Tankersley, Kenneth B. (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana
University)
THE OCCURRENCE OF SIGNIFICANT EARLY PALEOINDIAN SITES IN SOUTHWESTERN INDIANA.
An intensive examination of early Paleoindian projectile point collections, site
records, and collector files, curated at the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology,
has been completed. This information provides a basis for collector interviews
in southwestern Indiana. These interviews have been initiated in the counties
of Spencer, Harrick, Vanderburgh, and Posey, and have resulted in the documentation
of more than 50 fluted projectile points from approximately 10 early Paleoindian
sites. The provenience of each projectile point has been recorded, photographed
in color, cast in plaster, measured, and examined petrographically. Early Paleoindian
sites in southwestern Indiana occur in a variety of geomorphological settings:
bedrock knobs with overlooks of the Ohio River valley (12 Sp 587, 12 Sp 58g),
prominent Woodfordian Stade terraces (12 Sp 588, 12 Sp 590, 12 Sp 5g1, 12 W 58,
12 W 66, 12 W 154, 12 W 399), and Ohio River floodplain deposits in the vicinity
of 12 Po 51 and 12 Sp 2. While most sites lack primary context, the occurrence
of five fluted points on the beach adjacent to stratified deposits at the Raaf
Site (12 Sp 2) presents the tantalizing possibility of an in-situ early Paleoindian
component at this locale. If the presence of a primary deposit is confirmed, this
site would represent the first report of a stratified Clovis site in the central
Ohio River valley.
This investigation is made possible by a grant from the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.
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