Looking at prehistory : Indiana's Hoosier National Forest ...Now, we are pleased to present this overview ofthe prehistory of the Hoosier NationalForest region. Wehopeyouenjoy andlearnfrom

United StatesDepartment ofAgriculture

Forest Service

November 2006

4s

LOOKING AT PREHISTORY:INDIANA'S

HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST REGION,12,000 B.C. TO 1650

By: Noel D. Justice

Late Archaic Period 4000 - 1000 B.C.Shell mounds, cam^s, to exploit seasonal foods,

Long distance trade

Trend for cooler tew.feratures

Middle Archaic Period 6000 - 4000 B.C.Atlatl weights first appearHunting and gathering

Height of climatic warming

Early Archaic Period 8000 - 6000 B.C.Hunting and gathering

TZesharpening s,tone tools, for longer use

climate warms-hardwood forests and prairies

Paleoindian Period 712000 - 8000 B.C.6nd of the iceAge-c.limatit warmingsprnce-'Fir -^crests give way to fine and later hardwoods,

Hunting of new extinct game animals .

Prehistoric Time Periods© Noel Justice

INDIANA UNIVERSITYLIBRARYBLOOMINGTON

LOOKING AT PREHISTORY:INDIANA'S

HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST REGION,12,000 B.C. TO 1650

By

Noel D. Justice

F

ruJ(XX>

Looking at Prehistory

H:

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Published 2006 by the Government Printing Office

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all itsprograms and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parentalstatus, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from anypublic assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

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Dear Reader-

As Forest Supervisor of the Hoosier National Forest, I'm pleased you're interestedin this book. Here in Indiana we have a wealth of cultural heritage sites. Wecontinue to discover more about past human use of southern Indiana's hillcountry and are excited to share this overview with you.

In 1992, we published a book, detailing the history of the area, entitled Looking atHistory: Indiana's Hoosier National Forest Region, 1600 to 1950. The book you'reholding now is the companion to that earlier work. It focuses on human use of theregion during the prehistoric period, prior to use of the written word.

Consider it. We have 400 years of history and perhaps 14,000 years of prehistory.Since the glaciers receded from the area, untold numbers of people have come andgone— changing and adapting to the environmental conditions. Modernarchaeological methods and techniques are crucial to our ability to understand asmuch as possible about what little evidence remains.

As public land managers, we are entrusted with the care of these important nonrenewable resources. Because archaeological sites are highly valued resources,numerous federal and state laws have been enacted to protect them fromintentional and unintentional damage and destruction. Please help us protect ourcultural heritage. If you find artifacts, leave them undisturbed and report theirlocation to the heritage resource specialist in our Bedford office.

The timing of the publication of this book coincides with the 100th anniversary ofthe U.S. Forest Service and the 100th year of the Antiquities Act. For a century,our agency has been "Caring for the Land and Serving People," and this bookdovetails well with our continuing efforts to do both.

Now, we are pleased to present this overview of the prehistory of the HoosierNational Forest region. We hope you enjoy and learn from these pages!

Sincere>incerely.

Kenneth G. Day C--^Forest Supervisor


Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Angie R. Krieger and Teena Ligman of the

Hoosier National Forest for their suggestions on writing style and explanatory

content for the manuscript. I also wish to thank Suzanne K. Justice for her

editorial advice and assistance with slides and other photographic images and

also Staffan Peterson for providing images taken during his recent research at

Angel Mounds State Historic Site. I also wish to thank Dr. Leslie Bush for her

expertise and providing references for images of edible wild plant foods and Dr.

Bill Monaghan for his comments and editorial advice. Dr. Christopher S. Peebles

has my sincere appreciation for his editorial advice and for supporting this and

my other research and writing.

Credits

The use of certain photographic images, as well as private and published

images and collections, is acknowledged and credited in the particular figure

where they appear. Unless otherwise credited, all other graphics and

photographic images used in this book are of materials selected from the

collections and archives of the USDA Hoosier National Forest, Bedford, IN and

the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University, Bloomington,

IN. All original artwork is copyrighted by Noel Justice.

Table of Contents

Page

Introduction 1

Paleoindian Period: ?12,000 to 8:000 B.C. 12

Early Archaic Period: 8,000 to 6,000 B.C. 22

Middle Archaic Period: 6,000 to 4,000 B.C. 28

Late Archaic Period: 4,000 to 1,000 B.C. 33

Early Woodland Period: 1,000 to 200 B.C. 43

Middle Woodland Period: 200 B.C. to A.D. 500 47

Late Woodland Period: ca. A.D. 500 to 1500 59

Mississippian Period A.D. 1,000 to 1650 68

Relating Prehistoric Cultures to Historic Indian Tribes 77

The Role of the Public in Archaeological Research 83

Suggested Reading and References 88

Passport in Time Program 89

Important Federal and State Laws 92

Archaeological Research Centers and Organizations in Indiana 93

Glossary 94

Note: All artifacts are in centimeter scale.


Late Archaic Period 4000 - 1000 B.C.shell rn.ouvvds,,camps to exploit season-al foods,

Lovu>)distai-vce trade

Trevjd for cooler temperatures

Middle Archaic Period 6000 - 4000 B.C.Atlatl weights first appearHuvitivu? avu).gathering

Height of climatic warmly

Early Archaic Period 8000 - 6000 B.C.Hunting avid gathering

Rjisharperu.^ ston,e tools for lon-ger use

climate warms-hardwood forests awd prairies

Paleoindian Period 712000-8000 B.C.BvuA of the iceAge-climatic warming

-Spruee 7Fir forests give way to pine avud later hardwoods

Huvitivu* of now extliM.t game animals

Prehistoric Time PeriodsNoel Justice

4.Mississippian Period A.D. 1000 - 1650Agriculture to support large towns

Defensive palisades, temple nt.cuin.ds, heavy trade

Later- large towns afcai«<oned for smaller villages

Late Woodland Period A.D. 500 - 1500Mound building declines, Larger villaces

Farming and gathering of wild plants

Hunting and gathering continues

Middle Woodland Period 200 B.C. - A.D. 500burial mounds and earthworksLona distance trade iin. ceremonial aoods

Hunting, gathering and growing plants for food

Q)Early Woodland Period 1000 - 200 B.C.Pottery fust appearsHunting and gathering using seasonal camps

Prehistoric Time PeriodsNoel Justice


Looking at Prehistory: Introduction

Remains of the first Americans are allaround us, on the surface and buried inthe ground. For perhaps 14,000 yearspeople lived throughout Indiana, tamingthe wilderness to suit their needs,building homes, raising children, andestablishing important culturaltraditions long before Europeans cameto the region in the mid- 1600 's.Though many people today envision

the lives of the First Americans as a verysimple existence, archaeologicalresearch reveals complex societies,vibrant technical and artistic traditionsand, moreover, an understanding of thenatural world which rivals our own.Lacking all modern conveniences, NativeAmericans learned the rhythms of thenatural cycles of life by experimentationand observation. Knowledge was carriedby elders who taught the wisdom of theages to the new generations usingstories and songs. Unlike people today,prehistoric families made almosteverything they needed. If they desiredgoods and raw materials from far awayplaces, they traveled by canoe andoverland trails or traded withneighboring tribes to obtain them.Early peoples who lived within theHoosier National Forest were littledifferent from people who lived outsidethe hill country. In fact, many of themcame seasonally to the south centralIndiana hills to hunt, fish, and collectfoods, while living in adjacent areasduring other times of the year (Figure 1).Even though the hill country is dissectedby deep ravines and ridges and is ruggedcompared to other parts of Indiana,prehistoric people living in the HoosierNational Forest were never cut-off fromtheir neighbors for any length of time,except perhaps during infrequent heavysnows and floods while enjoying thenatural protection and comfort of themany rockshelters (Figure 2). They

Figure 1: Location of USDA HoosierNational Forest lands within Indiana.

enjoyed access to trade goods fromdistant places and took part in newsocial, political and technologicaldevelopments. The tools and otherartifacts that they left behind for us todiscover and study often showconnections on many levels to othergroups who lived over a wide territory ofthe Midwest.Within these pages we will explorewhat is known about prehistoric peoplesof the Hoosier National Forest and theircultural traditions, from the time NativeAmericans first came to southernIndiana until people of Europeandescent arrived and began logging theforest and reshaping the land into familyfarms.It is difficult to understand howmuch people can change over thousandsof years, particularly when there is nowritten record of their lives to document

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Figure 2: Rockshelter showing alcove, sandstone overhang and slope down from theshelter.

what they experienced and achieved.Archaeologists are interested in manythings including tools, items of trade,locations of camps and villages, houseconstruction, plant and animalremains, customs of caring for thedeceased, as well as a multitude ofother small clues from the prehistoricpast. Why? Because these are thetangible remains of past humanbehavior. Without these physical cluesand a reliable way to determine theirage, it would be nearly impossible totalk about people in the past in anyinformed manner.Owing to the humid climate of this

part of the country, many of the thingsprehistoric people made and usedregularly from wood, fiber, animalskins, and even bones, disintegrated along time ago often due to damp and

highly acid soil. Even if some of thesehappen to be preserved in some uniqueway, such as dry conditions or specialsoil chemistry, we are still limited inwhat we can say confidently aboutpeoples of the past because someimportant evidence is always missing.For these reasons, archaeologists arelike detectives when they collectinformation from surveys for prehistoricremains on the ground surface and byconducting site excavations. Anarchaeologist is trained to collect eventhe smallest bits of evidence, and, forthis reason, law enforcement officialsoften call upon them to look carefully forclues at contemporary crime scenes andcollect evidence to help solve mysteries.

The first question often askedupon finding a prehistoric artifact or siteis, "how old is it?" Archaeologists today

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have many ways of answering thisquestion through years of experience inthe careful analysis of archaeologicalsites and with help from other branchesof science.The excavation of an archaeologicalsite that has been inhabited forthousands of years can reveal asequence of layers that representdifferent human occupations in the past.This is termed stratigraphy. If therehave been no disturbances to thevarious deposits, continued excavationuncovers progressively olderoccupations. Sometimes theseoccupation layers may be separated byone or more layers of sediment that lacksigns of human habitation. These layersof sediment can be the result of rock andsoil accumulated during a landslide,rocks fallen from the roof of arockshelter, silt deposited by a floodingriver, or dust blown in by the wind(Figure 3). From such a site, one canreadily discern the relative age of theoccupations from recent ones, which areclosest to the surface of the site, to theoldest, found within the deepest layersin the excavation, along with separationsdue to natural geological events. Whilethe relative age of each layer is recorded,the actual age of the individual humanoccupations and geological depositsremains unknown.

Today there are many ways ofdetermining the age of archaeologicalfinds, but radiocarbon (carbon- 14)dating is the main technique used byarchaeologists. Radiocarbon is amethod by which charred material suchas wood, nuts and other organic remainsis carefully collected from anarchaeological site and then sent to aspecial laboratory for analysis. Thelaboratory burns the charred material ata high temperature in a controlledenvironment and counts the amount ofcarbon- 14 atoms in the gas emitted fromthe sample. The reason this datingtechnique is considered reliable isbecause carbon- 14 is absorbed by allliving organisms from the atmosphereand everything living at the same timecontains essentially the same amount ofcarbon- 14. This dating technique wasdeveloped in 1950 by Willard Libby, achemist, who discovered the rate atwhich carbon- 14 disintegrates when anorganism dies. By finding out howmuch carbon- 14 remains in a sample,scientists can calculate how many yearshave passed since death occurred andobtain a statistical age for the sample(Figure 4).Radiocarbon dates are now known forliterally thousands of archaeologicalsites. The samples have been collectedfrom within burned houses, including

Figure 3: Soil

stratification showingalternating layers ofsediment depositedduring creek floodingepisodes. Prairie Creeksite, Damess County.Indiana University fieldschool, 1975.

Page 3


charred posts and timbers, as well asfire and storage pits, and occupationlayers containing charcoal, charrednuts, and other organic matter.Cultural items such as projectile pointsand pottery found with samples thathave been radiocarbon dated areassumed to date to the same agebecause of their association. Thus, anarchaeologist can often pick up a pieceof pottery or a projectile point and, afteridentifying it, can assign an age becausethe same or similar items haverepeatedly been radiocarbon dated to thesame time period.Archaeologists are always looking fornew techniques to employ inarchaeological surveys and excavations.We need ways in which to makefieldwork easier, less time consumingand more cost-effective. At the sametime, we need to record and assessarchaeological sites on the surface andwithin buried layers of soil with greateraccuracy and detail. The crew chief of atypical archaeological survey will be incharge of recording on maps thearchaeological sites that are discoveredand collecting all the relative data, suchas the location and size of the site andany existing features or characteristicsof the site (Figure 5). The standardmaps for hiking in unfamiliar territoryand also for plotting a sites location andconfiguration in space are available fromthe United States Geological Survey (e.g.USGS quadrangles). One greatimprovement for locating site's developedin recent years is Global PositioningSystems or GPS, where a hand-heldelectronic device is used to record alocation by signaling with satellites inspace (Figure 6). The location of a siterecorded in this manner allows accuracywithin a few feet. Perhaps the mostimportant advantage of using GPS datacomes years later after the initial survey,when a new field crew is attempting torelocate a site in the hilly terrain of the

Figure 4: One of the first radiocarbonlaboratories in the 1950's showing some ofthe equipment used to process charredwood, bone, and other organic samples

from archaeological sites and record thecarbon gases emitted from the incineratedsamples to determine their age.

Figure 5: Students conducting a controlled

surface collection on a Martin Countyarchaeological site. Indiana University fieldschool, 1993.

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Hoosier National Forest. With theoriginal notes and readings from the firstsurvey, the recorded GPS coordinatescan be entered into a GPS handset andquickly reestablish the exact spot wherethe site was recorded.

Figure 6: Handset for GPS (GlobalPositioning System). The system,which is operated by the UnitedStates government, allows theuser to link with satellites tolocate a precise position on theground. It is perfect for accuratelylocating archaeological sites ormoving through unfamiliarterritory with a variety of maps,including USGS quadrangles, thatarchaeologists often use. Varioushandsets are available thatprovide many options fromdetermining altitude to compassbearings, trip mileage, and travelroutes, etc. The handset shown iscurrently used to locatearchaeological sites within theHoosier National Forest.

The first professional archaeologist inIndiana, Glenn A. Black, enthusiasticallyembraced any new scientific equipmentthat could be used in archaeological fieldresearch (Figure 7). One such piece ofcutting edge equipment was the protonmagnetometer. As the first to use such adevice in North American archaeology,Black began mapping the subsurfacearchitectural features of the AngelMounds site by recording minutechanges in the magnetic field of the soilwithin the upper archaeological zone thatwere caused by disturbances within thenatural soil of the site (Figure 8). Theproton magnetometer made it possible todiscern anomalies below the surface thathad been created by the prehistoricMississippian inhabitants as much as1,000 years ago. This included a largewall that had once fortified the town aswell as the locations of houses and otherfeatures that were not visible on groundsurface (Figure 9).

Figure 7: Glenn A. Black checking a recentlyexcavated concentration ofprehistoric Mississippianartifacts and food remains at Angel Mounds StateHistoric Site. Indiana University field school, 1 960.

Page 5


Figure 8: Proton Magnetometer in use at AngelMounds State Historic Site, 1960's. Theequipment was heavy and so the main components were installed in a van to transportaround the site.

With this early technology,however, the degree of sensitivitywas low and it was a slow process torecord the data over such a large(100 acre) archaeological site. Thistechnology also did not allowresearchers to make criticalcorrections for variations in magneticand celestial activity, such as sunspots, which affected the readingsfrom the instruments (Figure 10).Today, magnetometers along withmany other types of highly sensitiveinstruments are often employed inarchaeological investigations. All ofthe equipment and applications forarchaeological prospecting come

Figure 9: Excavation of a bastion trench along the outerstockade ofAngel site. The stockade once fortified the100 acre Mississippian town located near Evansville,IN. A proton magnetometer was used to follow andmap the stockade and other prehistoric features beyondthe areas of excavation. The proton magnetometer recorded high and low electronic signals within the soilthat mark the locations where trenches had been duglong ago to insert upright posts for the stockade andalso the locations of houses and pits of all kinds. All ofthe wooden constructions deteriorated with time leavingonly stains in the soil and areas of disturbed earth.Circular stains marking the locations ofpost-molds fromthe former bastion are obscured in the water and mud

from a recent downpour. After sufficient sun to dry themud, the stains were exposed once again by carefulhand-troweling so they could be mapped and recorded.Works Progress Administration (WPA) excavations atAngel Mounds State Historic Site, fall 1 940.

Figure 10: Hand instrumentsused with the protonmagnetometer investigationsat Angel Mounds. The longdevice is a probe that wasconnected to a receiver totransmit signals from the soilto detect prehistoric houses,pits, and other anomaliesburied below the ground

surface.

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under the heading of remote sensing orgeophysics. The Glenn A. BlackLaboratory of Archaeology carries on thetradition established by Black bycontinuing to document the subsurfacearchaeological features over the entireAngel Mounds site using magnetometry(Figure 11).Subsurface surveys using remotesensing equipment such asgradiometers, ground penetrating radar,as well as electrical resistivity andconductivity meters and other devices,have all been used in conjunction withsurface surveys and, in advance ofexcavations, to find materials such asconcentrations of ceramics, fire-crackedrocks, pits, and hearths. Together,these are called features byarchaeologists and they often show upas readings of higher than normalmagnetism. The data is downloadedonto computers equipped withsophisticated mapping systems such asGIS (Geographic Information Systems)as well as various other programs. Suchequipment, including Global PositioningSystems, has been used with success atprehistoric villages, camps, and othersites across southern Indiana.Archaeologists working within theHoosier National Forest often employthese techniques and systems (Figures

12-13). For example, in advance of testexcavations at Indian Cave byarchaeologists from Ball State Universityin 1998, ground penetrating radar (GPR)was used to make a map of thesubsurface contexts of the site whichwas later used to help guide the testexcavations of the site which had beenimpacted by recreational use andlooting. Ground penetrating radarhelped to find anomalies in the cavesediments before excavation, therebyaffording the researchers the advantageof having some insight into the culturallayers, rock fall, disturbances andvarious sediments they would encounter(Figure 14).

Figure 11: An excavation of a prehistorichouse at Angel Mounds with pit featuresand artifacts identified with a magnetometer. In recent years, remote sensing with amagnetometer has documented many prehistoric houses and interior stockades thatwere previously unknown. Indiana University field school, 2005.

Figure 12: Close-up of ground penetratingradar instrument (GPR) with display ofanomalies identified by the readings. Thisequipment was used during investigationsat Indian Cave by Ball State University in1997.

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Figure 13: A ground penetrating radar(GPR) hand unit in use over an archaeological site to transmit readings ofanomalies below the ground surface backto a receiver.

Archaeological excavation, no matterhow carefully accomplished andrecorded, ultimately destroys thecontexts of artifacts and features that itdiscovers. It is, therefore, encouragingthat in the near future various remotesensing techniques will be used torecord prehistoric cultural phenomenabeneath the ground surface with enoughprecision that large scale and costlyexcavations will be unnecessary. Withthe various sampling techniques now inuse, a tremendous amount can begleaned from small test excavations toverify and sample the cultural featuresdiscovered using remote sensing (Figure15).It is now more important than ever topreserve the cultural integrity ofimportant archaeological sites for thelong term. The few remainingarchaeological sites must be saved fromdestruction by development and artifactlooting by vandals. It is a federal crimeto dig archaeological sites, collect, ordisturb artifacts within the HoosierNational Forest or other public and statelands without a permit and an approvedresearch plan. Visitors need to respect

Figure 14: Beginning excavations at theentrance of Indian Cave. Excavations byBall State University in 1997 and 1998

"

found evidence of sporadic occupationsspanning the Archaic periods. This is one

of the few sites in Indiana where small bitsof cordage and squash remains have beenidentified. However, valuable informationwas lost due to heavy looting in the upperzones of the site. Archaeologists wereunable to continue excavations beneathrock fallen from the collapsed roof and sothe true depth of the human occupations isunknown.

the law and help preserve cultural andnatural resources on public land byreporting acts of vandalism toarchaeological sites and other cultural ornatural resources. With support fromamateur archaeologists and the public,the archaeological record will bepreserved for future generations ofHoosiers.The archaeological record in Indianaspans at least 12,000 years and perhapsas many as 14,000 years. During sucha long time whole cultures, including thelanguage and customs, can changemany times. New ideas, ways of viewingthe world and making a living evolved;some were maintained for a long timewhile others changed and some wereentirely forgotten with the passing of

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time. All these cultural changes tookplace in the wake of people modifyingtheir surroundings, coping withenvironmental changes, and borrowingfrom other Native people. Thus, whilearchaeologists can often say a great dealthat is meaningful about these people ofthe past, we do not know what theycalled themselves, nor do we know thelanguages they spoke or the cultural andsocial groups as they were known to thepeople themselves.The terms and names archaeologists

use to relate prehistory can be confusingand we will briefly define some of thesethat will be used within the followingchapters. These include "time period","type", "cluster", "tradition", and"phase".Various named time periods aretypically used by archaeologists as ameans of dividing a long sequence oftime into smaller units so thatdevelopments and changes that takeplace can be more easily discussed (seePrehistoric Times Periods on insidecovers). This also allows changes anddevelopments of one period to becompared with another. ThePaleoindian and Archaic time periods,for example, connote lifeways only invery broad terms and these weresupplied by archaeologists as a way ofdiscussing what is found in thearchaeological record. Thus,

Figure 15: A small test excavationshows the locations ofposts thatwere once set in the ground as partof a stockade that had long agosurrounded a late prehistoric Oliverphase village. Remote sensing usinggradiometer (detects magnetic

anomalies) and resistivity equipment

(measures a soil's ability to conductan electrical current) found a numberofpits at the site that were rich withartifacts and organic matter. Yet,neither of these devices was successful in detecting the stockade walls.The stockade trench was very nar

row and filled with only limited amounts ofmagnetic materials. Resistivity did detectsome of the former walls but the surfacearea thought to contain the trench wasmiscalculated. Only a small portion of thetrench was detected at the end of the areacovered with the remote sensing instrument. Indiana University field school at theClampitt site, Lawrence County, IN, 1991.

archaeologists often refer to Paleoindianor Archaic people(s) or culture(s) as ageneral way of talking about all humangroups living during those time periods.The term "archaic" should not beconstrued to mean people living duringthe Archaic period were any lesssophisticated or capable than anyoneliving before or after that time. Manyarchaeologists simply view the Archaicperiod as the time after the first Ice Agecultures of the Paleoindian period andbefore the development of pottery in theEarly Woodland period.Archaeologists define artifact types

based on what they look like and howthey were made. These are often giventhe name of the site where they werefirst defined or given a geographic placename within the area where they werefirst identified. Thus, projectile pointsand pottery are known by many definedtypes. These types are used repeatedlyby archaeologists when discussing the

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past. Clusters are simply groups ofprojectile point types that date to thesame time period, are similar to oneanother, and have overlappingdistributions. The name supplied for thecluster is often that of the best knowntype within it, which is also often themost common and the one with thewidest geographic distribution. By usingwell-defined type and cluster names forprojectile points and pottery types askeys, archaeologists can confidentlyrecord the camps and villages of peopleliving over a particular territory, within agiven time period, and know many otherthings about them based on carefullycollected evidence. There are a numberof books and other reference materialswhere the reader can get information onall the variations and groupings forprehistoric projectile points and potterybeyond what is covered in the presentwork.A tradition is a particular way people

behave over a period of time. There aremany kinds of traditions (e.g. cultural,religious, ceremonial, political,technological, projectile point, ceramic,hunting, trading, agricultural, etc.). Acultural tradition is the broadest andoften includes most of the other kinds oftraditions within it. In generaldiscussions, the term tradition can oftenbe equated with people recognizingmany common themes that separatethem from others. For example, theCrab Orchard tradition is defined for thelower Ohio Valley and the known sitesare all recognized by particular types ofpottery that occur there and not at otherarchaeological sites outside the area. Itis common to also refer to the sites andartifacts as belonging to the Crab

Orchard people or simply Crab Orchard.The last term I wish to define isphase. A named phase is alwaysdefined as part of a named tradition. Itrepresents a smaller unit of peoplewithin the tradition, and is based ondifferences in ceramic types, geography,and other things. Many differentphases can be contained within onetradition that spread over a largeterritory. A good example of this is theMississippian tradition that is markedby many unifying themes, especially theuse of crushed shell in the manufactureof pottery that took place all over theeastern United States between aboutA.D. 1000 and 1650. However, thepeople living in the numerousMississippian towns and villagesthroughout this large region wereprobably speaking more than onelanguage with many dialects and weredoing many different things locally on aregular basis. Yet, just like Americanstoday, many tangible things werenonetheless shared between them all.With the establishment of a phase,

we often recognize some particularpottery designs and types, organizationalstructure and distribution not shared byother named phases. It is alsoappropriate to equate a phase withparticular people. Thus, we can speakof the Angel phase people, whoestablished the large Angel Mounds sitenear Evansville, just as we can talkabout Mississippian societies atCahokia, East St. Louis, Illinois;Moundville, Alabama; or otherprehistoric Mississippian towns acrossthe southeastern United States (Figure16).

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Figure 1 6: Native town in Florida showing a stockade and houses with thatched roofs.This is an engraving by Theodore de Bry made in 1591 based on paintings that Jacques leMoyne de Morgues had completed soon after his arrival in the New World in 1564 (FromLorant 1946:95).

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Looking at Prehistory: Paleoindian Period: ?12,000 to 8,000 B.C.

Paleoindian peoples are representedby several cultures. Scattered sites andtools from many of these have beenfound in southern Indiana, but mostPaleoindian sites are quite small withfew tools and other remains to inform ontheir lifeways.Clovis culture is the best known of

the Paleoindian period and was asuccessful hunting tradition thatemerged from the first peoples to enterthe New World from Siberia. The firstpeoples probably entered North Americaalong the Pacific Coast and through theinterior of Alaska thousands of yearsearlier perhaps when massive glaciers ofpacked snow were beginning to cover theland causing ocean levels to drop threehundred feet lower than they are today.The Clovis culture developed probablyseveral thousand years after people werealready actively exploring the NewWorld. Clovis people apparently lived insmall groups and moved their campsfrequently in search of game and plantfoods.Clovis hunting camps and toolmanufacturing sites are distributed fromthe Atlantic to the Pacific and fromAlaska to Florida across all types oflandscapes. The basic Clovis tool kitincludes the distinctive Clovis typeprojectile point, along with largebifacially flaked tools and unifacialblades for butchering game, and sidescrapers and end scrapers for cleaningand preparing hides for clothing andshelter (Figures 17-18). They also usedbone, antler and ivory for tools madefrom the animals they killed, but theseare not often preserved except in wetsites, such as springs in Florida andArizona and frozen sites in the Arctic inenvironments where bacteria and otherorganisms cannot destroy the evidence.So far, no perishable Clovis artifacts

Figure 1 7: Clovis and later Paleoindianperiod Quad and Beaver Lake projectilepoints from sites in southern Indiana. TheClovis point shown in the lower right wasrecently recorded and donated to the GlennA. Black Laboratory ofArchaeology .

Figure 18: Tools used during the Paleoindian period. These include an endscraper, side scraper, unifacial butcheringknife, and "rat-tail" tool (above) perhaps forhafting into a handle for use as a scraper.

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have been found in Indiana, butmany Clovis projectile pointsand other stone tools have beencollected, indicating this part ofNorth America was just asimportant as other areas forClovis survival and settlement.The environment in Indiana

at the close of the Ice Age wasmuch colder than today.Studies of pollen preserved inmud and peat in the bottom ofancient ponds and lakes showthat spruce and pine forestscovered much of the land withintervening open steppe-likegrasslands. This environmentwas home to the mastodon,mammoth, musk ox, groundsloth, caribou, dire wolf,peccary, saber tooth cat and avariety of smaller game animals(Figures 19-20). By about 8,000B.C., the glaciers that oncecovered the Midwest had meltedback into Canada and basicallyall of the larger animals wereextinct by the time theenvironment finally changed tothe hardwood forest of today.Animals such as the caribouand musk ox still survive in thefar north today.The hill country of south-

central Indiana encompassed bythe Hoosier National Forest is avery unique part of Indiana(Figure 21). This region isknown for its caves, crevices,and other natural traps wherenow extinct animals entered andeventually died. Their bonesaccumulated with sediments,leaving an important record ofthe natural history of the region.Some of these include theHarrodsburg Crevice and KnobRock Cave in Monroe Countyand Megenity Peccary Cave in

CutumhianmammothMummuthuxCoiumbi

DircwotfCamsdims

KUt-hfad<-dpeccaryPtarygarwcompre.vus

Sib*r-toothedcaSmitadunfiitatm

Long-notedpeccaryStytohytanasutus

Figure 19: Ice Age Animals including mammoth,mastodon, dire wolf, two types of peccary, andsaber-toothed cat. All of these animals wentextinct at the end of the Ice Age (Modified fromLange2002: 95, 106, 161, 167).Columbian mammothMammuthus Coiumbi

American mastodonMammut americanum

Dire wolfCanis dims

Long-nosed peccaryMylohyus nasutus

Flat-headed peccaryPlatygonus compressus

Saber-toothed catSmilodon fatalis

Crawford County. The remains of giant groundsloth, dire wolf, peccary, saber tooth cat, andother extinct animals have been found in thesenatural traps and pit caves (Figure 22).While Clovis kill sites of mastodon and

mammoth are known from widely scatteredsites in the United States, none have been

Page 13


Musk"vOvibosmuscluitus

CaribouRaHgtftrntrandwi

Giantshort-facedbearArc[odu\simus

Jefferson'sgroundsiothMegalonytlefftrsonu

Figure 20 : Ice Age Animals including caribou, musk ox, ground sloth, and giant short-facedbear. The ground sloth and giant short-faced bear went extinct at the end of the Ice Age.Musk oxen and caribou still live in the arctic today (Modified from Lange 2002: 83, 101,148; and Pielou 1991:145).

Caribou Musk oxRangifer tarandus Ovibos moschatus

Jefferson's ground sloth Giant short-faced bearMegalonyx jeffersonii Arctodus simus

Figure 21: A small rockshelter overlooking the SaltCreek Valley, Monroe County, IN. Investigationsdetermined the shelter to be a shallow anddisturbed accumulation of sediments that contained evidence of sporadic use during the Archaicperiod. Interestingly, the site also contained smallfragments ofpreserved bone and charcoal. Someof the bone is thought to be Pleistocene in age andcould have been left in the shelter by Ice Agepredators. Indiana University field school, 1978.

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Figure 23 (right): Mastodon bonesexposed within the sediments of PrairieCreek, Daviess County, IN. Reports offinding large animal bones by thelandowner in 1974 promptedarchaeologists to investigate the site.The excitement ofperhaps having founda buried Clovis site led to two seasons

of excavations where many detailedstratigraphic maps were made of thecreek bank deposits and morescattered mastodon bones wereunearthed. After careful study of thecreek bank, it was concluded thatthousands of years offlooding hadcaused Prairie Creek to cut and refillrepeatedly since the Ice Age. Themastodon bones had been moved andscattered by the creek perhaps manytimes before coming to rest where thearchaeologists found them. The fewprehistoric tools that were found date tothe Middle and Late Archaic periodsand these were found in redepositedsoils above those containing themastodon bones. Indiana University

field school, 1 975.

Figure 22 (left): An entrance toHarrodsburg Crevice now covered bysoil and grass (Photo by the author).The crevice extends to an unknowndepth and may connect with a largecave system. During the LatePleistocene (Ice Age), solution cavities

formed within the Salem Limestoneand some with steep walls becamenatural traps from which unfortunateanimals could not escape.The Harrodsburg Crevice has

produced the remains offossilanimals including saber-toothed cat,peccary, dire wolf, black bear, coyote,and wood rat. Wood rats probablylived within the crevice and may havescavenged and brought in some of thebones. On the other hand, peccarieswere large animals and probablywere trapped along with saber-toothed cat that sought them as prey.An open grassy landscape withpatches of trees probably existed atthe time the animals died in thecrevice during the period between40,000 and 10,000 years ago (Volz1977).

Page 15


found so far in Indiana. Killsites are those that have animalremains with stone tools amongbones and sometimes a smallcampsite where tools were madeand resharpened around a fire.The kill site is often at a springor pond where perhaps thelarge animals died after beingwounded with spears somedistance away. Finds ofmastodon bones are relativelycommon in the ponds andgravel pits around the state andwe can expect some archaeological surprises in southernIndiana if such finds arereported to the archaeologicalcommunity before they aredisturbed or looted (Figure 23).At least some of the steepravines and hollows of theHoosier National Forest mayhave been used as naturalsurrounds by Clovis hunters totrap and kill game and makewinter camps that would havebeen at least partly protectedfrom the wind and cold of theArctic-like conditions theyendured. We know from geological and pollen studies thatsouthern Indiana was notcovered by glaciers during thelast Ice Age (Wisconsin) betweenabout 19,000 and 13,000 B.C.Even earlier glaciers by-passedthe hill country of south-centralIndiana providing a uniquerefuge where ice age plants andanimals survived when the restof Indiana was covered by thickglaciers that had advanced outof Canada and the Great Lakesarea (Figure 24). Therefore, atthe close of the Ice Age, south-central Indiana wasenvironmentally ahead of therest of Indiana as the changes

EXPLANATION

)"«-to«d*•>*•''Ouqti

Tctcq

*'C*0'QO'ft}'

j(>

LinJev.uDFo'mat'0"

10Kiiomt'ers

Figure 24: Map of Indiana showing the extent of IceAge (Pleistocene) glaciations (From W. J. Wayne "Iceand Land" in Lindsey 1966: Fig. 8).

away from Arctic-like conditions slowly gave wayto a warmer climate. The kinds of plants andanimals that we are familiar with today took theplace of the Arctic species earlier here than innorthern Indiana.During the very long process of glacial meltingdue to the change in climate, the major rivervalleys such as the Ohio, White and Wabash wereformed by carrying large amounts of cold glacialmeltwater. The glaciers deposited tremendousamounts of sand, gravel, and soil within the rivervalleys and across the land. The glaciers alsoformed the landscape over much of Indianaincluding the many hills and moraines (e.g. wide,parallel lines of hills marking where glaciers of iceadvanced and then melted back). Plowed fields in

Page 16


northern Indiana often containthousands of rounded and flattenedrocks of all sizes that were carried downfrom Canada by the glaciers. Glacialmelting also caused tributary streamsand lowlands to be flooded creating widewaterways and lakes that eventuallyshrank and dried as the climatewarmed. However, many swamps andlakes that existed when the pioneerssettled in Indiana were created duringthe Ice Age and some remain viableaquatic habitats up to the present time.The Alton, or Magnet, site in Perry

|iiiimmiiiimm^^»

Figure 25 (above and right): Clovisprojectile point and blade toolsmade from Wyandotte chert. Theblade tools are pressure retouchedon the margins to form edges forcutting meat and scraping hides.These and many other Paleoindiantools have been found on thesurface of the Alton (Magnet) site inPerry County, IN (Courtesy ofDonald Champion).

County is important for our understanding of Paleoindian occupations ofthe Hoosier National Forest. It is a largeand important base camp where manyPaleoindian projectile points, includingClovis points, have been found. Thissite represents a special location whereClovis and other groups lived,manufacturing new spear points andother tools, and probably making homes(Figure 25). From this site, the peoplegeared-up many times for major huntsin the hill country and valleys ofsouthern Indiana and returned again toeat, rest, make and repair clothing andshelters, and make new tools.The Potts Creek Rockshelterproduced a broken Clovis point (Figure26). The projectile point was found in asmall pile of artifacts left on the floor ofthe shelter by looters after they hadseverely churned the shallow depositsfor prehistoric artifacts. Sadly, suchlooting behavior has ruined some of thebetter archaeological sites in the UnitedStates and, unless stopped, the last

. *

Page 17


Figure 26: Clovis point base found inlooter's spoil pile at Potts Creek Rock-shelter. The specimen has an encrustation

of calcium carbonate on the break which iscommon on ancient tools long buried indamp, chemically rich soil. The point isalso damaged from the heat of afire.Perhaps long ago while a Clovis hunterstayed at the shelter for protection from theweather to eat, relax and repair weapons,he cut the sinew binding and discarded thebroken base in a campfire and then rearmed a spear with a freshly made Clovispoint before leaving to resume hunting. (2cm scale)

vestiges of data on America's firstpeoples will be lost forever (Figure 27).There are reports from local personsfamiliar with the Hoosier National Forestthat other Paleoindian projectile pointsand tools have been collected from otherrockshelters as well. Such circumstantial evidence suggests that rocksheltersmay have been used regularly in south-central Indiana beginning withPaleoindian occupations in the region astemporary homes away from larger basecamps.The archaeological deposits atRockhouse Hollow Shelter in PerryCounty are at least eight feet deep andexcavations there in 1961 by James H.Kellar, with a permit from the ForestService, proved that the occupationsbegan during or before the Early Archaicperiod (Figure 28). Rocks that had fallenfrom the roof of the sandstone alcove

Figure 27: Archaeologists at Potts CreekRockshelter discussing the looting damageand how to proceed in the investigation andassessment.

and yellow sandy soils were encounteredin the deepest areas excavated at theshelter, but solid bedrock was notrecorded in any of the excavation units.Thus, there remains some potential forfinding a buried Paleoindian or olderoccupation within this and other rockshelters. While no bones of Ice Ageanimals or other remains were found toindicate the age of the early deposits, theresults of the excavations prove that therockshelter was open for occupation andaccumulating sediments during thistime. It appears when people realizedthe attractiveness of a particular shelter,they returned for thousands of yearsthereafter (Figure 29). There is also thedistinct possibility that the remains of

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Figure 28: Recordkeeping during1961 excavationswithin RockhouseHollow Shelter,Perry County, IN.The test exca

vations by JamesH. Kellar demonstrated the deposits were overeight feet deep atthe rear of theoverhang and thesite contained evidence of humanoccupationsspanning 10,000years.

Figure 29: Anearly trip toAsh Cave,Perry County,IN. Note the

sandstonerocks (breakdown) on the

floor and slopeof the shelterthat have

fallen from theroof in thecourse ofnaturalweatheringover thousands ofyears. Thedecomposition

of the rockledge is largely due to the variation in weather during the

different seasons of the year. Alternating wet and dryand freeze and thaw cycles causes the rock to break offin sheets and blocks following naturally weak cracks andlenses within the rock.

Page 19


some very ancient rockshelters are nowburied and no longer visible on thesurface. This happens as a naturalevolution of hillsides and rock exposuresas soil erosion takes place along with thecollapse of rock overhangs. In the early19th century, farming and clear-cutlogging operations also caused severeerosion of the top soil that added to thedeposits along steep slopes (Figure 30).Ancient buried rockshelters could existanywhere along the old ravines of theHoosier National Forest. While theywould be difficult to detect, some couldhold the key to the first peopling ofIndiana during the Ice Age that may bemuch more ancient than we presentlyknow (Figures 31-32).

Figure 30: A rockshelter investigatedduring the 1 999 Hoosier National Forestarchaeological survey. Note the overhangand slope mixed with soil and rock, fallenfrom the ceiling and also washed in fromthe sides of the overhang.

Figure 31: A hill in PerryCounty showing a largepiece of sandstonebedrock on the slope.Untold numbers ofprehistoric people may havehappened by this placewhen an ancient rock-shelter was still open forhabitation. Today, allsuch remains areprobably buried beneathweathering sandstoneand soil on the hillside.

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Figure 32: Prehistoric mortars for processing nuts and other foods on the floor of PeterCave in Perry County, IN. These are often referred to as "bedrock mortars" but they are

often large blocks of sandstone fallen from the roofs of caves and rockshelters that maypreserve the remains of ancient campsites beneath them.

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Looking at Prehistory: Early Archaic Period 8,000 to 6,000 B.C.

The Early Archaic period is a timewhen hardwood forests and prairieswere established in Indiana in responseto the warming climate after the Ice Age.Whitetail deer became a primary sourceof meat for Archaic peoples, along withblack bear, elk and many smalleranimals that live in Indiana today. InIndiana black bear and elk were finallyhunted to extinction by around 1850.Collections housed at the Glenn A. BlackLaboratory of Archaeology contain ablack bear skull reportedly found nearHazelton, Indiana that exhibits a roundhole in the skull, indicating a musket orrifle was used to kill the animal. Bisonwere numerous and heavily exploited onthe central Plains during the Paleoindianand Early Archaic periods, but not in theeastern United States.Early Archaic people, much like thePaleoindian people frequently changedthe locations of their hunting andcollecting camps to take advantage ofhunting opportunities. Their campswere most often small and only used fora short time. A camp fire or two withsome rocks and debris from makingtools along with a few broken and worn-out tools is all that many sites contain.While there is no archaeological evidenceof structures during the Early Archaicand the earlier Paleoindian period, theirhomes were probably made with polesand covered with hide, grass, or barkdepending on the location of the campand the available building materials.These remains are so old and scarce thatlittle has survived to help us understandthese people and their lives. EarlyArchaic peoples are no doubt descendedfrom earlier Paleoindian people, but thegenetic relationships can only bedetermined generally because earlyhuman remains that can be used forgenetic analyses are scarce and widely

scattered. Based on the numerous typesof tools and the wide geographicdispersal of these tools, we can be surethat there were numerous individualgroups of people, more or less related,but nonetheless distinct in their ownright. This same statement applies towhat we also know for many laterarchaeological periods.Like Clovis and earlier Paleoindian

peoples, Early Archaic people frequentlyrevisited chert quarries where largepieces of high quality chert could beused to make projectile points andbutchering tools. Early Archaicprojectile points are some of the mostcommon and readily recognized tools inprehistory because they are larger thanaverage, were made in large numbers,and were left at thousands of huntingcamps spread across the landscape inall areas of Indiana.The most common Early Archaic

projectile points belong to the Thebesand Kirk Corner Notched clusters, butthere are several other major clusters ofpoint types that are known for thisperiod (Figure 33). There are manytypes and varieties that representdifferent Indian groups that may havespoken different languages and dialects.This is because the tools themselveswere manufactured and re-sharpenedusing unique manufacturing strategiesand techniques that were difficult tomaster and had to be taught to noviceswho maintained the differentmanufacturing traditions for generationswithout significant changes. Thus, itappears even at this early time, therewere many Indian cultures that overtime only became more numerous andcomplex.The manufacturing process begins

with controlled percussion on blanksand large flakes struck from cores.

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Thebes cluster points were made mainlywith percussion, but Kirk points weremade mainly with pressure flaking,which was also used in resharpeningcutting edges when the tools becamedull from use (Figure 34). Resharpeningof Thebes cluster projectile points, onthe other hand, is marked by alternatebeveling using pressure flaking on

opposite sides of the cutting edge(unifacial), presumably to remove lessmaterial while achieving a sharp cuttingedge- in order to keep the tools in use aslong as possible. Kirk cluster projectilepoints were nearly always finished withpressure flaking on both faces (bifacial)and this probably created more waste,and required more trips to quarries or

Figure 33: EarlyArchaic Thebes andKirk Corner NotchedCluster projectilepoints. The Kirk pointsare from archaeologicalinvestigations atSwans Landing andRockhouse HollowShelter. The thin,

unnotched piece(preform) on the rightwas made by Kirkknappers. Preformswere sometimes kept

for use as hand-heldknives or stored withothers for later use,when a new spearpoint or knife was needed to tie securely (haft) to a spear or handle with sinew. Perhapsthe preform was lost or forgotten before the owner had a chance to pressure flake thecorner notches.

Figure 34: Archaic andWoodland period flintknapping tools made fromdeer antler. The tips of theantler tines (above) are wornback from repeated heavy usein pressure flaking. Suchtools were also used aspunches struck with ahammer of antler or stone.The antler section (below) is abaton, or billet, for use as ahammer and percussionflaking. The butt-end isrounded and battered fromrepeated use in percussion tothin bifaces in the process ofmaking stone tools.

Page 23


frequent trading to obtain newtools. Notching on Kirk pointsinvolved pressure flaking toachieve a narrow notch,whereas Thebes cluster pointsprobably required the use ofindirect percussion with apunch along with pressure tocreate deeper notches in severaldesigns on refined bifaces muchthicker than Kirk (Figure 35).All of the Early Archaicprojectile point types requiredstrength and expertcraftsmanship on the part ofthe flint-knappers (Figure 36).The finest raw chert to befound in Indiana is Wyandottethat occurs in western Harrison

Figure 35 (above): Heavily used andresharpened Thebes and Kirk (PineTree) projectile points. When new,both of these points had blades thatwere much longer and wider. TheThebes point (left) has beenresharpened unifacially (one bladeedge) with pressure flaking on the leftside creating a bevel as shown in thecross section. The Kirk cluster point(right) has been resharpened bifacially

(both blade edges) with pressureflaking maintaining an edge in themiddle of the cross section. The crosssections show what the specimenslook like when oriented vertically andviewed from above (Modified fromJustice 1987:Figs. 12j, 14k).

Figure 36: The author demonstrating the use of an elk antler billet for bifacial percussionthinning to make a projectile point during "Discovering Archaeology," Indiana University,1990's. Photo courtesy of Ms. Jodi Pope-Pfingston.

Page 24


and eastern Crawford counties. Thischert was perhaps used more frequentlythan any other in Indiana fromPaleoindian times onward. Excavationsat sites such as Swans Landing andCaesars, located on the Ohio River, haveproduced thousands of fine examples ofKirk Corner Notched cluster projectilepoints made from this chert. The sitesshow the hunters were expert flint-knappers who apparently created asurplus at quarries, perhaps to becached for use at base camps forhunting surplus and extra armament, aswell as for trade to surrounding groups.Early Archaic projectile points madefrom Wyandotte chert have been foundon all landscapes, including rocksheltersin the hill country of southern Indiana.Excavations at Rockhouse HollowShelter in Perry County suggest alimited use of the shelter during theEarly Archaic (Figure 37). However, noevidence of houses was found in thisrock shelter or any other archaeologicalsites. No human burials that date tothis time have been found in the HoosierNational Forest, although a few EarlyArchaic burial sites are known insouthern Indiana that included the

placement of chipped stone tools and redocher (e.g. iron oxide) with the deceased.Most likely, the people believed in anafterlife and so the deceased personwould need their personal toolkit. Redocher was apparently highly prized fromPaleoindian times onward. It could beground into a powder, mixed with greaseor water to make paint or dusted over adead body to give back the flush of life.Kirk peoples may have been morenumerous than others during the EarlyArchaic period with larger familiescamping at rockshelters and variousopen sites. If the people who madeThebes type points regularly kept theirtools in use longer and Kirk peoplesoften created a surplus of tools, thenumber of expended and discarded toolswould not be a good indication of thenumber of people and the amount oftime spent at various hunting and basecamps. Another important considerationis that the floodplains of the majorwaterways hide many early humanoccupations because of yearly cycles offlooding and the resulting deposits ofwater transported silts. In addition,hillside erosion into valleys has coveredmany early sites, including rockshelters.

Figure 37: A rangeof Early Archaicperiod projectilepoints and tools.These are fromRockhouse HollowShelter and surfaceinvestigations in thehill country ofsouthern Indiana.

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Even today, sites in these situationsremain buried and are known only frombank erosion and deep exploratorytrenching.We know Early Archaic peoplesbrought deer and various collected nutsto rockshelters and open sites forconsumption and made limited use ofhammerstones, stone slabs and pittedstones for shelling and grinding nutsand seeds (Figure 38-39). Anotherpotential use for stone hammers andslabs was processing dried deer meatand berries to store for use in late winterwhen deer are dispersed, the fall store ofnuts is about gone, and fresh plantfoods of the spring and summer are notyet available. Another tool type used inthe Early Archaic is the chipped stoneadze that appears to have been used inwood cutting thousands of years beforethe ground stone grooved axe wasinvented (Figure 40). While perhapsremaining only for a few weeks at a timewhile hunting within the hollows andravines of the Hoosier National Forest,Early Archaic people apparently maderegular seasonal use of the hill countrywhile hunting and collecting many milesaway during other times of the year.The narrow and rugged hollows andravines of the hill country would alsohave been places of refuge in times oftrouble and a good place to findprotection from winter storms andsummer heat, as well as prime locationsfor camps while hunting in the uplands.

Figure 38: A pitted stone for cracking nutsfrom the Early Archaic period occupationsat the Swans Landing site.

Figure 39: A grinding slab or shallowmortar with single pits placed around theperimeter suggesting multiple uses ingrinding seeds and nuts to prepare food.

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Figure 40: Chippedadzes are the first in along line of wood cuttingtools and appear firstduring the Early Archaicperiod. These are fromSwans Landing (left) andRockhouse HollowShelter.

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Looking at Prehistory: Middle Archaic Period 6,000 to 4,000 B.C.

Hunters and gatherersliving during this periodexperienced the time ofmaximum climatic warmingfollowing the Ice Age thatextended into the middle ofthe Late Archaic period.After that, yearlytemperatures began cooling,once more becoming like theclimate of more recent times.Projectile points such asGodar and Raddatz,belonging to the Large SideNotched cluster, are the maintypes that mark this periodin Indiana (Figure 41). Othertypes of projectile points arecommon during this period inthe Middle South, theSoutheast, and elsewhere butfew examples of thesesouthern tool traditions werecarried in huntingexpeditions as far north asthe Ohio River. Except inrare cases, most of thearchaeological sites acrossthe Midwest, includingIndiana, seldom produceMiddle Archaic tools andother remains in largequantities until the latterpart of the period when thereis less movement of groups ofpeople and longer and moresubstantial use of basecamps.While the atlatl or spear

thrower was probably in usefrom the earliest humanoccupation of the Americasand even earlier in Europe(Figure 42), polished stoneatlatl weights appear for thefirst time during the Middle

Figure 41: Large Side Notched projectile points fromRockhouse Hollow and other sites recorded in hillcountry. Some of these are broken from use whileothers show heat fracturing from being discarded incampfires. The upper row includes a hafted scrapermade from a projectile point (left), a point with a nearlyexhausted blade from resharpening, and a drill formmade from a projectile point.

Archaic period. During the next 4,000 years, awide range of styles of atlatl weights are developedin the Ohio Valley that probably mark significantcultural differences between groups of people(Figure 43). These polished stones are ingeniouscreations and highly decorative in design andfinish. These required both time and skill usinghard sand grains and hollow tubes to drill straightholes through the centers for mounting on woodenshafts. The tubes were probably made fromsections of cane with the sand glued to the ends, ineffect making sets of tubular drills. Such precisiondrilling probably employed the bow and drill toapply torque and consistent motion. Various rocktypes were selected for atlatl weights. Some of themore common ones include red and green slate,quartz, granite and schist.

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Figure 42: The atlatl in action. Throwing an atlatl requires a secure grip on the spearthrower (atlatl) and spear to keep the two engaged until the spear is cast. On the average,the use of the spear thrower or atlatl improves the ability to cast a spear farther and fasterdue to the mechanical advantage of lengthening the arm and thereby increasing theamount of thrust and killing power of the weapon.

Feathers were probably added to the spear to increase accuracy. In effect, theancient spear was essentially a large arrow that only needed to be made smaller when thebow was developed thousands of years later. The atlatl was a shaft of wood with a carvedhook often of deer antler to engage a hollowed area in the end of the spear. The handlewas also often made from deer antler. A stone weight added to the shaft of the atlatlserved as a counterbalance during long hunts when the spear was engaged and was alsoa way of adding additional thrust. There are many types of atlatl weights during theArchaic period that probably represent different groups ofpeople.

Figure 43: Semi-lunar and "knobbed" atlatl weightsmade from banded slate and porphyry. These appearin the archaeological record beginning about 6000 B.C.Over the next several thousand years, many differenttypes of atlatl weights or "bannerstones" are developed.

Page 29


Ground stone tools, often made fromgranitic cobbles left behind by theglaciers, are common occurrences at thistime and are used by all prehistoricpeoples after the Middle Archaic period.Grooved axes made by pecking andgrinding, rather than flaking, becameimportant tools for girdling trees,splitting logs, breaking firewood, dug-outcanoe making, general wood working,and other uses (Figure 44). Theappearance of the grooved ax marks atime when people began cutting back theforests to perhaps give nut producingtrees more light. This would have alsoincreased the productivity of other wildplant foods. In addition, obtainingfirewood would require labor intensiveforays at increasing distances frommajor camps, once the natural deadfalland driftwood was consumed, if ways ofkilling and felling trees had not beendeveloped. Mortars and pestles, pittedstones and grinding slabs appear inlarge numbers showing an increase inthe use of nuts (especially hickory) andother plant foods (Figure 45). We knowthat the drier climatic conditions favoredthe expansion of oak and hickory forestsat this time. Deer hunting, along withnut and seed collecting on a seasonalbasis, were still the food mainstaysalong with a host of smaller game andplants. Perhaps mortars pecked intobedrock and large sandstone blocksbecame popular during this time(Figures 46-47).

Figure 44: Two types of grooved axes madefrom granite. The axe on the right is fullygrooved around the circumference for tyingon to a handle. Full grooved axes appeararound 5000 B.C. in the archaeologicalrecord. The specimen on the left is only 3Agrooved leaving aflat spot where a wedgeof wood or bone could be inserted to tightenthe haft after heavy use of the ax. Thelatter type is an improvement on the full-grooved ax after it had been in common use

for about 2500 years.

Figure 45: Bell pestles of granite and limestone (below) for use ingrinding and pulverizing seeds, nuts and other food. The roundrocks (above) are chert hammers that were heavily used to batter(peck) and shape granite cobbles to make axes, pestles, and othertools. These probably started out as discarded angular cores fromflaking chert to make blades, bifaces, and projectile points. Nearlyall of the sharp angles have been removed from repeated battering.The small light and dark spots on one of the pestles is the result ofpecking with a chert hammer.

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Figure 46: A prehistoric mortar for grinding nuts, seeds, and other foods battered into alarge moss-covered sandstone block that fell from the roofofCelina Rockshelter.

Figure 47: A view ofCelina Rockshelter. Excavations by archaeologists from Ball StateUniversity revealed the shelter was used for short-term camping beginning in the EarlyArchaic period and use continued into the Woodland period. Excavations were terminatedwhen breakdown ofmassive sandstone was encountered at nearly two meters below thesurface.

Page 3 1


Local chert raw materials of all kindsfound near camps within huntingterritories were regularly selected formanufacturing projectile points. Therewas little or no reliance on major chertquarries to supply raw material for flint-knapping needs. For example, atRockhouse Hollow Shelter the MiddleArchaic projectile points are nearly allmade from different raw materialsobtained locally, with few coming fromlocations beyond the hill country.Resharpening and reworking the tips ofthe projectile points is common duringthis period, indicating the points wereregularly recycled as hide scrapers.Atlatl weights, flake debris and manyother items were discarded in therockshelters at this time.People living in the Midwest during

the Middle Archaic period may havebeen concentrated into smaller areas or,more importantly, may have used thelandscape differently than previouspeople had done for hunting andcollecting. At least the evidenceindicates there are fewer campsites andfewer tools to mark where they campedcompared to those pertaining to theEarly Archaic period. Most evidencesuggests the environment was not toowarm and dry for plants, animals andman to survive. Pollen evidence, on theother hand, suggests the environmentalconditions favored plants that flourish indryer conditions and prairie areas mayhave experienced less productivity. Thismay have led people to use morebiologically rich areas, such as the OhioRiver valley, for major camps without aneed to establish many smaller campsany great distance away from the river.There are few signs that camps locatedin other areas, including smallertributary streams, were used to anygreat extent. This conclusion is basedupon excavations at sites in the valleysnow impounded by Lakes Monroe andPatoka.

The big rivers were apparentlyshallow enough in the summer monthsto attract people there to collectmussels and fish, which became veryimportant foods in the subsequent LateArchaic period. There is also anincrease in the size of groups of peopleand a trend for population growthwhich continues throughoutsubsequent periods. The evidence forthe population increase comes from therecording of larger occupation sitesliberally strewn with fire cracked rocksfrom use in cooking with many fire androasting pits and more evidence ofhuman deaths and burial ceremony.Perhaps people were living at sites forseveral months with some year-roundoccupations of base settlements withinenvironmentally productive zones.Heavily occupied base settlements havenumerous fire pits, storage androasting pits and extensive refuseaccumulations called middens. Peoplewere no doubt building houses onthese midden sites, but these are oftenimpossible to detect in archaeologicalinvestigations. Why? Because thetrash and all other cultural materialsleft behind are often mixed byoverlapping pits and repeated diggingby humans and animals in the softorganic midden soil. In affect, we don'tknow how big the houses were or howmany were located at the base camps.During this period of higher thannormal temperatures and changinghabitats in surrounding areas, perhapsthe hill country of the Hoosier NationalForest was a refuge area, as it probablywas at the close of the Ice Age, butespecially now that heavy forestationacted to cool the local temperatures. Itwas probably an attractive place to live,at least on a seasonal basis, to avoidthe summer heat by camping in theravines that open to the Ohio River.

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Looking at Prehistory: Late Archaic Period 4,000 to 1,000 B.C.

The Late Archaic period in southernIndiana is represented by numerousarchaeological sites, including smallcamps and large base camps establishedon a seasonal round that includednearly every type of habitat-- theswamps, creeks, rivers, uplands, andprairie areas. A very substantial LateArchaic occupation took place withinrockshelters in the Hoosier NationalForest and at many sites scattered alongthe Ohio River and beyond. Shellmounds, consisting of huge amounts ofdiscarded shells from the freshwatermussel, accumulated at major basecamps on all the large streams andrivers along with the bones of fish, fishhooks carved from bone, polished stoneatlatl weights, projectile points and

many other tools and artifacts (Figures48-50, 52). Such sites as Crib Moundin Spencer County, Breeden inHarrison County, and Bono inLawrence County, are notable shellmound sites (Figure 51).Highly decorative carved bone pins,

pendants, gorgets, bone awls and othertools are commonly preserved in theshell mounds and the drier sedimentsin the shelters of the region (Figures53-54). In addition, a few pieces ofpreserved fiber and sinew cordage thatare seldom preserved in archaeologicalsites have been recovered frominvestigations of Wyandotte Cave,Indian Cave and possibly RockhouseHollow. Late Archaic people living inthe hill country collected substantial

Figure 48: Prehistoric tools made from the bones of deer, fish, birds and other animals.Many of these were used to punch holes for stitching buckskin clothes and hide coverings,as well as weaving, basketry, and many other uses. Rodent incisors made good woodcarving tools (upper left). The catfish spine (center) would work well almost without

modification as a needle or punch.

Page 33


Figure 49: Carvedbone fish hooks anda net weight fromCrib Mound and theElrod site, ClarkCounty, IN. Whilequite suitable forindividual angling,such items wereprobably used inmultiple sets andcombined iningenious ways withthe use of nets, fishweirs and otherequipment.

Depending on thetime of year, thedepth of the water,fishing location,number offisherman, and thedesired catch,everything from

spears to clubs and poisons were probably also typically employed in fishing.Bone preservation is poor at many prehistoric sites. Great numbers offish hooks

were probably used and left at summer base camps along all the major streams.Unfortunately, over time they deteriorated in the acid soil along with countless otherperishable tools and artifacts.

Figure 50: An atlatl handle and hookfragment carved from deer antlerrecovered from Crib Mound andClark's Point, Clark County, IN.

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Figure 51: An earlyphotograph of CribMound as it was beingrapidly eroded by theOhio River. Themillions of musselshells discarded inprehistory helpedpreserve manyotherwise perishable

artifacts made frombone and antler.

Figure 52: Middle to LateArchaic period atlatlweights of schist androse quartz.

Figure 53: Archaic andWoodland period toolsmade from deer, bird andother animal bones. Theantler was partially sawedthrough with stone toolsand then snapped to extract desired pieces. Bonetools are common in allprehistoric time periods butare found only when thesoil chemistry and environmental conditions allowbone to be preserved.

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Figure 54: Carved and decorated bone pins and an ornament from Crib Mound. Thefine incising was probably done with stone tools and sharpened rodent incisors.

Figure 55: Freshwater mussel andsnail shell fromRockhouse HollowShelter, includingbeads and pendants made fromthe shell.

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numbers of musselsalong the shoals of theOhio and White Riversthat were sometimescarried several milesinland from the river tobe disposed of aftermeals in rocksheltersand other camp sites.The Bono site, forexample, is located on abluff top and themussels had to becarried up the steephillside to the sitewhere the shellfishwere eaten and theshells discarded (Figure55).The French Lick and

Maple Creek phases arelocal cultural designations for the LateArchaic period in theregion centering on thePatoka Reservoir andalong the Ohio River.Karnak, McWhinney,Matanzas andBrewerton Earedprojectile points are thedominant projectilepoint technologies ofthe time (Figure 56-57).A seasonal round waswell established. Itconsisted of summerand fall base camps atstream confluencesalong the major riversand fall and winterhunting camps in rock-shelters and variousopen sites. Matanzasappears to be a smallercontinuation of theearlier side notched tradition, whereas theothers appear to beunrelated technological

Figure 56: Matanzas and Brewerton Eared projectile points

from various sites in the hill country. Many specimens withblunt-ends are unifacially flaked for use as scrapers to cleanand dress hides.

Figure 57: Late Archaic Stemmed cluster projectile points fromsites in the hill country.

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developments. It remains unknown ifthe Brewerton Eared technology expandsdown the Ohio River Valley from theNortheastern United States or if it isonly a local variation in the sametradition that produced Matanzas withinthe central Ohio Valley. There was aheavy emphasis on deer hunting and thecollecting and processing of nuts of allkinds (e.g. hickory, acorn, walnut,butternut, chestnut), as well as starchyand oily seeds and some horticulture atthis time to boost food production.Over-hunting of deer along the major

rivers may have been a major reasonwhy people began using small tributarystreams and uplands over alllandscapes. In addition, the problem ofrapidly growing local populations

required the use of more land forhunting and collecting to feed morefamilies. Another reason for thewidespread use of all landscapes was theactive exploration for microhabitatswhere edible plants of all types grow inprofusion. Besides the intensive use ofcollected nuts for food, we know peopleall over the Midwest were using seedsand probably greens of all types of edibleplants for food and medicine. We knowthis from soil samples collected fromexcavations that have been washedcarefully to extract small carbonizedseeds and other remains (Figure 58) andthen later identified (e.g. flotationsamples) . While the heavy use of nuts isindicated at this time from many opensites and rockshelters, a fragment of

Figure 58: Soil samples recovered during an excavation are being washed through a finemesh (flotation) to recover charred seeds, nuts, and wood charcoal for later identification.Indiana University field school, 1980. Today we have specialized flotation machines thatcirculate the water and make the process more efficient and also recover more fragilecharred material with less damage.

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squash rind was recently recovered fromIndian Cave. This site is now added tothe small list of archaeological sites inthe Midwest where this plant has beenidentified. Squash was utilized as earlyas 5,000 B.C. and its importance as foodcontinues to increase until it is finallyregular food grown in farms along withother wild and domesticated plants inthe Late Woodland and Mississippianperiods.Evidence for the preparation of pits

probably with skin liners to boil waterwith hot rocks is a common theme onLate Archaic base camps in openlocations on the landscape. Base campsoften have tremendous amounts of firecracked rocks in the middens. Theserocks fractured from the thermal shockof constantly rotating hot rocks in andout of fires to boil water in nut filledcontainers. Boiling methods presumablyincreased the volume and efficiency inthe process of extracting nut meat andoil from hickory nuts, acorns and othercollected nuts to make more foodavailable. This marks an improvementin food production, undoubtedly to feedgrowing families and larger groups ofpeople (Figures 59-60). The evidence wemay have for this at many rockshelters

Figure 59: A large nutting stone with multiple pits to make the work of cracking largevolumes of nuts more efficient. Imagineseveral families involved in transportingcollected nuts in baskets back to a seasonal camp where they would crack thenuts using several large nutting stones andstone hammers. They would then boil,parch, and cook the nutmeat for makingbreads, soups and other foods and also extract the nut oil for various uses. Late Archaic people sought ways to make food production more efficient and began growingand tending wild plant foods. Creating asurplus allowed them to store prepared

food for lean times and focus on makingcraft items for exchange and trade withother groups.

Figure 60: Sandstone abraderand nutting stone from Rock-house Hollow Shelter. Thegroove on the abrader wasprobably a slot where woodand bone tools could beshaped and sharpened.

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is mostly circumstantial, as thesesandstone alcoves naturally producedthousands of pieces of rock fallen fromthe ceilings that could have been readilyused for this purpose although somepieces are reddened from burning. Inany case, had rounded river pebbles orother foreign rocks been transported tothe rockshelters, their presence wouldbe a more obvious testimony to thestone boiling technology at this type ofsite.Toward the end of the Archaic, theRiverton and other cultures appear. TheRiverton people employed rather smallside and corner notched projectile pointsto arm their spears that were often madefrom small chert pebbles collected fromriver gravel. They also left substantialmiddens of dark organic soil at theirbase camps testifying to the intensity atwhich they harvested and processed awide range of animals and plant foods.The Riverton people, along with othercultural groups, are recognized mainlyby the projectile point types theyproduced such as Buck Creek Barbed,Turkey-tail, and Ledbetter, etc. These

peoples occupied all areas of southernIndiana including the hill country of theHoosier National Forest (Figure 61).Beginning about 2,500 B.C. the Late

Archaic period in the Midwest is markedby long distance trade in copper, marineshell and other items coming from theGreat Lakes and Gulf Coast areas.Although located nearly midway betweenthese source regions, none of the siteswithin the Hoosier National Forest showevidence of being the final destinationsfor exotic trade goods, but people in thearea probably had a direct involvementin the trade nonetheless. Copper camemostly in the form of beads, braceletsand awls, and less often in lumps of rawcopper (Figure 62). Marine shell wasoften made into beads and otherdecorative items such as gorgets. Manyother kinds of perishable goods couldhave been used for exchange andpayment for moving marine shell,copper, and other articles through tribalterritories to destinations many milesaway. The perishable goods no longersurvive as testimony to the vastexchange network in commodities that

Figure 61: LateArchaic periodprojectile pointsincluding TableRock cluster,Ledbetter, BuckCreek Barbed,and Riverton cluster types from bottom to top.

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■*^V

must have existed. Some of the traderoutes probably utilized the ridge topsfor easier movement north to souththrough the hill country.One important trade commodity

which was made at the Wyandotte chertquarries near Corydon was the Turkey-tail point (Figure 63). Many large sitesin the vicinity of Harrison County showintensive industries were activeproducing numerous thin and finelycrafted Turkey-tails for use in a vasttrade that distributed them into Ohio,Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin andOntario. These are called Turkey-tail"caches" that consisted of several tomany fine specimens that were kepttogether as a group. Excavations ofTurkey-tail caches often show thespecimens were nested together,suggesting they were bundled for

Figure 62: Copper and shell artifacts. Thelarge shell item is a "sandal-sole" gorget.The copper spear on the left is typical of theLake Superior region where the copper wasmined. Such items, if they were tradedsouth, may have been reformed into beads,awls, and bracelets because few, if any,spears of this type have been found outsideof the Great Lakes area.

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safekeeping during transport. Oncearriving at their destination, they werenot used for everyday tools but, perhaps,kept within their original containers andsoon placed in honored graves or buriedas offerings to deities in the spirit world.Some of these caches were intentionallybroken at the time of burial without theloss of any of the fragments. Turkey-tails were probably a main commodityexchanged for copper lumps, awls,beads and bracelets. Copper articlessuch as these were making their waysouth from mines on Lake Superior todestinations to the south in Illinois,Kentucky, and Indiana. One fineTurkey-tail cache is recorded for a site inOrange County which, along with otherinformation, suggests at least some ofthe finest Turkey-tail caches weredestined to be used in local ceremoniesnever to be traded out of southernIndiana.Most of the Turkey-tails made at

sites in southern Indiana are utilitarian

items that are not of a cache quality.This is true at many sites, even those inthe region of Harrison and Crawfordcounties where the Wyandotte chert isfound in abundance. This is becausethe basic Turkey-tail shape was used asan everyday tool in the local region.Many of them show they were heavilyused like other stone tools, with theblades becoming shortened throughresharpening and use (Figure 63). Yet,the flint-knappers who crafted theTurkey-tail cache blades were experts atusing the methods for controlling thethinning and shaping process and wouldhave required greater than average skill.One suspects that some particularfamilies were noted for their flint-knappers, who may have adoptedsomething like a local cottage industrywhere expert craftsmen were free fromsubsistence tasks to devote largeamounts of time to manufacturing fineTurkey-tail cache blades for trade.

Figure 63: Turkey-tails from sites inthe hill country.The largerspecimens arereconstructed fromfragments surfacecollected overmany years from asite in Orange•County that weredonated to theGlenn A. BlackLaboratory ofArchaeology.

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Looking at Prehistory: Early Woodland Period 1,000 to 200 B.C.

Artifacts that pertain to this periodinclude projectile points belonging to theEarly Woodland Stemmed cluster,Dickson cluster, Motley cluster, and thestraight stemmed types within theSaratoga cluster (Figure 64). There aremany different Early Woodland cultures.A phenomenon that continues from theLate Archaic period is the making ofcache blades made from Wyandottechert. These were also distributed astrade commodities long distances fromthe Harrison County area in exchangefor copper articles and other exotic rawmaterials and artifacts (Figure 65).The most important development

that distinguishes the Early Woodlandperiod is the first appearance of potterythat spreads from the southeasternUnited States to eventually be adoptedby all prehistoric peoples in the East.The use of ceramic containers marks a

revolution in storage and cookingtechnology that arrives in the OhioValley around 600 B.C. from thesoutheastern United States. Some localtypes of this pottery are known as SugarHill, Marion and Fayette Thick. Thesevessels were thick-walled, heavy andoften had flat bottoms and a shaperoughly like a flowerpot (Figure 66).These are only known from fragmentsbecause no whole vessels have beenfound anywhere in the Ohio Valley.Local clay was collected and coarse

stones including sandstone, limestone,quartz, rounded pebbles, and sometimeschert or flint were added to the wet clayas temper to add strength and helpminimize shrinkage and cracking duringdrying and firing. Pieces of woven fabricand cordage were pressed into theinterior and exterior of the vessel as anaid in manufacture and to help maintain

Figure 64: VariousEarly Woodlandperiod projectilepoints from sites inthe hill country andbeyond.

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the finished shape until the clay dried.The roughened surface may also haveserved as an aid in holding and movingthe vessels after they were fired. Theseimpressions of cords and fabrics areabout the only surviving evidence of theweaving and cordage industries that nodoubt existed as early as people set footin North America. The woven fabricsand cords used to form pottery vesselswere probably pieces of worn-out clothesand perhaps pieces of rugs and blanketsthat were re-used one final time beforebeing thrown away. In just a fewcenturies, the use of cord impressions invarious ways on the outside of ceramicvessels becomes a way of also decoratingpottery.

Only a few pieces of interior andexterior cord and fabric marked potteryhave been found at sites located in theHoosier National Forest or at large basesettlements up and down the OhioValley. This probably means only a fewceramic vessels were utilized whilecooking and storing foods in a fashionmuch like previous people had done.This was a time before the making andusing of pottery became a commonpractice. Evidence from sites within theHoosier National Forest and elsewhere insouthern Indiana indicates these peoplehad home ranges extending at leastseveral miles into the uplands forhunting and collecting away from themajor stream valleys. Once a small

Figure 65: Early Woodland period Adena and other Dickson cluster projectile points. Theunnotched specimens are Adena Leaf-shaped Blades that served both as trade items andpreforms for making Adena points.

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number of the thick and heavy potteryvessels were carried up into the ravinesand rockshelters, they probably stayedthere until finally broken.Early Woodland peoples in the

central Ohio Valley were probablykeeping some gardens in the summermonths to cultivate preferred seedplants. The rockshelters within theHoosier National Forest showsubstantial amounts of nut shells,indicating nut food was a mainstayalong with the hunting of deer, turtles,turkeys, and some smaller animals.Occupations within the hill country wereprobably often for fall hunting andcollecting although substantial numbersof turtle bones in the shelters alsosuggests the hill country was being usedduring other times of the year as well.

We know very little about the seasonalmovements of these people, or how farfrom the Ohio Valley they may havetraveled on a yearly cycle. We knowlittle to nothing about the types ofhomes and shelters they used but wecan assume they were not substantiallydifferent from earlier times. Refusemiddens with the remains of numerousfires, pits, burials and trashaccumulated over centuries hasobscured the signs of architecture so wedo not know if these were single familyor multiple family dwellings, but bothare likely.While burial mounds constructed

over former ceremonial structures arecommon over much of eastern Indianaand a much wider territory, no suchconstructions are known for the hill

Figure 66: Fragments of Early Woodland pottery from sites within the Hoosier NationalForest and the Ohio Valley. These are cord-marked and fabric impressed. A few of thesehave different woven impressions on the interior and exterior sides.

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country. There are some reports oflooted Adena culture mounds in Spencerand Harrison counties along the OhioRiver close to the boundaries of theHoosier National Forest and some mayeventually be documented within theforest. The Adena culture is known froma site by that name in Ohio and was oneof the first cultures to construct burialmounds with tombs and have elaborateceremonies for the deceased.Some of the larger Adena culture

sites occur along the Ohio River near theWyandotte chert source where thisresource was heavily exploited for toolsand leaf-shaped blades for trade outsidethe region. Both of these products of theflint-knapping arts were brought to sitesin the Hoosier National Forest for use, asthey were to other kinds of habitationsites up and down the Ohio River (seeFigure 65). Most of the shell moundsformerly occupied during the LateArchaic period have evidence of smallerEarly Woodland and later occupationsassociated with them. These occurred

largely after the shell middens hadalready been accumulated. We do notknow why later people were not asfocused on mussel collecting. Did theyprefer another type of meat or is thereanother reason for the change? Severalfactors together probably account forless mussel collecting. The rivers mayhave been depleted of mussels becauseof over-collecting in the Late Archaicperiod. Perhaps more importantly, theenvironment of the rivers, such asannual water level and biological factors,made it less likely for large colonies ofmussels or shoals to be available forexploitation. Even so, evidence for theuse of river resources and fishingcertainly continues throughout thearchaeological record. This is known notso much by the presence of fishingequipment but, when bone preservationis good, by the presence of fish bones inmost middens that accumulated alongwith many species of animals used forfood.

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Looking at Prehistory:Middle Woodland Period 200 B.C. to A.D. 500

The Middle Woodland period marks ahigh point in trade and ceremonialismthat is unparalleled by anything beforeor after this time period. Hopewell,named for a site in central Ohio, is aceremonial and cultural phenomenonthat spread throughout the easternWoodlands early in the period. Peoplebegan constructing complex burialmounds that included the building of logtombs, earthworks, and the use of goodsmade from exotic raw materials withinburial tombs representing the wealthand status of elite persons. Averagecommunity members may never haveseen or handled some of the exotic tradegoods destined for use in the afterlife.Hopewell ceremonialism and longdistance exchange took place betweenMiddle Woodland communities spreadover a wide territory.Middle Woodland period camps andsmall villages are located over all ofsouthwestern Indiana. They areprobably more numerous in the hillcountry of southern Indiana and theHoosier National Forest area than the

current data shows, but rockshelterswere heavily used early in the period.The Mann site, along with the GE orMount Vernon Mound, which is namedfor a location near that town insouthwestern Indiana, are the largestand most complex Hopewell sites knownin the region. These sites becameimportant ceremonial centers thatprobably attracted people of differentcultural and social affiliations, alongwith a large variety of exotic goodstraded from sources far outside theregion (Figure 67). Many other moundsites of Middle Woodland affiliation areprobably also located in southwesternIndiana but, they have not yet beenrecorded (Figure 68). There are somereports of possible Middle Woodlandmounds from the region immediatelyadjacent to the Hoosier National Forestin the Tell City and Harrison Countyareas along the Ohio River, althoughvery little is documented about them.The Crab Orchard tradition and theMann phase represent the most notableMiddle Woodland cultures in the region.

Figure 67: A map of theMann site, Posey County,IN showing the locationsof large mounds andearthworks (modified fromKellar 1979:Fig. 14.1).

MANN SITE |12Po2|

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Figure 68: Ongoing excavations at Mann site in 1967 by Indiana University to carefullydocument the prehistoric pits and other features, and also the locations and associations ofartifacts being recovered.

Projectile points of the period includethose of the Saratoga and Snydersclusters that belong to the Crab Orchardtradition and the Lowe and Copenaclusters that belong to the later Mannphase (Figures 69-70). Many styles ofceramic vessels were developed duringthis period and the incorporation ofknives or blades struck from preparedcores is an important addition to the toolkit. Flake blades were probably used forcarving wood and fine incising on boneand wooden articles of all descriptions.Other tools characteristic of the MiddleWoodland period include celts, whichare basically ungrooved axes for cuttingand hewing wood (Figure 71), varioustypes of scrapers made from large flakes,mortars and pestles and other grindingstones.While agriculture within large

prepared fields does not take place untilthe Late Woodland period severalhundred years later, Middle Woodlandpeoples were cultivating a number ofseed producing plants includingsunflowers, lambsquarters or goosefoot,maygrass, erect knotweed, little barleyand probably a large variety of otherplants (see Figure 72). Most of theseplants have oily and starchy seeds thatcould be ground into meal with mortarsand pestles to make breads and cakes,or as an additive in other foodpreparations. Corn makes its firstappearance during this time, but it wasnot grown in any large quantities.Corn, along with the knowledge of howto use it, is ultimately derived fromnorthern Mexico where it was passed onfrom village to village with everincreasing popularity until finally

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reaching the Ohio Valley.The Crab Orchard tradition is named

for Crab Orchard Lake in southernIllinois. This tradition develops withinthe lower Ohio Valley and extends toinclude all of southern Illinois andnorthern Kentucky, up the Ohio River tonear the Falls of the Ohio area in ClarkCounty and a short distance up theWabash River. The first potteryattributed to the Crab Orchard traditionis a coarse, rock-tempered potteryknown as Sugar Hill Cord-marked whichthen gives way to clay-tempered potterywhich is the primary ceramic of the CrabOrchard tradition. Clay temper is firedclay that was crushed and may includefragments of broken pots that werecrushed and added to fresh clay to form

new ceramic vessels. Later in the MiddleWoodland period many types of rock,including crushed quartz, feldspar,limestone, sandstone, as well as sandand clay, were used as temperingagents.The Crab Orchard people lived in thelarger rockshelters of the HoosierNational Forest and left substantialevidence of their presence, includingquantities of pot-sherds (e.g. fragmentsof broken pots) from the large cookingand storage vessels they made and used(Figures 73-74). Rockshelters wereprobably used for temporary shelterwhile hunting and collecting in therugged terrain, although the sheltersmay have been visited regularlythroughout the year and could have

Figure 69: Middle Woodland period Saratoga Expanded Stem and Snyders projectile points

from Rockhouse Hollow Shelter and other sites in the hill country.

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Figure 70: MiddleWoodland period LoweFlared Base andCopena Triangularprojectile points fromRockhouse HollowShelter and other sitesin the Hoosier NationalForest.

Figure 71: Celts or un-grooved axes. Afterseveral thousandyears, the ax wasmodified to be haftedto a wooden handlewithout making agroove. Presumablythe ax-head was fittedto match a hole cutthrough the handle.

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Erect knotweedPolygonum erectum

Little barleyHordeumpusillum

SmartweedPolygonum

l.ambsquartersChenopodiumalbum

.'.—

Marshelder/S umpweedIva

PigweedAmaranlhus

MaygrassPhalaris caroliniana

Figure 72: A few wild food plants used in prehistory. There are many species and varietiesoffood and medicinal plants used by Native Americans today and long ago. Some of theplants identified at archaeological sites apparently went extinct before the present daysuch as a species ofmarshelder (Iva annu) that was domesticated. The oily seeds of thisplant appear in archaeological sites during the Middle Archaic period, and the plant wasregularly harvested for its nutritional value along with many others for several thousandyears thereafter. The illustrations shown here are modified from several sources (USDA1971:Figs. 33, 60, 64, 71 with drawings by Regina O. Hughes; Gleason 1952: Vol. II

,

p. 75,Vol. m, p. 373; Cowan 1 978:Fig. 2).

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Figure 73: Potterybelonging to the CrabOrchard tradition

from RockhouseHollow Shelter.

Figure 74: Large rim of a pottery vesselbelonging to the Crab Orchard tradition,

from Rockhouse Hollow Shelter.

Figure 75: Hopewell and otherMiddle Woodland period decoratedpottery from the Mann site andRockhouse Hollow Shelter.

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been used for several monthsconsecutively as hunters and theirfamilies moved back and forth into thehill country from base camps within thefloodplains and on the terraces of theOhio River.The Mann phase is named for theMann site located in Posey County thatmay have initially been established bypeople of the Crab Orchard tradition.These people were already present in thevalley a few centuries before, yet theceramics at Mann site have many typesof temper and designs and some aredefinitely southern in derivation. Forexample, ceramic stamping technologyand also the Lowe and Copena projectilepoint technologies appear first in thesoutheastern United States and theirpresence in Indiana probably meanssome groups of people from Tennessee

and Georgia moved north into the OhioValley. Among the everyday cord-marked cooking vessels, the Mann sitehas ceramics with complicatedstamping, check stamping, simplestamping and elaborate incising duringthis time which connects potters toIllinois and Ohio as well as with thesoutheastern United States (Figure 75).Stamping comes in many complexdesigns that were carved onto woodenpaddles or dried and fired clay stampsthat could be pressed or spanked ontothe sides of clay vessels still wet frommanufacture. The use of stamps enabledthe manufacture of pottery with thesame precise design (Figure 76). Thereare many other types of pottery designsthat were accomplished with artfulhands using various sharp and blunttools to create designs by punching,

Figure 76: Complicated-stamped and simple-stamped ceramics from the Mann site.

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dragging or cutting (incising) the surfaceof the wet clay vessel (Figure 77).The Allison-LaMotte phase defined for

the Wabash Valley north into the TerreHaute area dates to the same time andcould be a manifestation of the Mannphase or visa versa. Most of the culturaltraits are duplicated, except Allison-LaMotte lacks burial mounds,earthworks and evidence of highceremonialism. Perhaps the Mann sitewas also a special center for Allison-LaMotte peoples who lived along theWabash. Most of the domestic pottery ofthe Mann phase and Allison-LaMotte isdominated by thin, cord-marked vesselswith a variety of tempers added to thefresh clay.Rockshelter sites in the HoosierNational Forest may not have been usedas intensively during the Mann phase as

Figure 77: A copper awl with a bone handlefrom the Cato site, fine-line incised ceramics from the Mann site and later MiddleWoodland ceramics from Mann, RockhouseHollow, and Allison-LaMotte sites to thenorth.

they were by the earlier Crab Orchardpeople, since there is much less in theway of pot-sherds we can relate to them.Yet, it is possible that families may havetypically carried ceramic vessels withthem on their seasonal rounds betweensites in the hill country and thosescattered over surrounding areas and onthe Ohio River. Perhaps the shelterswere occupied more often by hunterswho left mostly hunting equipment andcarried meat and hides back to basecamps where their families lived. MiddleWoodland trading parties may have also

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occupied the rockshelters on their wayto and from major Hopewell centers,transporting a variety of exotic anddomestic goods. In addition, at leastsome of the people using the hill countrymay have taken part in ceremonies atMann site or the GE Mound or, at least,obtained some of their tools and otherartifacts through interaction with peoplefrom those sites. The GE Mound wasunfortunately severely impacted bylooting and we may never know the fullimportance of the site. Hopefully otherHopewell ceremonial sites will bereported and documented before theyare destroyed by construction or looting.The Mann site and GE Mound were

extremely important ceremonial andtrade centers that participated in theexchange of grizzly bear teeth andobsidian from the Rocky Mountainsalong with copper, mica, marine shell,pearls, and exotic cherts from locationsall over the eastern United States andthe Plains (Figure 78). Gifted craftsmenproduced large spear points of obsidianobtained near Yellowstone NationalPark, quartz crystal obtained fromspecial quarries and caves, and Knife

River flint from the Dakotas. Mica,probably obtained in the SmokeyMountains, was often used to makeelaborate cut-outs in the shape ofhuman hands and birds. The Mann siteis well-known for the large numbers offinely made human figurines of fired claythat have been found there (Figure 79).Each figurine depicts unique andunusual hair styles used during theMiddle Woodland period and many otherdetails including clothing, specialpostures and facial features. Thenumbers and kinds of Hopewellceremonial goods is incredible andtestifies to the sophistication of thetimes and the extent to which peoplewould travel overland and by canoe toobtain special goods for elite personsand ceremonies.The Middle Woodland people who

lived within the Hoosier National Forestleft flakes of quartz crystal, fragments ofmica, blades of Flint Ridge chert fromOhio and some human figurinefragments. Such finds are highlysignificant because these wereapparently not materials that were usedon a daily basis by common people of

Figure 78: Hopewell

artifacts made fromexotic raw materialsincluding mica,copper, galena (leadcrystal), obsidian,quartz, sugar quartzand flint ridge flint.Most of the items arefrom the Mann site.

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the time. The presence of suchmaterials at sites in the hill countrytestifies that these people wereconnected to the vast Hopewell trade inexotic goods that took place throughoutmuch of the eastern United States.Underground caves constituteanother type of archaeological site usednot for residences by whole families, butby prehistoric explorers and miners whoentered the underworld to extract manyunusual types of rocks and minerals,along with crystals for medicinal andceremonial needs. Archaeologists haveproven that Wyandotte Cave in CrawfordCounty was explored as early as 2000B.C. by Late Archaic peoples who lefttorch fragments for dating and otherevidence of their explorations long ago(Figure 80). Later on, during the MiddleWoodland period, Wyandotte Cave wasthe scene of repeated explorations andheavy mining (see Munson and Munson1990).Aragonite was quarried from thePillar of the Constitution within

Figure 79: Hopewell human figurinefragments offired clay. The two smallappendages at the bottom were recoveredduring the 1961 excavations at RockhouseHollow Shelter.

Wyandotte Cave during the MiddleWoodland period. Aragonite is a semi-translucent, banded flowstone composedof calcium carbonate that sometimes isthe rock that forms stalagmites andstalactites within caves. The remains ofstone hammers and antler pry bars havebeen found, along with fragments ofaragonite, charcoal, and ash that wereburied within quarry debris around thebase of the Pillar of the Constitution.Much of the aragonite was apparentlydestined to be carved into ceremonialplatform pipes and gorgets (e.g. drilleddecorative items often shaped like a reel)and traded to far away Hopewellceremonial centers in Indiana, Ohio,Illinois, Iowa, and Tennessee. Afragment of a carved aragonite pipe wasrecovered in scientific excavations of

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Arrowhead Arch in CrawfordCounty and dated to about A.D.155. There are also fragments ofthis material used for ceremonialartifacts in the collections fromthe Mann site (Figures 81-82).Carbon- 14 analysis suggests thataragonite was quarried inWyandotte Cave during the firstcenturies of the Christian Era.Such material and the artworkcreated from it was probablydistributed across the HoosierNational Forest en-route toHopewell ceremonial centers.Many other important substancescould only have been obtained bybrave spelunkers within the darkrecesses of Wyandotte and othercaves in prehistory. Some ofthese are noteworthy and includeepsom salts (epsomite), gypsum

(also good for carving objects),saltpeter and nitrates, the latterof which were important in earlyhistoric time for making gunpowder.

Figure 80: The "Pillar of the Constitution" deepwithin Wyandotte Cave (Courtesy of GaryBerdeaux, photographer, Carol Groves and CaveCountry Adventures, 400 E. State Road 64,Marengo, IN).

Figure 81: MiddleWoodland period

artifacts including cacheblades made fromBurlington (Illinois), FlintRidge (Ohio), andWyandotte chert

(southern Indiana),drilled stone gorgets,pipe fragments and aturkey effigy carved frombone. The small andseemingly insignificantcurved piece is a pipefragment made fromaragonite that was foundin excavation at theMann site.

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Figure 82: Excavations within the dark alcove ofArrowhead Arch. Indiana Universityexcavations, 1984.

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Looking at Prehistory: Late Woodland Period ca. A.D. 500 to 1500

Perhaps two of the most significantoccurrences that mark the LateWoodland period are the appearanceand wide-spread use of the bow andarrow and an emphasis on growingdomesticated crops and other cultigensalong with collecting wild plant foods.There is more of a sedentary lifestyleassociated with agriculture, but thatdoes not explain why the highceremonialism of Hopewell comes to anend during the Late Woodland period.A number of distinctive variations inLate Woodland ceramics are diagnosticof the cultures or social groups theyrepresent, but they all include some typeof stone or clay tempering. Theceramics, along with other culturaltraits, clearly separates them fromMississippian cultures that used shell

tempering in their ceramic technology.Jack's Reef cluster (early) andunnotched triangular points (late)become widespread during the LateWoodland period (Figure 83). Theformer emphasis on the Wyandotte chertsource for tools greatly diminishes infavor of local sources of chert. Someagricultural implements appear, alongwith many kinds of cultivated foods andeventually varieties of corn, beans, andsquashes are developed and grownintensively at Mississippian sites. Thereis also evidence for the increased useand size of storage pits to preserve foodsfor the winter months. A number ofLate Woodland phases are known,including Oliver, Albee, Newtown, andYankeetown. Oliver phase andYankeetown pottery have been identified

Figure 83: Arrowpoint variations,drills, end scrapers,and gravers. Theseinclude Jacks Reefcluster andtriangular types

from Oliver phaseand other southernIndiana sites.

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at camps within the hill country of theHoosier National Forest.The Oliver phase people borrowedtraits from Fort Ancient tradition peoplewho occupied southeastern Indiana,southern Ohio, and northern Kentuckyand also Springwells culturalmanifestations that extended intoIndiana from the western side of LakeErie (Figure 84). The Oliver phase isdated from A.D. 1000 to perhaps as lateas 1400, overlapping with theMississippian occupation of southernIndiana.The Cox's Woods site was occupied

by Oliver phase families who built adouble-walled earthen enclosure toencircle the site and had a number of

houses in a ring around a central plazaor community area. The site is locatednear the Pioneer Mothers MemorialForest on Hoosier National Forestproperty, protecting one of the fewremaining stands of primary forest left inIndiana (Figure 85). Middens of refuseaccumulated within the enclosure andthe surrounding area from the remainsof thousands of meals eaten by peopleliving at the site over an extended periodof time. Excavations documented manypost-molds, marked by circular stains,following patterns indicating thelocations of the houses and also storagepits, hearths, and rock concentrationscontaining artifacts such as pottery(Figures 86-87). Food remains collected

Figure 84: Oliver phase decorated ceramics from the Oliver Farm, Cox's Woods, Clampitt,and Bowen sites.

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COX'S WOODS SITE (I20rl)1993 EXCAVATIONS

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by archaeologists show corn agriculturewas combined with collected fruits, nutsand seeds and that there weresignificant amounts of maygrass andlittle barley cultivated along with thehunting of deer, elk, turkey and otheranimals.From archaeological surveys in thevicinity of the site, we know these peoplealso established smaller gardening andcollecting camps away from Cox'sWoods. This settlement was establishedin a remote location some distance fromthe floodplain of the East Fork of theWhite River and it is suspected thatfuture studies may show Oliver phasevillage sites in other areas of the HoosierNational Forest. Oliver phase villageslocated nearby and further north havebeen investigated in recent years, adding

Figure 85: The plan of the Cox's Woods sitedetermined by limited test excavations overselected segments of the site. IndianaUniversity field school, 1 993.

greatly to our knowledge about thesepeople (Figures 88-90). The presence ofHalf Moon Spring could have been afactor in the location of the Cox's Woodssite, where the people could haveextracted salt crystals from the salinewaters at the spring for cooking, thepreservation of meat and hides, as wellas exchange (Figure 91).Yankeetown phase people livedwithin an area encompassing the lowerOhio River Valley from southern Illinoisand nearby Kentucky, the lower WabashValley and into south-central Indiana.

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Figure 86: Ongoing excavations at the Cox'sWoods site. Indiana University field school,1993.

Figure 87 (right): Rim of reconstructedceramic vessel excavated from the Cox'sWoods site.

Figure 88: A profile of an Oliver phase village in Morgan County showing a deposit

of discarded mussel shells over an oldswale in the White River floodplain. Indiana University field school, 1995.

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Figure 89: Theprofile of a largeOliver phase pitfeature with

artifacts and refuseand food remains.Indiana Universityfield school, 1 995.

Figure 90: A largearea ofpit featuresexposed and ready

for mapping at anOliver phase site inJohnson County.Indiana Universityfield school, 1 995.

Figure 91: Deer bone"beamers" for removing thehair from animal skinsfrom the Oliver phaseClampitt and Bowen sites.

Pa«e 63


The phase is named for a site nearYankeetown in Warrick County, Indianathat was found deeply buried in the OhioRiver bank (Figure 92). Yankeetownphase people made some of the moreaesthetic pottery designs that are easilyidentifiable (Figure 93).Some Yankeetown families took up

Figure 92: Deep test excavations at theYankeetown site, Warrick County, IN byIndiana University in 1 967.

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Figure 93: Yankeetown phase ceramics from the Yankeetown site and Rockhouse HollowShelter (upper left).

residence at Rockhouse Hollow shelterfor a limited time around A.D. 900 -1000. We know this because they leftfragments of their distinctive ceramicvessels in the shelter. There are likely tobe more sites found in the future withinthe Hoosier National Forest that wereoccupied by Yankeetown peoples. Onesuspects, however, the main use of thehill country by people of the Yankeetownphase may have been in the form oflimited hunting and collecting camps ina variety of settings, includingrockshelters and open sites. Their largerbase settlements and summer gardeningcamps were established along thefloodplain of the Ohio River.The other Late Woodland groups were

dispersed across central Indiana and awider area that did not expand to any

degree into south-central Indiana. Onelarge rim sherd that was found inexcavations within Arrowhead Arch inCrawford County may be significant(Figures 94-95). It can be attributed toeither Oliver phase people from thenorth, or Fort Ancient, Anderson phasepeople coming from the east nearCincinnati. This is another example oflimited use by perhaps single familiesthat probably carried the pottery withthem as they moved up into the hillcountry on hunting and collecting trips.The Albee phase is not well-knownoutside of central Indiana, within theWabash and White River drainages. TheNewtown phase is apparently restrictedto southeastern Indiana.While the Late Woodland use of thehill country in the Hoosier National

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Figure 94: A profile of thedeposits duringexcavations at Arrowhead Arch by IndianaUniversity in 1 984. Notethe changes in soil colorand consistency marking

differences in the humanuse of the site. The lightcolor of the upper part isdue to overlapping ashlenses with rodentburrows. The dark areaon the left marks alooter's pit that destroyedvaluable informationabout the sites history.

Figure 95: A reconstructed portion of aceramic vessel recovered from ArrowheadArch.

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Forest may appear to be limitedcompared to . other prehistoric timeperiods, we must consider that much isstill unknown and remains to bedocumented. Thus, it is imperative thatinterested persons, avocationalarchaeologists and professionalscollaborate to record information aboutthe archaeology of the wider region. Amajor effort has been underway inrecent years to investigate the many LateWoodland and other cultures that lefttheir remains in Indiana. Laypersonscan help save important sites andinformation about the prehistory ofsouthern Indiana by reporting acts oflooting and vandalism and notifyingauthorities about the existence ofarchaeological sites. Archaeologists relyon the good faith efforts of the public totell them about local discoveries so thatthe information can help clarify what weknow about the settlement systems ofprehistoric peoples in the Late Woodlandperiod of the hill country and the manycultures that came before and after thistime.While there is a temporal overlap

between Late Woodland cultures andthose of the Mississippian period, manyMississippian traits, including villageorganization, mound building, trade andceremonial habits are substantiallydifferent. Long before Mississippianperiod cultures expanded north from thesoutheastern United States however,many Late Woodland period cultureshad evolved from the local Middle

Woodland cultures and were dispersedthroughout much of the Northeast,Great Lakes, and Ohio Valley. We nowknow that Late Woodland groupscontinued to occupy a number of areasin Indiana throughout the followingMississippian period, and there appearsto have been interaction on a number offronts between Late Woodland andMississippian groups, though eachapparently retained their own culturalidentity. There is evidence at Cahokiain Illinois and other Mississippiancenters that groups with traditional LateWoodland cultural affiliation weresometimes incorporated intoMississippian society. One must alsoconsider that such factors as politics,economics, and warfare presented adynamic situation involving groupsbeing incorporated and later splittinginto smaller communities to live again asthey once did. Groups splitting awayfrom a major town center could havepopulated a new area or, when possible,could have returned to an ancestralhome their parents and grandparentskept alive in stories of former times.This ebb and flow of culturalassociations and population movementsprobably also took place in Indiana. Forarchaeologists, the specific details ofcultural dynamics are difficult to pindown because of the addition andmixing of artifacts and traits at somearchaeological sites that belong toseveral cultural traditions and bridgetwo archaeological time periods.

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Looking at Prehistory: Mississippian Period A.D. 1,000 to 1650

Temple mound sites of theMississippian period are scattered alongthe major rivers in the Midwest andsoutheastern United States (Figure 96).These were very large towns withplatform mounds and plazas forgathering large crowds and places wheremany families lived and farmed. Thesewere chiefdoms in organization withsocial stratification (e.g. various classes

of people including households ofspecialized craftsmen and farmers, etc.)and they were centers of high religiousand soci-political importance. The siteswere surrounded by palisades fordefense against raids from other groupsand probably for monitoring specialagricultural fields and other reasons(Figure 97). Major towns wereconnected through trade along the river

Figure 96: A topographic contour map ofAngel Mounds State Historic Site showing theplatform mounds and other prehistoric and natural features across this large Mississippiantown. A linear elevation that runs to one ofmounds (center of the picture) is the remains ofa stockade that may have been constructed late in the occupation. If so, the Angelpopulation may have been smaller at that time. This and many other questions remain tobe answered about the growth and demise of this prehistoric town (Modified from Black1967: Fig. 14).

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highways by canoe, as well as byoverland routes. Mississippian cultureswere dependent on intensive agriculturalproduction and they concentrated on thecultivation of corn, beans and squash.Small family farms and camps werescattered over the countryside thatsupplied a surplus of produce, collectedfoods, meat and hides to the largertowns (Figure 98).Mississippian houses were basicallysquare-shaped, with walls of uprightposts set in trenches and then wovenwith sticks and vines and plastered withmud. The roofs were made of grassthatch (Figure 99). We know thesearchitectural details because frequentfires preserved evidence in the form ofcharred stains and building materials forarchaeologists to record and thenreconstruct how the Angel people builttheir homes. This burning was probablyperiodic to eliminate bugs and otherpests. Other times it was probably theresult of raids by other Indian groups

Figure 97: A reconstruction of the stockadethat once surrounded the Angel site.

Figure 98: Mississippian hoes. Below isone made of Dover chert traded fromquarries in Tennessee. The other is fromRockhouse Hollow Shelter. It was probablyused for digging pits and roots while awayfrom a farming camp.

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and from lightning as well as householdcatastrophes. Excavations at AngelMounds have revealed the locations ofnumerous houses that were establishedclose to one another within the walls ofthe town. These are marked by charredrectangular stains found below theground surface with concentrations ofcharred fragments of logs, and thepreserved impressions of thatch andespecially mud or "daub" that was usedas plaster on the walls (Figure 100).Some of this evidence comes in the formof unusual objects found in excavationssuch as dirt-dauber (wasp) nests that

were attached to roofing material andfired when the houses burned. Daubthat was composed mainly of clay wasalso fire-hardened, preserving theimpressions of cane and other plantmaterial woven between the upright logs(e.g. wattle) on the walls of the homes(Figure 101).Angel Mounds is the largestMississippian archaeological site inIndiana and is the most easterly of thelarge Mississippian towns that wereestablished up the Ohio River betweenabout A.D. 1000 and 1500 (see Figure96). The main population of the Angel

Figure 99: AreconstructedMississippianhouse at AngelMounds.

Figure 100: An ongoing excavation of aMississippian house and surroundingarea. The house trenches that onceheld upright posts are marked by theparallel lines and rectangular stain.The large circular stains are pits filledwith organic soils from repeated use

for roasting, cooking and storagebelow the floor of the house. Some ofthe medium-sized stains mark smallerpits and also post-molds wheresupport posts for the roof were located.Indiana University field school, 1976.

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phase may have descendedfrom the earlier Yankeetownphase people who showed anumber of traits that latermanifest in the Angel phase.Mississippian villages andtowns are often rich inmaterial culture (Figures102-103). Salt licks werefrequented by Mississippianpeoples, where they madeand left behind manyfragments of large ceramicpans (Figure 104) that wereemployed to evaporate thewater and collect saltcrystals for a variety of usesin cooking, as well as forpreserving meat and animalhides for storage and trade.Two Mississippianphases appear to besequential occupations insouthwestern Indiana.These include the Angel andCaborn-Welborn phases.Probably unrelated to these

Figure 101: Prehistoric wall plaster "daub" offired claythat show the impressions of split cane, reeds and otherplant fiber used as construction material between thesupport posts before the walls were plastered with mud.The smaller pieces on the upper left are dirt-dauber nestswith fiber and grass thatch impressions. Had the homesat Angel Mounds not been burned, such building materials would not have survived the centuries.

Figure 1 02: Some variations ofshell-tempered Mississippianceramics including "negative-painted" sherds from AngelMounds. The paint wasapplied as a wash over thearea decorated with some kind

of resist.

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Figure 103: Various Mississippian artifacts from Angel Mounds, including pottery disks,

fish hooks, a broken bone "beamer", a "labret" for lip or ear decoration, and other artifacts.There is also a chipped chisel with a carefully honed bit for wood working, such as houseand wall construction and making dug-out canoes, etc.

Figure 104: A partialreconstruction of a largeMississippian salt-pan. It isshown from the back to revealthe impression of a fabricemployed in the manufacture ofthe pan.

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is the Vincennes phaselocated further to the northand west, and the FortAncient tradition of southernOhio that clearly borrowed oradopted shell tempering forceramics and a number ofother practices, but remainedcommitted to their ownculture— including leadershipand political control. TheFalls of the Ohio area alsohas a Mississippiansettlement that is poorlyknown, although it too wasprobably a separate politicalunit at this time.Caborn-Welborn, with

its distinctive decoratedceramics, comes after theAngel phase and dates fromabout A.D. 1400 to 1700(Figure 105). It apparentlylacked mound centers andhad small dispersedsettlements centered aroundthe confluence of the Ohioand Wabash Rivers, as thereare few identified sitesoutside of the immediatevicinity of the river valleys.Their territory apparently didnot reach east into theHoosier National Forestregion to any extent.Angel phase settlementsrequired larger territorieswhile still maintaining a closeconnection to the majorrivers. Rockhouse HollowShelter was used by Angelphase people who left ampleevidence of their presence inmany undecorated shell-tempered pot-sherdsdeposited within the uppermidden of the site (Figure106). While these peoplewere connected to an

Figure 105: Caborn-Welborn phase decorated ceramics, end-scrapers, and a fine chisel for working woodfrom Hovey Lake and other sites.

elaborate and sophisticated culture, there are fewsigns they did anything overly different from theLate Woodland peoples who lived in this and otherrockshelters in the hill country. These occupationsprobably represent fall base camps where huntingexpeditions were staged to obtain the meat andhides of deer and other animals to supply the largeAngel town located about sixty miles down river.When not engaged in hunting and collecting in thehill country, these people probably lived at or nearAngel site and participated in the building andmaintenance of houses, stockades, mounds andattended many ceremonies held at that large town(Figure 107).Early historic records indicate the eastern or

"woods" bison made an annual migration acrossthe Hoosier National Forest south of Patoka Lake,between prairies at Vincennes and further westinto Illinois and the prairies and salt licks aroundBig Bone Lick, Kentucky (Figure 108). While thisspecies of bison was exterminated shortly after thearrival of Euroamericans to the area, the bisonwore a path across southern Indiana that can stillbe seen in some places today (Figure 109). Thisbuffalo trace was so substantial at the turn of thecentury that it became a ready avenue for the first

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Figure 106: Mississippian ceramic rim andbody fragments (sherds) and a fired claybead from Angel Mounds and RockhouseHollow Shelter.

Figure 107: The famous figurine from AngelMounds sculpted from a large fluoritecrystal. The Mississippian people placed

this figure within theupper levels ofMoundF at the site. Perhapsthis represents the

final ceremonial eventin the use of themound.

Figure 108: The

Buffalo Trace and amud hole "wallow"as it was mappedand described in theoriginal land survey

ofDubois County,IN. Eastern bisonbones wereoccasionally foundin the marshesnearby (from Wilson1919: Plate 5).

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settlers to drive livestock and carry thewagons full of belongings into south-central Indiana.Historical records suggest bison werenumerous, but their remains are veryscarce. Only two archaeological siteswith more than a few skeletal elementsreported as bison have beendocumented. These are located nearRockport in Spencer County and theirassociation is with 18th centuryEuroamerican campsites established onthe river bank. There are only a fewscattered elements of bison boneidentified from Mississippian periodCaborn-Welborn phase sites insouthwestern Indiana and others inKentucky. There are also a few bonesidentified as bison from Oliver phasesites and some of them were modifiedinto tools (Figure 110). So far, we haveno evidence of prehistoric bison kill sitesin Indiana or the surrounding region.Dried meat, hides and bones for toolscould have been readily traded far fromsites where bison were killed andbutchered. A major problem is that theskeletons of modern cattle, oxen, andbison are difficult to distinguish withoutskulls and other key elements. In

addition, when skeletons are incompleteand fragmentary, the individual bones ofelk and other large game can be alsoconfused with bison.We do not know why bison beganregularly crossing south-central Indiana,nor do we know when this change inmigration pattern first began. The Fallsof Ohio was a crossing for migratingbison and humans, as well as a portageand destination for prehistoric rivertravelers back thousands of years. Partof the bison trace does cross the"barrens" of Harrison County that waslargely treeless when the pioneers firstcame to the region. Grasslands nearand along the trace are also documentedby the original land surveyors north ofNew Albany in Clark County. These andother patches of grassland apparentlypersisted throughout prehistory andmay have been first maintained by thefeeding habits and movements ofmammoths, mastodons, and possiblyprehistoric man that, much later,became an attractive grazing avenue andtrace for the annual migrations of bison.Bison remains from the Rockport

sites and others from historic and lateprehistoric sites should be included in a

Figure 109: A viewof a survivingsection of theBuffalo Trace, nowheavily forested.Countlessanimals,prehistoric people,soldiers,American settlers,and travelerspassed throughsouthern Indianausing this naturalroad through thewilderness.

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larger study to clarify the identificationof bison remains and the archaeologicalevidence for prehistoric utilization ofbison in the Midwest. Such a researchproject should include archaeologicalsurveys in the vicinity of Buffalo Tracefeatures, attempt to reconstruct thenatural history and migration patternsof bison east of the Mississippi River,and also address late prehistoricaboriginal food preferences and huntingpractices in Indiana and surroundingstates with regard to bison.

Figure 1 10: A hoe possibly made from a bison scapula (shoulder blade) fromthe Bowen site, an Oliver phase village in central Indiana. It is heavily worn

from use on the broad end. A bony ridge has been mostly chipped away totie (haft) the blade to a handle.

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Relating Prehistoric Cultures to Historic Indian Tribes

One might expect it to be an easytask to relate Indiana's late prehistoriccultures to the Indian tribes known fromearly historic documents. It is not, andso far it has prove impossible to link thepeople of prehistory with specific tribesin Indiana. By the 18th century over twohundred years had already passed sinceColumbus made landfall in the Bahamasand the European settlement of theEastern Seaboard was essentiallycomplete. Unfortunately for NativeAmericans, there was a rapid westwardexpansion of pioneers seekingincreasingly large amounts of land forfamily farms. Each new settlementcaused a displacement of local Indiansinto territory belonging to other NativeAmerican groups. By this time, severalgenerations of Native Americans in theGreat Lakes and Ohio Valley had been

involved in the flourishing Fur Tradeand enjoyed the new foreign materialconveniences of woven blankets,muskets, iron tools, copper kettles, glassbeads and many other Europeancommodities obtained in trade (Figure111). While many traditional Indiancustoms and languages continued, andoften thrived during this time, theirmaterial culture had become largelyEuropean in nature and some tribeswere already living in log cabins ratherthan traditional lodges.Archaeologists depend on artifact

types to identify the people they study.These types are distinguished by therecognition of traditional designs andmethods of manufacture that remainwithout significant change over longperiods of time. Since most of theartifacts used by the Indians of the

Figure 111:Historic period

artifacts of silver,glass, iron, lead,etc. includingmusket parts. Thesmall, round pieceis a lead seal forsecuring trunks ofcargo. The squarepiece on the left isa gun-flint made inFrance that wasshipped to the NewWorld along withmuskets and otherweapons, copperkettles and varioustrade goodsbetween the 16thand 18th centuries.

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Historic period were made byEuropeans, they do not match theknown prehistoric types that we arefamiliar with. Thus, we have aprehistoric archaeological record basedon knowledge of traditional Indianartifacts that abruptly ends over only afew decades, when they areovershadowed by artifacts of Europeanmanufacture. In addition, these mass-produced items of European trade weremade available to many Indian groupsover a very wide territory. In Indiana,this dilemma has so far only fosteredspeculation about a few tribal identitiesback into prehistory.

While we do not know why,apparently the Angel Mounds village andmost, or all, archaeological sites hadlong been abandoned when the firstexplorers, traders and missionaries firstcame into Indiana in the 17th century.Yet, a number of historic NativeAmerican groups are repeatedlymentioned as having had settlementswithin Indiana. The Miami andPotawatomi were apparently morenumerous than other groups, havinghad settlements spread over much of thestate (Figures 112-115). Yet, mostscholars see language and cultural ties

Figure 1 12: The Son, a Miami chief. The original is a paintingby James Otto Lewis that he completed at the Treaty ofMississinewa, Indiana in 1827. The individual is wearing aseries of silver gorgets and arm bands and is holding a warclub and metal tipped spear (modified from Lewis 1836).

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Figure 113: D-MOUCHE-KEE-KEE-AWH, a beautiful Potawatomi marriedto Abram Burnett ". . . Noi Pottawatomie squaw equaled her inregard to dress; she was... platedwith silver brooches—the very ne plusultra of an Indian woman'stoilette" (modified from Ball 1948:Plate XVIII).

Figure 114: CHAT-O-NI-SEE, a Potawatomi chief.The individual has asilver broach on histurban and is wearing apresidential medalaround his neck. Theoriginal is a painting byJames Otto Lewis that hecompleted at the Treaty

of Fort Wayne in 1827(modified from Lewis

1836).

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to peoples living in Wisconsin andsuggest the Miami and Potawatomiprobably migrated from the southwestside of Lake Michigan beginning only aslate as the 15th century. In fact, verylittle prehistoric material cultureappears to relate to them in Indianaexcept perhaps in the northwestern partof the state. Caborn-Welborn sites

Figure 115: WA-BAUN-SEE, a Potawatomi

chief (modified from M'Kenney and Hall1838:107).

around the mouth of the Wabash areknown to produce some European tradegoods, but no historical documentsmention Native Americans in this area.Historic records also document

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Shawnee, Delaware, Piankashaw,Kickapoo, and Wyandotte, as well asother groups that were in Indiana onlybriefly before moving further west.Many scholars think at least some of thevillages attributed to the Fort Ancienttradition in southern Ohio can be linkedto the Shawnee. We are not so sureabout Oliver and Fort Ancient inIndiana, as the sites may representoccupations by more than a singleethnic group. The Delaware andWyandotte were displaced from originalhomelands to the north and east andsettled, at least for a short time, betweenthe White and Ohio Rivers in southernIndiana (Figures 116-118).No historic period Native American

sites are archaeologically documented,though local histories mention most ofthe above Indian groups in connectionwith the writing of the histories of the

Figure 1 1 6: PAYTA KOOTHAor "Flying clouds", a Shawneewarrior (modified fromM'Kenney and Hall 1836:83).

nine county area encompassed by theHoosier National Forest. While littleinformation provided on NativeAmericans in these histories can betraced to original sources, we canassume that some families related tothese larger ethnic groups utilized eitherthe hill country for a short time orcrossed through this area while slowlybeing displaced westward by Europeansettlement.

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Figure 1 1 7: KISH-KALLO-WA, aShawnee chief (modified fromM'Kenney and Hall 1836:15).

Figure 118: TISH-CO-HAN or "Hewho never blackens himself, aDelaware chief (modified fromM'Kenney and Hall 1836:199).

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Looking at Prehistory:The Role of the Public in Archaeological Research

Prehistoric archaeology is the studyof ancient human lifeways and culturesthat left no written record of their lives.We can only know about them todaythrough the study of the camps andvillages (archaeological sites) where theyonce lived, along with their artifacts andpreserved architectural remains thatthey left behind. Thus, it is vital thatthese sites be properly recorded and theartifacts from them documented. Whenartifacts are found such as bones,shells, pits with charcoal and otherthings, they often represent the remainsof an ancient camp site or village.Archaeologists in the state are engagedin a constant effort to record and protectthese sites for the future, but without

the help of the public, much of it goesunreported and eventually is destroyedby new housing subdivisions,businesses, roads, bridges, coal mines,pot-hunting or looting (Figures 1 19-121).Archaeological sites located in theHoosier National Forest are protected byfederal law and should not be disturbed.If artifacts or other archaeologicalremains are observed, please reportthem to the forest archaeologist inBedford, Indiana. Plot the location on aUSGS quadrangle map or other scaledmap to pinpoint the location where youmade your discovery. The site can thenbe formally recorded and authorities canlocate and monitor the site. By doingthis, you may help save a site from

Figure 1 1 9: The Slack Farm site in Kentucky seen from the air. This sitewas the scene of heavy looting which led to arrests and prosecution ofseveral persons and upgrading of the laws protecting archaeological sites inseveral states (Photo courtesy of Kenny Barkley; from Pollack, Munson, andHenderson 1996).

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Figure 120: Archaeologists work withNative Americans at Slack Farm to assessthe looting damage and make assessments

of the overall damage and loss of valuablehistory.

Figure 121: Graffiti damage on prehistoric mortars at Hemlock CavernRockshelter.

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destruction as it may be highlysignificant for writing the story of theprehistory of the region (Figures 122-124). Also, please report areas ofdisturbed earth within the forest thatcould be the result of vandalism. Thepenalties for looting are strict.Archaeological investigations, includingexcavations, are only conducted underprofessional supervision and only afterobtaining a formal permit to do so.

Figure 122 (below): Circular images fromthe Roll Petroglyph site. These petroglyphs(pecked images in rock) and others wererecorded in 1998 and 2001. They werehighly weathered and some were barelyvisible because of river scouring.

Figure 123: Prehistoric images at the Roll Petroglyph site. These are Late Prehistoric or Historic period images. Image H is commonly interpreted to depict the bow and arrow basedon rock art research in other regions of the country.

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Figure 124: A prehistoric pictograph (painting) on the wall of Cedar Bluff Rockshelter. Whilethis and others on the wall are rudimentary, they capture the flow of movement and havecharacter. The one shown here probably depicts a warrior wearing feathers with a shieldin one hand and a club or battle ax in the other. It may also be the case that some of thedetail was lost to weathering and the use of an atlatl or the killing of an animal or evil spiritcannot be ruled out. The age is unknown, but a later prehistoric timeframe is suggested.The art medium is black in color and probably a mixture of several unknown substances.

Archaeological research is regularlyconducted in all parts of the state ofIndiana by archaeologists connectedwith the various universities, theHoosier National Forest, the Departmentof Natural Resources, and privateCultural Resource Management offices(see listing of offices and organizationsbelow). You can participate in fieldresearch by making contact with localarchaeologists (Figure 125).Archaeological field schools areconducted each summer by many of theuniversities which offer solid training inarchaeological techniques and theorywhile granting college credit (Figure126). There are also a number ofavocational archaeological groups in thestate that are devoted to propercollecting and recording ofarchaeological sites and welcome new

members. Members of these groups areoften able to help with salvageexcavations of endangeredarchaeological sites, assist in therecording of accidental discoveries, andparticipate in grant fundedarchaeological research.The State Archaeologist's office in theDivision of Historic Preservation andArchaeology in Indianapolis is the mainclearinghouse for archaeologicalinformation in Indiana. That officeadministers permits and grants for fieldinvestigations in all regions of the stateand has programs and literature onarchaeological research. They provideinformation on recording archaeologicalsites, identifying artifacts, laws thatprotect archaeological sites (includinghuman burials and cemeteries) andmuch more. The State Archaeologist's

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office also sponsors "Archaeology Month"each September which provides anopportunity for professionals andavocational archaeologists to worktogether to educate the public aboutarchaeology through the many programsand events they sponsor around thestate.

Figure 125 (below): Volunteers taking abreak while helping archaeologists with anexcavation.

Figure 126:Studentshard at workin the heat ofsummer atAngelMounds.IndianaUniversity

field school,1976.

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Looking at Prehistory: Suggested Reading and References

Ball, Cable G.1948 The Journals and Indian Paintings of George Winter 1837-1839.Indiana Historical Society. Indianapolis.

Black, Glenn A.1967 Angel Site: An Archaeological, Historical, and Ethnological Study, 2

Vols. Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis.

Cowan, C. Wesley1978 The Prehistoric Use and Distribution of Maygrass in Eastern North

America: Cultural and Phytogeographical Implications. In, The Natureand Status of Ethnobotany. Edited by Richard I. Ford, pp. 263-288.Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan Anthropological PapersNo. 67.

Fagan, Brian M.1991 Ancient North America. Thames and Hudson, New York.

Gleason, Henry A.1952 The New Britton and Brown Illustrated Flora of the Northeastern United

States and Adjacent Canada: Three Volumes. Originally published in1913. New York Botanical Garden. Lancaster Press, Inc.Pennsylvania.

Hicks, Ronald (Editor)1992 Native American Cultures of Indiana: Proceedings of the FirstMinnetrista Council for Great Lakes Native American Studies.Minnetrista Cultural Center and Ball State University, Muncie.

Hilgeman, Sherri L.2000 Pottery and Chronology at Angel. The University of Alabama Press,Tuscaloosa.

Jefferies, Richard W.1987 The Archaeology of Carrier Mills. Southern Illinois University Press,Carbondale.

Jones, James R. Ill and Amy L. Johnson, et al.1999 Early Peoples of Indiana. Indiana Department of Natural Resources,Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Indianapolis.

Justice, Noel D.1987 Stone Age Spear and Arrow Points of the Midcontinental and EasternUnited States. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis.

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Justice, Noel D. and Suzanne K. Kudlaty1999 Field Guide to Projectile Points of the Midwest. Indiana University

Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis.

Kellar, James H.1979 The Mann Site and "Hopewell" in the Lower Wabash-Ohio Valley. In

Hopewell Archaeology: The Chillicothe Conference. Edited by David S.Brose and N'omi Greber, pp. 100-107. Kent State University Press.

1993 An Introduction to the Prehistory of Indiana (3rd. printing). IndianaHistorical Society, Indianapolis.

Lange, Ian M.2002 Ice Age Mammals of North America: A Guide to the Big, the Hairy, and

the Bizarre. Mountain Press Publishing Company. Missoula, Montana.

Lewis, James Otto1836 The Aboriginal Port-folio: A Collection of Portraits of the Most CelebratedChiefs of the North American Indians. Philadelphia.

Lorant, Stefan1946 The New World: The First Pictures of America. Duell, Sloan, and

Pearce. New York.

MTCenney, Thomas L. and James Hall, ESQ.1836 History of the Indian Tribes of North America, Vol. I. Published byEdward C. Biddle. Philadelphia.

1838 History of the Indian Tribes of North America, Vol. II. Published byFrederick W. Greenough. Philadelphia.

Mangold, William L.1997 Early and Middle Woodland Ceramics (Poster). Indiana Department of

Resources. Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology,Indianapolis.

Moerman, Daniel E.1998 Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. Portland, Oregon.

Mohow, James A.1997 Projectile Point Types (Poster). Indiana Department of Natural

Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology,Indianapolis.

Muller, Jon1986 Archaeology of the Lower Ohio River Valley. Academic Press, Inc.

Munson, Patrick J. and Cheryl A. Munson1990 The Prehistoric and Early Historic Archaeology of Wyandotte Cave and

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Other Caves in Southern Indiana. Prehistory Research Series 7(1).Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis.

Pielou, E.C.1991 After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America.University of Chicago Press. Chicago and London.

Pollack, David, Cheryl A. Munson and A. Gwynn Henderson1996 Slack Farm and the Caborn-Welborn People. Kentucky Archaeological

Survey, Education Series Number 1. Lexington, Kentucky.

Sieber, Ellen and Cheryl Ann Munson1992 Looking at History: Indiana's Hoosier National Forest Region, 1600 to

1950. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis.

Stuart, George E. and Francis P. McManamon1996 Archaeology and You. United States Department of the Interior, theBureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, the NationalGeographic Society and the Society for American Archaeology,Washington, D.C.

Swartz, B.K, Jr.1981 Indiana's Prehistoric Past. University Publications, Ball StateUniversity, Muncie.

USDA Agricultural Research Service1971 Common Weeds of the United States. Dover Publications, Inc. NewYork.

Wayne, William J.1966 Ice and Land. In Natural Features of Indiana. Edited by Alton A.

Lindsey, pp. 21-39. Indiana Academy of Science. Indianapolis.

Wilson, George R.1919 Early Indiana Trails and Surveys. Indiana Historical SocietyPublications Vol. 6, no. 3. C. E. Pauley and Co., Indianapolis.

Volz, Steven Alan1977 Preliminary Report on a Late Pleistocene Death-trap from Monroe

County, Indiana. Indiana Academy of Science Vol. 86:292-307.

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Passport in Time: Volunteers are needed across the country

Passport in Time (PIT) is a volunteer archaeology and historic preservation program of the USDA Forest Service. We invite you to work with professionalarchaeologists and historians on projects including archaeological excavation,rock art restoration, survey, archival research, historic structure restoration,gathering oral histories, or writing interpretive brochures. That's just a small sample! Volunteers have helped us stabilize ancient cliff dwellings in New Mexico, excavate a 10,000-year-old village site in Minnesota, restore a historic lookout towerin Oregon, clean vandalized rock art in Colorado, survey for sites in a ruggedMontana wilderness, and excavate a 19th-century Chinese mining site in Hell'sCanyon in Idaho. For more information contact your local National Forest or visitwww.passportintime.com .

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Important Federal and State LawsD Antiquities Act of 1906Provides for the protection of historic and prehistoric ruins and objects of antiquitylocated on Federal lands by providing criminal sanctions against destruction of theseresources without a permit, www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/antil906.htm

D National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amendedProvides for the designation of State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) to administer state preservation efforts. Established the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation as an independent Federal agency. Established procedures for Federal agenciesto follow in managing properties. Created the National Register of Historic Places andestablished procedures for nomination. http://www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/nhpal966.htm

D Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, as amendedRequires a permit for excavation or removal of archaeological resources from publicand Indian lands. Permits are issued to qualified researchers. Violations includecivil and criminal penalties of two years prison, and $250,000 fine, http://www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/FHPL_ArchRsrcsProt.pdf

D Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990Gives provisions for the inadvertent discovery of Native American remains and objects. Requires Federal agencies to inventory all human remains in their control andattempt to determine cultural affiliation for repatriation. http://www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/ FHPL NAGPRA.pdf

D National Environmental Policy Act of 1969Requires federal agencies to analyze the environmental affects of their actions anddisclose those affects to the public, http://www.nepa.gov/nepa/regs/nepa/nepaeqia.htm

D American Indian Religious Freedom ActProtects Native American's rights to exercise their traditional religions. http://www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/FHPL_IndianRelFreAct.pdf

D Executive Order 11593Directs Federal agencies to take a leadership role in preserving, restoring, and maintaining the historic and cultural environment of the Nation. http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?P=XAE&contentId= 1 2094&contentTy pe=GSA BASIC

D Indiana Law IC 14-21 Historic Preservation and ArchaeologyRequires that anyone disturbing the ground for the purpose of finding artifacts mustdo so in accordance with a plan approved by the department, http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/titlel4/ar21/

D Indiana Law IC-22-1 Human Remains, Burial Objects, and ArtifactsA person who disturbs the ground for the purposed of discovering artifacts of burialobjects must obtain a permit. A person who disturbs buried human remains or artifacts must cease work immediately and notify the Department of Historic Preservation and Archaeology within two business days, http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title 14/ar21/

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Archaeological Research Centers and Organizations in Indiana

Hoosier National Forest811 Constitution AvenueBedford, Indiana(812)275-5987vvrww.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier

Indiana Department of Natural ResourcesDivision of Historic Preservation and Archaeology402 W. Washington Street, W274Indianapolis, Indiana 46204(317) 232-1646www. in .gov/ dnr /historic/

Indiana State Museum650 W. Washington StreetIndianapolis, Indiana 46204-2725(317) 232-1642www.in.gov/ism/

Indiana UniversityGlenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology423 N. Fess StreetBloomington, Indiana 47408(812) 855-9544www. gbl . indiana. edu/ home .html

Indiana University/ Purdue University at Fort WayneArchaeological Survey2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805-1499(260) 481-6892www.ipfw.edu/archsurv/home.html

Ball State UniversityArchaeological Resource Management ServiceMuncie, Indiana 47306(765) 285-5328http://arms.iweb.bsu.edu/

University of Notre DameDepartment of AnthropologyNotre Dame, Indiana 46556(219) 631-7638Www.nd.edu/ -anthrol

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Looking at Prehistory: GLOSSARY

Archaeology- the scientific study of material remains of past human life andactivities.

Atlatl- spear thrower

Artifact type- defined by what they look like and how they were made.

Awl- needle or punch used in leather or wood working

Biface- a tool with at least one edge sharpened on both sides, as opposed to a unifacewhose edge is only sharpened (flaked) on one side.

Cache- a group of high quality/ finely crafted artifacts.

Celt- ungrooved axe used for cutting and hewing wood.

Chert- a variety of silica containing microcrystalline quartz used to make stone tools.

Cluster- groups of projectile points or pottery with similar age and distribution.

Culture- socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions and allother products of human work and thought.

Geophysics- see remote sensing.

Gorget- pendant or throat armor/ ornament. Drilled decorative item often shaped likea reel.

Midden- deposit of refuse, or garbage.

Phase- a smaller unit of people within a particular named tradition.

Post mold- a black circular soil stain that is the decomposed remains of a woodenpost used in building or other constructions.

Prehistory- period of time before the written record, A.D. 1650 in Indiana.

Remote sensing- the use of geophysical instruments such as magnetometer andground penetrating radar to detect subsurface changes which often signal sitefeatures or artifacts.

Sinew- dried tendons used for sewing and cord making.

Stratigraphy- the strata of soil. When undisturbed, the older deposits are foundbelow more recent ones.

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Tradition- particular way people lived over a period of time.

Wattle and daub- a building construction technique using a framework of wovenrods and twigs covered and plastered with clay.

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Digitized by Go gle Original from

INDIANA UNIVERSITY

9,Mississippian Period A.D. 1000-1650Agnculture to support large towns

Defensive palisades, temple mounds, heavy trade

Later- large towns nbandoi^d {or smaller villages

ILate Woodland Period A.D. 500 - 1500Mound building declines, Larger villages

Farming aw.d gathering of wild plants

Hunting and gathering continues

Middle Woodland Period 200 B.C. - A.D. 500B.urial abounds and earthworks

Lon^ distance trade in ceremonial goodsHunting, gathering and growing plants for food

Q>

Early Woodland Period 1000 - 200 B.C.Potterw first appearsHunting and gathering using seasonal camps

Prehistoric Time Periods© Noel Justice

Hoosier National Format

Noel D. Justice is the Assistant Director andCurator of Collections at the Glenn A. BlackLaboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University.He has conducted archaeological research in theMidwest and other regions of the United States forthe past 30 years.

Looking at prehistory : Indiana's Hoosier National Forest ...Now, we are pleased to present this overview ofthe prehistory of the Hoosier NationalForest region. Wehopeyouenjoy andlearnfrom

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