2009, Archaic Societies: Diversity and Complexity Across the …
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Eastern Ohio is part of the Appalachian Plateau or Highland Province and consists of two main physiographic regions: Glaciated and Unglaciated plateaus. Elevations, on average, are about 100 m higher in the Appalachian Plateau region than in the Lake and Till plains. The Glaciated Plateau is situated in northeastern Ohio and is an area of gently roll- ing upland hills. Glacially derived kettle lakes and bogs and fens are abundant. The Unglaciated Plateau is located in the southeastern portion ofthe state and typically features narrow, deeply dissected river valleys. The Lake and Till plains are part of the Central Lowlands Province that extends westward into Indiana.The Lake Plains include level areas oflow relief that surround modern-day Lake Erie. This region includes relict lake beds and beach ridges associated with Glacial Lake Maumee. During the Archaic period, the interaction between climate and tectonic factors resulted in highly variable water levels in postglacial Lake Erie (Coakley 1999; Forsyth 1973). Much of the Lake Plains region was a vast elm-ash wetland swamp historically referred to as the “Black Swamp” (Gordon 1969).The Till Plains re- gion, which includes most of west-central and southwestern Ohio, formed as a result of Wisconsin-age glacial advances and retreats. This region is relatively flat, having been scoured by advancing glaciers, with low areas infilled by outwash and drift. Numerous glacial features dot the region. precipitation levels, and vegetation communities. At the start of the Early Archaic period—ca. cal 11,000-10,000 years B.P.—forests across the state had just undergone a south-to- north transition from a conifer forest to a mixed deciduous woodland dominated by oak and hickory trees (Shane 1987, 1994; Shane et al. 2001). Between cal 11,500 and 7750 B.P.,, evidence indicates, conditions were warmer and dryer across most of the state (Shane et al. 2001:29). The Lake and Till plains regions consisted of relatively open forests, whereas the Appalachian Plateau region continued to be densely wooded (Shane 1987; Shane et al. 2001), Between cal 4500 and 2650 B.P, vegetation and climatic patterns roughly assumed modern conditions statewide (Shane etal.2001).Oak and hickory forests again dominated,although the western Till and Lake plains continued to be more open and may have housed true prairies, especially in south-central Ohio. Assuming that forest composition during this time was similar to that encountered by European settlers in the 1700s, a great deal of interregional variability in tree species was present across the state during the Late Archaic period (Gordon 1969). Figure 15.3. Hypothesized date ranges of hafted-biface horizons for the Ohio area. There are two lines of thought regarding the cultural significance of the various Early Archaic hafted-biface types, especially ones with similar temporal spans. Some researchers, especiallyVickery (1980) and Litfin (1993), view distinct types as representing separate ethnic groups, each group manufactur— ing a single type. The second approach assumes that groups used multiple types for different functions. Large bifaces such as Thebes and MacCorkle, for example, supposedly were used as knives, while smaller types such as Palmer Corner Notched The Early Archaic period (cal 10,950-8450 B.P.) ismarked by the full-scale adoption of side- and corner-notched hafted bifaces into native tool kits, Over 20 defined hafted-biface types have been categorized into seven “horizons” for this discussion (Figure 15.3), Similar to Justice’s (1987:6-9) use of the term cluster, horizon denotes morphologically similar biface styles that were contemporary in use. In rough chrono- logical order, Early Archaic hafted-biface horizons include Early Side Notched, Charleston, Thebes, Kirk/Palmer, Kirk Stemmed, Large Bifurcate, and Small Bifurcate. Only a few of these types have been directly dated in Ohio (Table 15.1). ‘Table 15.1, Inventory of All Directly Dated Archaic Hafted-Biface Artifacts from Ohio. “This date represents an estimate derived from calculating the sediment accumulation rate from other dated soil horizons presented in Lepper 1994. Figure 15.4, Early Archaic artifacts from the Henderson site (33AS206): a, b, Small Bifurcate-horizon hafted bifaces; ce, Palmer Corner Notched hafted bifaces; f, steep-edged end scraper; gi, end scrapers; j, k, bifacial drills; -o, late-stage bifaces; p, q, cores; 1, 5, early-stage bifaces. Arrows denote locations of spurs. Figure 15.6. Chipped-stone hafted bifaces and hafted scrapers from the McWhinney site (33PR9): rows 1 and 2, McWhinney Heavy Stemmed hafted bifaces; rows 3 and 4, hafted-biface scrapers (all McWhinney Heavy Stemmed type). Artifacts made available for documentation by the Dayton Society of Natural History, Anthro- pology Department. Fired-clay pottery, long believed to mark the beginning of the Woodland period or stage (e.g., Griffin 1967), is now commonly reported in assemblages dating between cal 4500 and 2650 B.P.in Ohio (Table 15.2). Although early pottery is noted in assemblages from all four physiographic regions, most finds have been reported from sites located in the Unglaciated Plateau. This distribution might indicate the direction from which pottery technology initially entered Ohio (i.e., from the southeast). Early pottery typically is re- covered in low frequency, suggesting that it was nota major component of native technologies until sometime after cal 650 B.P., when its use expanded noticeably (Stothers and Abel 1993). province, principally the Glaciated Plateau region, saw only modest decline. af eres ‘ x @ . Coughlin 1991; DeRegnaucourt 1992; Litfin 1993; Morton and Carskadden 2004a, 2004b, 2004c; Morton et al. 2004; Purtill 2003a, 2003b; Stothers 1996; as well as information contained in select OAI forms and at the Cincinnati Museum Center). The database included artifacts from all four phys- iographic provinces. As seen in Table 15.3, the earliest Early Archaic styles (Early Side Notched, Charleston, and Thebes horizons) were not distributed evenly across the state. Early Side Notched-horizon bifaces, for example, are present almost exclusively in the Unglaciated Plateau region of Ohio, although Stothers,Schneider,and Pape (2001) recently have documented small numbers of these artifacts in several collections in the Glaciated Plateau area, as well. Thebes-horizon bifaces also show uneven statewide distribution, being heavily represented in the western Till and Lake plains regions and less so in the more mountainous plateau areas. Table 15.3 illustrates that Kirk/Palmer—horizon bifaces are recovered in great frequency across all portions of the state. These artifacts represent the first biface horizon to be distributed in near-equal proportions across all four physiographic regions, a trend that is seen in subsequent Early—Middle Archaic biface horizons. Figure 15.12. Cal post-6300 B.P. absolute date ranges for Ohio sites by physiographic region. Table 15.3. Early-Middle Archaic Hafted-Biface Horizon Distribution by Physiographic Setting. Note: Count followed by percentage in parentheses. Percentage represents proportion of total bifaces within each physiographic region Table 15.4. Percentage of Archaic Sites within Physiographic Regions. Table 15.5. Archaic-Period Sites by Landform Type. Figure 15,16. Plan view of salvage excavations at the Dravo Gravel site in Hamilton County, Ohio. Table 15.6. Faunal Assemblage Composition from Selected Late Archaic Sites. Figure 15.17. Incised antler handle and bone inset from the Late Archaic Berryhill Cemetery site (33CL17). Photograph courtesy of Dayton Society of Natural History, Anthropology Department.
Recent investigations by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) identified an extensive Late Archaic occupation at Burrell Orchard (33LN15), located on a promontory overlooking the Black River in northern Ohio. CMNH excavations have documented widespread midden deposits, prepared clay floors, post molds, and pit features including numerous smudge pits. The formal chipped stone tool assemblage is dominated by lanceolate projectile points and bifacial “drills.” High-powered lithic microwear analysis was performed on 28 formal chipped stone tools recovered from the 2008 and 2014 CMNH field seasons. Tool types examined included complete and fragmentary lanceolate points, drills, and other bifaces. The results indicate that many “drills” were actually used to perforate dry hide and, thus, may have held a unique place in the hide-processing activities conducted at the site.
In the summer of 2007 the Settler’s Ridge site (33-AS-32), an Early Woodland upland encampment, was investigated through a series of cultural resource investigations. Excavations at the site suggest a single or limited occupation during the Early Woodland sometime between 569 to 624 B.C. The size of the site, depositional patterning of the artifacts, and feature outlay indicate a small sized encampment probably related to hunting activities in the uplands. This article summarizes the analysis of the lithic and ceramic assemblages, radiocarbon dates, site structure and the depositional patterning evident at the site. Pottery recovered during excavations is Leimbach Cordmarked, which is representative of much of the northern Ohio area during the Early Woodland. Few Early Woodland upland sites in northern Ohio containing pottery have been intensively studied. Consequently, Settler’s Ridge adds important information on how upland landforms were used during this period.
The Early Holocene period remains the least understood segment of lower Great Lakes prehistory. This paper provides a descriptive and synthetic catalogue of curated Early and Middle Archaic projectile points from the Niagara Frontier of westem New York and adjacent Ontario, documents their diversity and diagnostic attributes, and discusses their distribution, frequency and probable ages in the region. The number and variety of diagnostic Early Holocene artifacts identified in these collections suggest that past models of culture-history and cultural dynamics in the early post-glacial lower Great Lakes region need to be reconsidered.
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.
"The Early Holocene period remains the least understood segment of lower Great Lakes prehistory. This paper provides a descriptive and synthetic catalog of curated Early and Middle Archaic projectile points from the Niagara Frontier of western New York and adjacent Ontario, documents their diversity and diagnostic attributes, and discusses their distribution, frequency, and probable ages in the region. The number and variety of diagnostic Early Holocene artifacts identified in these collections suggest that past models of culture-history and cultural dynamics in the early post-glacial lower Great Lakes region need to be reconsidered. An old chestnut, published 1998 in a very deeply hidden series and ignored either because it should be or because it's very hard to find. Admittedly this is a very old-school, cultural historical and normative exercise, but hopefully was a useful exercise to bring old collections, and some then-recent survey collections, out into the open and to rethink some ideas about 4000 years of poorly understood prehistory based upon those materials."
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.
In this article, we employ post-processual concepts of "communities of practice" and "chaine-operatoire" to examine the Matanzas point type. We conclude that Matanzas points, as originally defined by , represent a very distinctly manufactured, hafted biface tool tradition, with well-defined metric and nonmetric traits. In the 1970s, this projectile point type definition was expanded, potentially making it a less useful cultural indicator. Based on the reported age and distribution of Matanzas points throughout the Midwest, evidence of distantly related social groupings and population movement and dispersal are posited.
Matthew Purtill
