Munson, Cheryl Ann (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University),
Marjorie M. Jones (University of Southern Indiana), Bruce Eisterhold (Evansville,
Indiana) and Shawn French (Indiana University, Bloomington)
SURVEYING MISSISSIPPIAN SITES: 1987
Three types of archaeological surveys were made in 1987, each of which produced
new information about Mississippian sites in southwestern Indiana: a "salvage"
survey; an intensive surface survey; and a survey of private artifact collections.
I. Salvage Survey -- Traylor Brothers site, 12 Vg 363.
Following the report of damage to an archaeological site at a borrow pit near
Evansville, Indiana, staff and associates of the Laboratory conducted surveys
of the caving bank of the borrow pit, slumped deposits along the face of the pit,
and the adjacent surface of a floodplain ridge. Both surficially exposed and buried
cultural deposits were evident, as were features dating to the Mississippian period.
The excavation of profiles along the caving bank confirmed the presence of two
distinct cultural strata and revealed in one deep cut a third cultural deposit
at 1.2 meters below the surface of the ridge. The upper two strata, vertically
separated in some areas by up to 30 cm of sterile alluvium, both produced ceramics
characteristic of the Mississippian period. Such stratified contexts are not known
elsewhere in the region. Additionally, the better exposed uppermost stratum yielded
ceramics typical of two essentially sequential phases--the Mississippian, Angel
Phase (ca. AtD. 1050 to 1450) and the Late Woodland, Yankeetown Phase (ca. A.D.
700 t 1100}.
Due to the horizontal and vertical extent of the undamaged cultural deposits,
the presence of house and pit features, the range of artifact types, and well-preserved
floral (including maize) and faunal remains, the Traylor Bros. Site wasp recognized
as a significant Mississippian hamlet. It is located immediately north of a former
channel of the Ohio River (which is now the state boundary between Indiana and
Green River Island, Kentucky) and 6.5 km. southwest of Angel Mounds. Salvage of
the exposed features and eroding deposits was recommended by the Laboratory, as
was protection of the stable deposits back from the face of the borrow pit. Instead
a plan was worked out among state and federal agencies to cover the site with
fill. Months later, and after some unknown degree of additional erosion, the exposed
deposits and the surface of the site were blanketed by earthen fill. Portions
of the site probably still hold some potential to address questions about the
antiquity of emergent Mississippian horticultural settlements and the nature of
cultural and economic transitions during the Yankeetown and early Angel phases.
II. Intensive Surface Survey -- Stephan-Steinkamp Site, 12 PO 33
A continuation of 1986 intensive surface survey at the Stephan-Steinkamp Site
was made in April 1987 by staff and associates of the Laboratory and students
at the University of Southern Indiana. Based on analysis of the 1986 survey and
tests excavations, the primary occupations at the site dated to the Angel Phase.
The April survey extended the controlled collection of artifactual materials to
the western half of the site, where conditions had previously been unfavorable
for surface survey. Like the previous survey, artifactual materials were collected
in 20 ft. square blocks, except for surface features (hearths, pits, house basins?)
which were collected separately. In all, 654 blocks and 44 surface features were
delineated, mapped, and collected in 3 days. In a small area beyond the northwest
margin of a village occupation, the survey identified surface indications of one
or possibly two structures plus associated pits. The smaller settlement appears
to represent an Angel Phase farmstead, which may be temporally as well as spatially
discrete from the larger village settlement. The ceramics from the farmstead were
overwhelmingly made up of plain varieties, suggesting an occupation that postdates
the adjacent village. III. Survey of Private Artifact Collections. An archaeological
data base enhancement project for Mississippian sites in southwestern Indiana
was conducted by the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University,
in August and September 1987. The project was supported by funds granted by the
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and
Archaeology. Five counties comprised the target area for the project: Gibson,
Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, and Spencer. The goal of the project was to collect
new information about Mississippian sites regardless of the period of occupation.
Twenty-five interviews were conducted with artifact collectors and amateur archaeologists,
all of whom graciously provided information and made their collections available
for examination. The interviews and collections study resulted in the initial
documentation of 91 previously unrecorded Mississippian sites and of another 33
previously unrecognized Mississippian components at sites already recorded. The
124 newly identified sites represent a 40% increase in the archaeological database
for the Mississippian period. This addition to the site inventory provides a valuable
contribution both to ongoing research of Mississippian cultural development and
decline and to historic preservation planning. In addition, 73 new records were
added for recorded Mississippian sites, and numerous records were made for non-Mississippian
sites in the target area and beyond. Due to the limited scope of the project,
many artifact collectors were identified who could not be interviewed, and only
a very few private collections were recorded in detail. There remains a wealth
of yet unrecorded information about Mississippian sites in the study area. [return to 1987 abstracts menu][continue to next]