Little Caney River Prehistory. 1979 Field Season

摘要

Six archaeological sites or prospective site areas were excavated, and limited shoreline areas and cutbank exposures were inspected as part of the 1979 Phase III investigations of the Copan Archeological Project under Contract No. DACW56-77-C-0228 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. One prospective site, 34WN34, was found to be incorrectly located by previous investigators and excavation had negative results. Two sites (34WN26 and 34WN68) are Late Woodland burned rock middens; and three others (34WN12, 34WN29, 34WN36) are Late Woodland open encampments. 34WN29 had charcoal sufficient for radiocarbon dating and four dates allow an accurate assessment of the age of the Copan paleosol at this site as between 1650-1000 B.P. Whether or not the sites were coeval could not be determined, but it is clear that they have variable material contents which suggest differences in use, residential groups, seasonal habitation or combinations of all of these factors. Although our data are insufficient to model Late Woodland settlement practices in a more inclusive fashion, they do point out directions for future settlement study. The Phase III discovery of Middle Archaic artifacts in a Cotton Creek cutbank marks a significant addition to knowledge of the earlier prehistory of the Little Caney River and its tributaries. The positive results of shoreline inspections north of the dam indicate that other archaeological remains or sites will be discovered, disturbed or destroyed as project construction continues and the lake is impounded. (Author)