The Gore Pit Site: An Archaic Occupation in Southwestern Oklahoma and a Review Of the Archaic Stage in the Southern Plains

Abstract

The Gore Pit site (34CM131), which is within the city limits of Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma, has been revealing evidence of Archaic occupation through excavation and surface collection since 1963. The site is contained in the bottom of a large borrow pit which was sera ped to a depth of 15 to 20 feet by he Highway Department.The pit is on the active flood plain of East Cache Creek and borders the creek a few feet to the east. The artifacts recovered by surface collection include projectile points, scrapers, scraper planes, Clear Fork gouges, andgrinding stones and basins. Three burned rock middens were excavated, one of which yielded radiocarbon dates, 6030 + 300 B.P. (Bastian 1964) and 6145+ 130 B.P. (GX1558). In the spring of 1968, a partially preserved, semiflexed human burial was discovered in the pit. There were no associated artifacts. A radiocarbon date obtained from the apatite fraction of the bone resulted in a determination of 7100+350 B.P. (GX2009). The earliest Archaic on the Southern Plains is presently dated around 6000 B.P. However, there is a paucity of dated and documented sites for the preceding 2000 years. Archaic subsistence patterns occur at least 2000 years earlier in areas to the west and east. The origin and age of the earliest Archaic in the Southern Plains remains undetermined. The Archaic must ultimately be identified on the basis of subsistence patterns and not on the basis of projectile point styles.     

A Tentative Cultural Sequence for the Snyder Site,Kansas

Abstract

Prior to the past decade documentation for the Archaic period in Kansas has not been substantial. One reason evidence has been slow in emerging is the discovery that Archaic sites are often buried under several feet of overburden, maKing their detection difficult. The Snyder site (14BU9), north of ElDorado in Butler County, Kansas, is such a site. Four tentative phases are defined: Butler, Walnut, El Dorado, and Chelsea.     

A Possible Paleo-Indian and Archaic Site in the Swan Valley,Manitoba

Abstract

An archaeological site uncovered in the Swan Valley of Manitoba during road construction yie1ded a small group of artifacts including a Paleo-Indian projectile point and side-notched Archaic points. The site is significant as it lies in a corridor which probably served as a vital migration route between the Northern Plains and the diminishing lakes within the Lake Agassiz Basin.     

Art and Territoriality in the Lower Pecos Archaic

Abstract

The approximate prehistoric territorial limits of an Archaic belief system in the lower Pecos area of Texas is hypothesized on the basis of the geographic distribution of a distinctive pictograph style. It is proposed that these rock art localities functioned as ritual sites for a group of Archaic bands who shared a common ideology.     

The Scoggin Site: a Study in Mckean Typology

Abstract

The Scoggin Site, an Early Middle Period Bison kill in south-central Wyoming, yielded two distinct stylized projectile point varieties from the one bone layer present. This single component affords optimum opportunity to study the two varieties of points in one context. The technology for the projectile point assemblage is described, and literature concerning the deep side-notched Early Middle Period or Archaic age points from the Northwestern Plains and the northern Great Basin is discussed.

In order to discover if the deep side-notched projectile points from Scoggin (reminiscent of much later projectile point types) were indeed part of the McKean classification, their dimensions were compared to those of the indented base McKean lanceolate projectile points from the same site. The measurements overlap or can be otherwise explained for both lanceolate and side-notched forms. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to demonstrate that the two types of points are quite homogeneous.

The question as to why the points differ stylistically has several possible answers. For example, the two types may represent interacting but identifiable ethnic groups, or the numerical superiority of the side-notched point may reflect hafting superiority. At any rate, the deep side-notched point is an integral part of the Early Middle Period and can be classified as McKean.     

Burned Rock Midden Sites on the Southwestern Edge of the Edwards Plateau,Texas

Abstract

Data from two groups of burned rock midden sites are presented. Occupation of the sites seems to have been heaviest during Archaic times, with some Late Prehistoric and possible Paleo-Indian components also recognized. A burial is described from one site. Problems pertaining to burned rock midden sites are briefly discussed.     

Discriminant Analysis of Certain Middle Missouri Tradition Projectiles

Abstract

Projectiles from nine Middle Missouri tradition sites in two contiguous archaeological regions are analyzed. These sites date from the 12th to 17th centuries. Discriminant Analysis was used to cluster sites on the basis of similarities in projectile size and shape. The site groupings provided by this analysis crosscut geographic boundaries, suggesting that the variation is not due to local manufacturing practices; rather, the noted differences probably reflect pattern changing through time.     

Resource Management and Locational Strategies of Certain Prehistoric Sites in Central Texas

Abstract

An analysis of three Archaic Nee-American Stage sites along the San Gabriel River of central Texas was performed in order to relate management of local resources to choice of site location. This salvagefinanced investigation led to the conclusion” that both midden and campsites were located near but not necessarily on the source of a few highly valued products to the detriment of all other less desirable and more distant resources.     

The Simonsen Site: Report For the Summer Of 1959

Abstract

Isolated surface finds of probable Archaic and Paleo-Indian sites have been made in western Iowa for the past decade. Recently 3 sites have been found in this area, along tributaries of the Missouri River, containing cultural material buried in sediments 13-17 feet below the modern surface. One of these sites, the Simonsen, exposed on a loop of the Little Sioux River, is described.

Bison bones were eroding below the top of an alluvial terrace. This profile is divided into 8 stratigraphic zones, Zones 1 and 2, were 9 feet thick and composed of sterile loam, sand and gravels. Zone 3, contained several disintegrated bison bones, fine ash, burned earth, a fire pit with charred log fragments and a hearth containing a large canid but no artifacts. Zone 4, 1-2 feet thick was composed of sterile interbedded gravels and sand. Zone 5, from a few inches to 2 feet thick contained small flecks of charcoal, and a fragment of a projectile point. Zone 6 was a very stilty sand interbedded with sand silts. Zone 7, 2-3 feet thick was the most profilic source of cultural material but considering the large area exposed, produced few artifacts. These were knives, flakes, 2 anvil stones and 3 points. Zone 8, a gravelly deposit of unknown thickness, underlay the cultural deposits.

A total of 7 bison skulls or partial skulls were collected in addition to abundant remains of other parts of the skeletons. These remains were tentatively assigned to the extinct specie, Bison occidentalis. Measurements of the metapoidals of these specimens agreed in massiveness with those from Scottsbluff and were smaller than specimen from the Brewster and Lipscomb sites which contained bison antiquus and Folsom artifacts.

The 1959 collection from the Simonsen site supports earlier observations of affiliations with the Logan Creek Site of Nebraska and argues for assignment within the late Paleo-Indian to early Archaic horizon.     

Projectile Points From Preceramic Occupations Near Fort Thompson,South Dakota: A Preliminary Report*

Abstract

The article describes in detail and illustrates 58 projectile points excavated from five sites within a six mile radius near the Big Bend of the Missouri River.Geological interpretations, as well as typological relationships to previously reported points outside of the region, indicate a local human prehistory of at least 8, 000 years.     

A Woodland Burial from Boney Spring,Missouri

Abstract

A secondary burial from a peat layer adjoining the spring feeder at Boney Spring, Benton County, southwestern Missouri, is identified as a young adult male, interred about A.D. 50. The burial, associated with Early Woodland materials in the peat bed, was less than one meter from the edge of the spring feeder in deposits once saturated with water - suggesting that the burial (and associated Woodland features) was made at a time of reduced spring discharge and, perhaps, during a period of reduced precipitation. The burial is well within the limits of characteristics recorded for eastern Archaic groups, lending support to the hypothesis of continuity between the Archaic and Early Woodland peoples in the American Midwest.     

The AvonLea Point

Abstract

The authors define a readily distinguished type of small, triangular, side-rotched projectile point previously assigned to the Late Prehistoric Period of the northwestern Plains but which was thought too generalized to be used in studies of cultural and ethnic affiliation.

Type sites are described, geographical distributions made, and factors considered which may have influenced the development of this point type in southwestern Saskatchewan.

It is concluded that the Avonlea point is sufficiently unique and temporally delimited to serve as a useful marker for the early Late Prehistoric Period in the northwestern Plains.     

The Strohacker Site: A Review of Pre-Archaic Manifestations in Texas

Abstract

Investigations at the Strohacker site in central Texas produced a number of late Paleo-Indian and pre-Archaic artifacts. These are described and the site is compared to several other Texas sites from which similar artifacts were recovered in recent years. On the basis of present evidence, it is proposed that the latter part of the Paleo-Indian period ended in parts of Texas around 6000 B.C. and was followed by a transitional preArchaic phase which extended throughout the Altithermal. This phase was succeeded by a developed Archaic tradition about 3500 B.C.     

Archaic Skeletal Remains from the Central Plains: Demography and Burial Practices

Abstract

Recently a number of reports on Plains Archaic skeletal material have been published which quadruple the number of burials described and analyzed in the literature. Although the total number of burials is still relatively small, it is large enough to allow research to begin in paieodemographic aspects of the central part of thePlains and the suggestion of burial patterns for these materials. By combining all Archaic burials from the Plains a demographic profile has been developed. It is compared with other Archaic populations from the eastern United States, and with a Plains population dating after A.O. 1000. The results of the analysis show that with few exceptions burial patterns and the demographic picture of the Plains are quite stable over time, although differences are found in metric and non-metric variations in both the time and space continua. The analysis further shows that certain anomalous conditions in the skeleton appear to be much more prevalent inArchaic material than in recent material from the same area. The results finally suggest that Archaic people in the demographic and burial practice continua are quite similar to later populations, at least through Middle Mississippian populationsin the Plains.     

Phillips Spring, 23HI216:

Abstract

The Phillips Spring Site is situated on a Holocene terrace of the Pomme de Terre River in northern Hickory County, Missouri. Eleven. radiocarbon dates provide a good chronologie framework for the four cultural components recognized at the site. There are three Archaic components which span the period 4280 to 1990 BP. The initial Archaic occupation coincides with the establishment of the present vegetation pattern in the area. A single Late Woodland assemblage, dating from 1410 to 1000 BP, is comparable in cultural content to components of the HighlandAspect.     

Earth Ovens (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Píib</Emphasis>) in the Maya Lowlands: Ethnobotanical Data Supporting Early Use

Earth Ovens ( Píib ) in the Maya Lowlands: Ethnobotanical Data Supporting Early Use. Earth oven cooking is very important among the Yucatec Maya. It is used for daily, festive, and ceremonial occasions, contrasting with other Mesoamerican cultures that use this technique sporadically. In this paper we present an ethnobotanical analysis of the use of earth ovens in a Maya community in Yucatan, Mexico, and discuss its possible antiquity, probable reasons for its continuity, and its current and past importance. We found four oven types in daily use as well as in ritual and celebratory contexts. These involve both men and women in a way that favors transmission of traditional knowledge to the next generation and promotes social bonding and ethnic identity. Of the 46 plant species used in their construction or for the dishes cooked in them, 82% are native and produced in traditional agricultural systems: milpa (kool in Maya) maize-bean-squash association and conuco (pach pakal in Maya) based on tubers such as manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Research suggests that this food preparation technology has the same antiquity as its associated agricultural systems (approximately 3400 to 3000 B.C.E.). Earth ovens were probably used to cook roots and meat in the Archaic and then to cook tamales (vegetal-wrapped maize dough) beginning in the Preclassic. Continuity of traditional agricultural and cultural practices has favored preservation of earth ovens.     

Holocene climate and vegetation in the Milford drainage basin,Maine, U.S.A., and their implications for human history

A 9200 ¹⁴C year fossil pollen record from a small kettle lake in central Maine, northeast U.S.A., records the development of nearby upland vegetation throughout the Archaic, Ceramic, and Historic periods of human history. The Early Archaic period (9000 to 8000 B.P.) began as open woodland dominated by Picea, Populus, and Larix, which was replaced by Pinus forest. During the Middle Archaic (8000-6000 B.P.) Tsuga-dominated forest, which developed ca. 7400 B.P., was followed by Pinus forest (ca. 6400 B.P.). The Late Archaic (6000-3000 B.P.) was a period of great transition; Tsuga forest developed again ca. 5700 B.P., but was abruptly replaced by northern hardwood forest ca. 4700 B.P. That Late Archaic expansion of hardwoods would have provided better forage for beaver. Coincidentally, boreal wetland mammals such as beaver (Castor canadensis) and muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) increase in faunal assemblages of local archaeological sites, while remains of anadromous fish decrease. We postulate that the apparent increase in human populations throughout the region during the Late Archaic may be attributed to an increase in the resource base within both upland and wetland areas resulting from the development of hardwood forest in response to climatic cooling.     

The Paleoethnobotany of the Nebo Hill Site

Abstract

Carbonized botanical remains from Nebo Hill 23CL11), a Late Archaic site along the Missouri River, are investigated to gain information relevant to several lines of analysis. A considerable diversity of taxa are represented, but most are present in low quantities. Results indicate that black walnuts (Juglans nigra) were the predominant plant food gathered. Seeds may also have been utilized, but the evidence is not conclusive. Gathering activities appear to have concentrated on a narrow range of plant foods. Seasonal availability of recovered plant remains indicates a probable late summer and autumn occupation.     

Rummells-Maske: A Clovis Find-Spot in Iowa

Abstract

The first controlled excavation of a Clovis site in Iowa revealed a concentration of complete and fragmentary Clovis Fluted projectile points. The site, in eastern Iowa, is interpreted as a projectile point cache destroyed by agricultural implements. Measurements and photographs are provided to facilitate the comparison of the collection with assemblages from other states.