ancient) settlement and community organization patterns. We targeted previously identified Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric archaeological sites for pedestrian survey, soil phosphate, and geophysical investigations. Second, AAL attempted to identify new archaeological sites through pedestrian survey of agricultural fields in the county. Approximately 345.67 acres (139.89 ha) of agricultural land were subject to pedestrian survey, encountering 50 archaeological sites and 12,363 artifacts. Sites 12D45, 12D396, and 12D480 were subjected to soils (chemical and geophysical) analyses revealing new details of settlement organization. Diagnostics from pedestrian surveys indicate activity during the Middle Archaic, Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, and Late Prehistoric periods. We also examined landowner collections from investigated sites which demonstrate occupation spanning the Early Archaic through Late Prehistoric periods. Overall, the average site density recorded is one site per 7.18 acres (0.14 sites/acre). The average artifact density is one
artifact per 0.03 acres (34.42 artifacts/acre). As a result of the surveys conducted, nine sites were recommended as potentially eligible for the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures (IRHSS) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

- by Kevin C. Nolan and +1
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- Archaeology, Soil Science, Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology), Fort Ancient (Archaeology)

As a part of the 2001 Indiana University/Glenn A. Black Laboratory Field School in Archaeology, excavations were conducted at the Pottersville site (12Ow431), in Owen County, Indiana. Initial investigations at Pottersville this summer were disappointing. Our eight initial test units revealed a very shallow plowzone, on the order of 15cm in some places, which suggested active scouring and deflation. Late in the excavation however, we encountered a large, dark stain at the base of plow, near the northern edge of the site. After opening up larger areas around the stain, it became apparent that this was a circular structure, the interior dimensions of which measured approximately 7m north-south by 7.5m east-west. Dark, artifact-laden soil in the center of the structure indicated portions of an intact housefloor containing domestic-type debris. In the little time we had left, we were able to expose about 2/3 of the house in planview and open four small test trenches to determine its method of construction. Our excavations established that the structure was built by digging a deep wall-trench. A number of bone, mussel shell, and charcoal concentrations were found in the interior of the structure at the base of plow. These probably represent the very bases of interior storage pits that were later filled in with refuse. A single tightly flexed interment of a young adult was also encountered 2.5m to the southeast of the house, just below the base of the plowzone. The burial was poorly preserved. Grave goods were minimal, and consisted of a large piece of limestone at the knees and two articulated adult raccoons at the back of the head. The results of three radiocarbon assays place the occupation of the Pottersville site within the latter portion of the 13th century, most likely circa A.D. 1275.

- by Leslie Bush and +1
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- Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology), Midwestern US Archaeology, Late Prehistoric Archaeology of the Midwest

The Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL) at Ball State University conducted a data enhancement project for archaeological resources in Newton County, Indiana for a FY2014 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-14-FFY-03). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Newton County, Indiana with a focus on the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers and the southern half of the county (Beaver, Grant, Jackson, Jefferson, Iroquois, and Washington townships). Approximately 902.84 acres (365.33 hectares) of agricultural land were surveyed, and 89 new archaeological sites were recorded. The survey recovered 55 prehistoric artifacts and 1274 historic artifacts from eight parcels of land within Newton County. No human remains were discovered as a result of this grant project. Cultural periods that are represented in the artifact assemblage include Late Archaic components that were documented from the precontact era, in addition to historic components. The average site density recorded for the project area for precontact sites was one site per 36.11 acres and for Historic was one site per 12.20 acres. This article will concentrate on the prehistoric results of this project.

- by Kevin C. Nolan and +4
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology)

This article presents the results of experimental research on the usefulness of identifying residues present on human remains left behind from copper or copper alloys. A collection of human skeletons from Mound F at Angel Mounds State Historic Site was recovered in the 1940s and determined to be Euro-American based on the presence of a single historic gravestone and several pieces of coffin hardware. However, during a recent rehousing of the Euro-American individuals, several were discovered to have blue-green staining on their crania. If the staining was the result of native copper rather than a copper alloy, it would be more likely that the individuals were Native Americans buried during the Mississippian Period occupation of the site. Differentiating between copper and copper alloys has significant implications for the future of these individuals, as a reassignment of " Native American " to these human remains will cause the collection to fall under the purview of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. An evaluation of the elemental composition of the copper staining using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) has shown that the copper staining present in the burials was likely caused by funerary hardware composed of Euro-American copper alloys. As archaeologists and museum professionals increasingly turn towards research based on legacy and other curated collections, they are often confronted with mistakes, misidentifications, and mysteries left behind by previous generations of researchers, or with brand new avenues of research. In recent years, the proliferation of portable, non-destructive technologies has allowed archaeologists to ask new questions of old collections. Large collections associated with major federal projects conducted in the twentieth century (e.g., Works Progress Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority) are ripe for answering new research questions. Taking a closer look at collections that have been curated for decades customarily provides new insights into

Early projectile points from Midcontinental North America vary significantly in size and shape. Understanding the functional and stylistic aspects of this variability on a large spatial scale is a precursor to using this class of artifacts to evaluate and refine models of the social interaction of early hunter-gatherers in this region. Metric data from a sample (n = 1771) of Early Paleoindian (ca. 11,050-10,800 RCYBP), Late Paleoindian (ca. 10,300-10,000 RCYBP), and Early Archaic (ca. 10,000-8000 RCYBP) projectile points are analyzed to partition elements of functional and stylistic variability. Changes in the coefficient of variation of specific attributes are compared to expectations about how functional and stylistic variability should be manifest in these tools. Variability in hafting width and thickness appear to be constrained by functional considerations. The mixture of variables most closely related to hafting width shifts during the transition from lanceolate to notched points.

This paper presents an analysis of a small sample (n = 360) of diagnostic hafted bifaces from southern Carroll County, Indiana. Placed within a regional framework and rooted in hunter-gatherer theory, the results of this analysis offer some important insights into diachronic patterns of chert utilization in this region. Although the usage of Attica, Kenneth, and Wyandotte cherts is the specific subject of this study, other chert types are also discussed. In addition, examination of patterns of chert utilization by projectile point cluster offers support for established models of settlement and exchange through time and presents new problems to be addressed by future archaeological investigations. Insights provided by hunter-gatherer theory and recent studies of hunter-gatherer social organization and home ranges in Eastern North America suggest that the patterns identified herein and in other similar studies are the result of several interacting social and economic variables (e.g., exchange, mobility) that operated at various scales and durations throughout prehistory.

- by Christopher Moore
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- Archaeology, Social Interaction, Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology), Lithics

Archaeologists have been aware of the presence of a significant Fort Ancient occupation in southeastern Indiana since Warren K. Moorehead’s excavation of a burial mound at the Laughery Creek site (12O18) in Ohio County in 1897. Investigations in Dearborn and Ohio counties by Glenn A. Black in the early 1930s confirmed the Fort Ancient affiliation of this site and made the archaeological community aware of such important villages as Haag, State Line, Guard, and Laughery Creek. Aside from excavations at Haag in the 1970s, professional investigations of the region’s Fort Ancient sites have been limited to surveys and small-scale cultural resource management mitigations. While Fort Ancient research has expanded rapidly in Kentucky and Ohio, our knowledge of comparable groups in southeastern Indiana has remained limited. The purpose of this paper is to summarize what information is available pertaining to non-Oliver Fort Ancient groups in southeastern Indiana as a means of facilitating future research into this important component of Indiana prehistory.

Regulations implementing the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA 1966) require federal agencies to " make a reasonable and good faith effort to carry out appropriate identification efforts " (36 CFR § 800.4[b][1]). This mandate has given rise to the cultural resource management (CRM) industry, where single-pass surveys are the norm in efforts to identify historic properties. Long-term private collection can make such surveys unreliable indicators of the true distribution of archaeological materials. Even substantial habitation sites can be missed or mischaracterized by a single-pass survey in heavily collected areas. Furthermore, areas with few or no professional surveys are particularly susceptible to the mischaracterization and overlooking of significant archaeological resources. We present case studies that illustrate the cost of failing to engage with private collectors. First, we report a detailed , repeated survey by a landowner that documents significant resources in areas where they are not considered likely. A professional survey targeting these sites failed to accurately characterize their nature. Second, we analyze how typical CRM Phase I surveys would fail to identify a multicomponent site including a terminal Archaic habitation and a Late Prehistoric village due to prior extensive collecting. Only by studying the private collections could the true significance of these sites be discovered. These examples raise the question of what constitutes a " reasonable and good faith effort " to identify and evaluate archaeological remains within project areas. Given the limitations of single-pass survey and the extent of private collecting, continuing to rely on single-pass surveys as the main, or even sole, identification tool in CRM cannot be considered reasonable or in good faith. Federal and state agencies must establish standards to fill this gap in the appropriateness of our current CRM practice.

- by Kevin C. Nolan and +2
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology), Cultural Resource Management (Archaeology)

The Firehouse site (12D563) is a Terminal Archaic Riverton culture site located on a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Ohio and Great Miami Rivers in Dearborn County, Indiana. Excavations at the site in 2003 and 2004 yielded a highly diverse assemblage of around 300 bone and antler implements. Such large assemblages of organic tools are rare outside of wet sites, rockshelters, and shell middens and provide a unique opportunity for the study of tool forms not typically recovered in the Midwest. A typological analysis of the Firehouse assemblage indicates some similarities between these tools and Riverton culture bone and antler implements from the type sites in Illinois. Additionally, a microscopic analysis of manufacturing microtraces indicates that most tools were made using a lithic shaving (rather than an abrasion) technique.

While Anderson ceramic assemblages from Fort Ancient sites in southwestern Ohio have been thoroughly examined and discussed in the literature, ceramics from contemporary sites along the southern and western periphery of the Anderson tradition in Indiana and Kentucky have received less attention. In this paper we describe and compare the Site 12D123 assemblage with four other Anderson ceramic assemblages from Dearborn County, Indiana and one from across the Ohio River in Boone County, Kentucky. While no chronometric dates are available for Site 12D123, radiocarbon dates are available from the Boone County site and most of the Dearborn County sites allowing an evaluation of the relative chronological position of Site 12D123 through detailed ceramic attribute analysis. When considered with chronometric dates and settlement patterns, ceramic attribute analyses extend ceramic studies beyond their traditional chronology building roles and permit analysts to evaluate temporally microscalar activities like village relocation practices and identity formation.

Bluegrass (n=50), Firehouse (n=5) and Meyer (n=30) are Middle to Late Archaic mortuary sites located in Southern Indiana that date to around 6,200 to 5,000 ybp. Each has examples of trauma that include cranial depressed fractures, inflicted injuries and trophy taking behaviors (decapitation and dismemberment). This study aims to quantify the prevalence of trauma among Middle to Late Archaic people over the age of 15 in order to compare sites north of the Ohio River to those from the Green River area in Kentucky. The Indiana sites are considerably smaller than those from Kentucky, which have hundreds of individuals per cemetery: Indian Knoll (n=459), Ward (n=240) and Carlston Annis (n=218). Analysts documented traumata in the Indiana groups following standard procedures. Cut marks were verified using 3D profilometry. Green River data came from a combination of direct observation and published sources. Bluegrass, Meyer, and Firehouse had overall trauma prevalence of 10%, 6.7% and 40%, respectively. Of those exhibiting trauma, Bluegrass was the only site that had a higher percentage of females (60%) than male. When cranial depressed fractures are excluded, Bluegrass and Meyer have trauma prevalence at 6% and 6.7% comparable to those of Indian Knoll (6.5%), Ward (11.3%), and Carlston Annis (5%). Firehouse site's small sample size likely exaggerated its prevalence, but the Bluegrass and Meyer data indicate the Archaic people north of the Ohio River were engaged in violent behaviors at levels similar to their Kentucky counterparts.

- by Fatma Zalzala and +1
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- Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology)

Visite http://bit.ly/ConfRes para ver los resúmenes aceptados ¡La SAA viene a América Latina! Presenta la primera Conferencia Intercontinental de la SAA, una conferencia única diseñada para unir a la SAA y los Latinoamericanos. La Conferencia abrirá con una sesión especial por la tarde del viernes, seguida de un día completo de sesiones plenarias el sábado y terminando con medio día de sesiones plenarias el domingo. La capacidad máxima para la Conferencia es 235 asistentes.

- by Tony Krus
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology, History of Science

The Applied Archaeology Laboratories (AAL) of Ball State University conducted an archaeological reconnaissance project for archaeological materials in Hamilton County, Indiana, for an FY2012 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-12-41921-4). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Hamilton County, Indiana. This specific project focused on the White River and its associated tributaries, as well as the southern half of the county. Approximately 565 acres (228.55 ha) of agricultural land underwent pedestrian survey, uncovering 230 new archaeological sites and 1625 artifacts. Over 157 acres (63.54 ha) underwent soil phosphate survey, revealing multiple possible prehistoric agricultural fields or gardens. The project recovered 1154 prehistoric artifacts and 471 historic artifacts from 9 different parcels of land within Hamilton County. Multiple cultural periods are represented in the artifact assemblage, including diagnostics of the Early Archaic, Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, and Historic periods. The average site density recorded for the project was one archaeological site per 2.46 acres (0.41 sites/acre). The average artifact density was one artifact per 0.34 acres (2.9 artifacts/acre). A total of 13 sites are recommended as potentially eligible for Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures or the National Register of Historic Places.

- by Kevin C. Nolan
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Soil Science, Historical Archaeology

In 2019 an interesting trend was observed within the author's master's thesis. When radiocarbon dates affiliated with the Riverton Culture were ordered chronologically, the dates appear to get younger as they got further east, possibly representing an ancient migration or the dissemination of technology (Thompson 2019). This project was designed to examine this trend with a larger dataset in the context of other contemporaneous groups and examine whether it is an artifact of the data or a broader trend in prehistoric settlement patterns.

In September 2007, Project Co-Coordinators Cheryl Ann Munson (Indiana University Research Scientist) and Dru McGill (Indiana University Doctoral Candidate) led a combined project of research and education at the Hovey Lake site (12Po10) near Mt. Vernon, Indiana, to coordinate with Indiana Archaeology Month. Small-scale excavations were utilized as a space for educating children and adults about archaeological methods, Indiana prehistory, and the importance of preservation of archaeological sites. The many educational goals of this project were successfully accomplished through diverse methods, and with the help of numerous project volunteers and co-sponsors. This project was titled “Community, Collaboration, and Participation” because of the importance of local community support of, and participation in, our activities. Hundreds of volunteer hours provided by concerned citizens of southwestern Indiana, such as teachers and university students, were spent distributing educational literature, advertising project events, preparing project materials, and working on-site.

- by Dru McGill
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- Indiana (Prehistoric Archaeology)

Poor preservation usually precludes the recovery of bone and antler tools at most Midwestern archaeological sites; however, these kinds of organic implements are common at rockshelters and shell middens. When they are recovered, analysis is often limited to simple morphofunctional classification based on typologies developed in the 1930s and 40s. Detailed studies of large bone tool assemblages illustrate the utility of more rigorous analyses of these under-appreciated artifact types. In this paper I will illustrate and discuss common bone and antler tool types recovered from Archaic sites in the Midcontinent and outline some basic kinds of descriptive analyses that can be performed to help build a database of bone and antler tool variability. I will also discuss some of the pitfalls of facile morphofunctional classifications and promote a standardized approach to basic descriptive analysis.

Mound F was the second-largest platform mound at Angel Mounds (12Vg1), a Mississippian town in southwestern Indiana. It consisted of a simple truncated pyramid shape, but excavations in 1939-1942 and 1964-1965 revealed at least two platforms that once contained buildings buried within it. Each of these mounds and buildings were successively larger than the preceding. The first platform mound (informally known as the inner mound) was <1 m high and include at least two buildings. Thatch from one building yielded a 14 C age of 900 B.P. Other 14 C ages indicated that the inner mound was buried ca. 750 B.P. when a second ca. 2 m high platform (informally known as the primary mound) was built. Features and structural elements from a large, multichambered building on this surface yield 14 C ages between 680 and 530 B.P. A final ca. 3-4 m mound (informally known as the secondary mound) was built over the Primary Mound soon after 530 B.P. No building was found on the secondary mound's upper platform.

- by Tony Krus
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, Landscape Archaeology
- by Tony Krus
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, History of Science, North American (Archaeology)

Northeastern Indiana is situated at the interface of the Great Lakes, Ohio, and Upper Mississippi watersheds. Paleoindian hafted bifaces from northeastern Indiana include varieties with distributions centered in the Great Lakes, Southeast, and Plains. Paleoindian hafted biface chronology in this region must be viewed in light of both the regionalization of lithic technologies that characterizes the Middle Paleoindian period and the complex ecological changes that occurred as the environment shifted from a peri-glacial tundra/boreal parkland to one dominated by closed deciduous forest. A general sequence of Paleoindian pointforms is proposed. Gainey and Barnes/Cumberland points occur, suggesting affinities with the Great Lakes region during the early and middle portions of the Paleoindian period. During the Late Paleoindian period, Holcombe, Hi-Lo, and Agate Basin points occur. The varying regional affiliations of these point types suggest the regional-scale ranges ofhunter-gatherers may have shifted several times during the PleistoceneHolocene transition. Based on an analysis of metric data collected from hafted bifaces, population replacement, rather than in situ development from Holcombe, is suggested as a possible explanation for the appearance of Hi-Lo technologies in northern Indiana.

- by Tony Krus
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, History of Science, North American archaeology

This study examined a highly fragmented male Archaic (Riverton Culture) skeleton from the Firehouse site (12D563) in Dearborn County, Indiana. This individual (Burial 1) shows evidence of multiple pathological conditions including bony growths in the sinuses and misaligned fractures of the right tibia and fibula. These conditions likely limited this individual’s mobility making him a possible target during incidences of violence. Another adult male with antemortem trauma from this site was killed and his remains also were associated with projectile points and his head and right forearm arm were removed as trophies. The goal was to determine if a projectile point found with Burial 1 caused perimortem damage. The projectile point’s location underneath the thorax suggested that fractures, if present, should be on the ribs and vertebrae. Detailed study of the thoracic elements included documenting all changes to the bone, ante-, peri- and postmortem. Of the hundreds of rib, vertebral, scapular, and sternal fragments present, none had any evidence of perimortem trauma (i.e., no impact or radiating fractures). In fact no bones of the skeleton exhibited any perimortem alteration. Therefore, in this cemetery only the trophy-taking victim suffered perimortem trauma, despite there being two burials associated with points.

During the spring and early summer of 2006, Landmark Archaeological and Environmental Services, Inc. conducted salvage excavations at 12D123, a Middle Fort Ancient Anderson Phase site in Dearborn County, Indiana. Although archaeological investigations were restricted to surface survey and excavation of a small portion of exposed midden and a single feature, a total of 270 analyzable sherds and numerous lithic tools were recovered. Analysis of these materials suggests that site 12D123 may represent a relatively undisturbed component related to the Middle Fort Ancient occupations at the Petersburg site, located across the Ohio River in Boone County, Kentucky. Comparisons of 12D123 with other Middle Fort Ancient sites in the region are presented.

- by Tony Krus and +1
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- Military History, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology