Papers by Derek T. Anderson
Recent AMS dating of charred remains from the Paleoindian occupation of the upper hillside area a... more Recent AMS dating of charred remains from the Paleoindian occupation of the upper hillside area at the Topper site has provided the first precise radiocarbon date in the Southeast that is directly associated with diagnostic Clovis lithic artifacts. This paper presents the results of dating, geoarchaeological, and lithic analyses in this area of the site, with a focus on the Paleoindian and Early Archaic components.
This archaeological and bioarchaeological field school will take place at the Aklis site, a prehi... more This archaeological and bioarchaeological field school will take place at the Aklis site, a prehistoric shell midden, habitation, and cemetery site, located on the beach in Frederiksted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. The Aklis site is being jeopardized by rising sea levels; excavations and mapping in 2016 will focus on salvaging exposed, endangered human burials and related features. Students will gain “hands-on” experience in excavation methods, mapping, artifact identification and classification, skeletal excavation, and osteological data recording. Students will also learn about the ecology, history, and prehistory of St. Croix through visits to local museums and national parks, such as Buck Island Reef National Monument, Estate Whim Museum and Plantation, a paleoethnobotanical tour of the local rainforest, activities with the National Park Service and United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and interactions with scholars and experts on St. Croix.
For more information, or details on how to register, please contact the program director, Dr. Molly Zuckerman, at [email protected]
Archaeology of Eastern North America, 2010
The eastern Great Lakes region has been a focus of Paleoindian research for decades (e.g., , but ... more The eastern Great Lakes region has been a focus of Paleoindian research for decades (e.g., , but relatively little is known about the late-Pleistocene occupation of New York State. produced the first map of fluted-point distributions for the state, and Wellman (1982) provided updated point counts by county, but analyses of regional or national point distribution maps (e.g., shows that a dearth of information exists from New York compared with surrounding states. Paleontological and paleoenvironmental data indicate that the western portion of the state was deglaciated by approximately 12,500 RCYBP (e.g., Laub et al. 1988;, and archaeological evidence from sites like Arc (Vanderlaan 1986), Divers Lake (Prisch 1976), Emanon Pond (Tankersley 1995), and Hiscock (Laub 2003), indicate that early-Paleoindian groups (i.e., Gainey/Clovis) were utilizing, and possibly permanently occupying, the region. Consequently, the current lack of documented fluted points is problematic. To address this issue, exploratory research was conducted in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, western New York, during the summer of 2009. A series of examinations of private collections resulted in the identification of at least 10 previously undocumented fluted points and one multicomponent site.
Posters by Derek T. Anderson
The excavations at Hester during the 2017 MSU excavation field school resulted in 1,600 individua... more The excavations at Hester during the 2017 MSU excavation field school resulted in 1,600 individual artifacts being piece-plotted across the excavation block. Diagnostic Paleoindian/Early archaic flaked stone artifacts recovered include Dalton, Jude, and Big sandy point types. While pottery was recovered from all of the units excavated, Feature 2 within unit N548E393 contained the highest denisty of pottery found in the units excavated during the field school. The soil horizons identified during the 2017 investigations were comparable to those reported by Brookes (1979). The diagnostic Paleoindian/Early Archaic artifacts were recovered from the dark, reddish-brown soil horizon.Three pit features were identified during the 2017 excavations at Hester. Unfortunately, the dark soils at Hester made the identification of subsurface features difficult to identify, but once recognized, the features were bisected and sediment samples, along with charcoal samples, were collected for flotation and further analysis. Magnetic gradiometry results from August 2016 at Hester showing the possible locations of the 1974 trench and 1978 excavation block Abstract: Archaeological sites in the Southeastern United States with Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene occupations are rare. Previous excavations by Sam Brookes at the Hester Site (22MO569) revealed a site containing Paleoindian/Early Archaic deposits. The 2017 Mississippi State University excavation field school identified a buried soil containing Paleoindian/Early Archaic diagnostic flaked stone tools, including Dalton, Jude, and Big Sandy point types. This poster presents preliminary results of the excavation and analyses to identify post-depositional processes that may have affected the site.
The Aklis site (12VAm1-42) is a prehistoric multi-component habitation, cemetery, and shell midde... more The Aklis site (12VAm1-42) is a prehistoric multi-component habitation, cemetery, and shell midden site located on the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. The site is located directly on the waterfront and is subject to encroaching erosion from rising sea levels. The authors directed early stage documentation, mitigation, and stabilization of exposed midden deposits at the site in the summers of 2012 and 2014, with a focus on the human burials. Five burials were encountered; burials 1 and 2 were completely removed while 3-5 were partially exposed, documented, and reburied. Scattered, isolated human skeletal elements have been surface collected since the early 1990s by USFWS personnel and were also encountered throughout the midden; it is unclear whether they represent secondary burials or indicate the post-depositional movement of material at the site. Here we present preliminary results from paleopathological and osteological analysis of the burials (n=5), as well as portions of several commingled remains (MNI = 3), recovered from the site.
Introduction The Mississippi Paleoindian and Archaic Point Survey was initiated in 1968 by archae... more Introduction The Mississippi Paleoindian and Archaic Point Survey was initiated in 1968 by archaeologists at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and due largely to the efforts of Sam McGahey over the next 30 years, grew to include over 2,100 points at the time of his retirement in 2003. The survey was idle for a decade, but was recently reinstituted with the help of numerous avocational " citizen scientists " who share an interest in Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene hunter-‐gatherers. Intact Paleoindian and Early Archaic sites are rare in Mississippi, and most of the projectile points that are recovered from these time periods are isolated Qinds from disturbed contexts like Qields and streams. These points are often the only artifacts that remain from early cultural groups, and our interpretations about the people who used them are based on locations of Qinds, raw material types, and morphometrics. This poster reintroduces the updated Mississippi point survey, provides examples of the variety of early points found throughout the state, and examines distributions of styles and material types across time and space.
This poster presents preliminary results of the analyses of over 100 features discovered at the T... more This poster presents preliminary results of the analyses of over 100 features discovered at the Topper Site (38AL23) by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, summer 2015 field school. Both GPR and excavation were utilized in the discovery of features. Four 2x2 meter units were carefully excavated to reveal numerous Late Woodland features and GPR transects were run across sections of the hillside. The features from the units were individually excavated and were processed using flotation. These preliminary analyses indicate the Topper Site to be an active site from the Late Woodland period through to historic contexts
Conference Presentations by Derek T. Anderson
The Swag Site (38AL137) was recorded during the initial survey of the Allendale chert quarries by... more The Swag Site (38AL137) was recorded during the initial survey of the Allendale chert quarries by Albert Goodyear and Tommy Charles in 1984. While subsequent work fo-cused on the Topper and Big Pine Tree sites, the Swag site was overlooked until a systematic survey conducted in 2015 identified several localities with buried archaeological deposits. In May 2016, a field school conducted by Mississippi State excavated 10m 2 block in one of these localities that produced artifacts that are comparable to Clovis components at Topper and elsewhere in eastern North America.
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Papers by Derek T. Anderson
For more information, or details on how to register, please contact the program director, Dr. Molly Zuckerman, at [email protected]
Posters by Derek T. Anderson
Conference Presentations by Derek T. Anderson
For more information, or details on how to register, please contact the program director, Dr. Molly Zuckerman, at [email protected]