Bergman-Bell, Karin D. (Purdue University), Wayne Bischoff (Michigan State),
and R. Criss Helmkamp (Purdue University)
LATE PREHISTORIC AND EARLY HISTORIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE
KANKAKEE-WABASH REGION
Over the past two years the Purdue Cultural Resource Management Program, directed
by Dr. Criss Helmkamp, has conducted a series of archaeological investigations
in northwestern Indiana. The 1991 projects were funded by the Indiana Department
of Transportation, a survey and planning grant from the DNR Division of Historic
Preservation and Archaeology, and the Purdue Gifted Eucation Resource Institute.
Although the emerging sample is neither extensive in scope nor systematic in design,
several interesting patterns have appeared. In this paper we discuss their high
degree of continuity with ethnohistorically documented Native American settlement
patterns of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and how these patterns relate
to the distribution of Early Historic pioneer settlements.
The Kankakee and Wabash Rivers form the northern and southern boundaries of an
ecologically diverse region. This area was dominated by vast expanses of prairie
wetlands and tallgrass prairies interspersed with forested sand ridges. Post-statehood
drainage has transformed this landscape into rich agricultural land, but during
the early statehood period pioneer settlement patterns were influenced by the
same ecological and economic concerns that prehistoric people faced.
Ethnohistorical accounts of Early Historic period settlement and subsistence patterns
in this region describe a practice of aggregation in spring-summer agricultural
villages and dispersed fall-winter foraging encampments. The spring-summer villages
were located along the major streams and their tributaries, while the smaller
fall-winter encampments were dispersed throughout the prairie areas in areas containing
both oak-hickory groves and abundant faunal resources. Our investigations indicate
that this model is equally applicable to the prehistoric period extending at least
as far back in time as the Late Woodland period.
This conclusion is based on information from two series of sites in the Wabash
Valley in Carroll County and two projects in the prairie regions of Jasper County
and White County. The Wabash sites include a series of sites located on a large
sand dune near the confluence of the Wabash and Rock Creek. The largest of these
sites is the Demerly 1 site (12-C-44). Reconnaissance survey and limited subsurface
testing of this multicomponent site revealed concentrations of Late Woodland artifacts,
including Albee Phase pottery.
Emergency excavation of an exposed prehistoric hearth revealed high concentrations
of prehistoric pottery sherds, lithics, organic matter, and non-human bone fragments.
A total of 406 pottery sherds were recovered from the hearth area. Most of the
pottery is a grit tempered Late Woodland cord-marked variety. Preliminary botanical
analysis of a three liter samples of the undisturbed hearth matrix has produced
74 Chenopodium seeds and several other as yet unidentified species. Also, fragmentary
human remains were found in association with the same variety of Late Woodland
pottery found in the hearth area.
Shovel probing also located two other relatively large Late Woodland sites extending
along north along the eastern side of the sand dune. More testing will be necessary,
but our working hypothesis is that they are at least contemporary with Demerly,
and possibly parts of one extensive habitation area.
The second series of Wabash Valley sites is located about one mile downstream
from Demerly. Three sites containing triangular and pentagonal projectile points
line the river for a distance of over 200 meters. A stone fish wier projects into
the Wabash near the southern end of these sites. The three riverside sites, which
contain moderate densities of lithic debris but little else, appear to represent
the accumulation of a series of transient encampments.
The two prairie sites, the Blue Sea site (12-Wh-24) and the Updegraff Ridge site
(12-Js-60) are very similar to each other and are probably good examples of all-winter
encampment areas. Both are located on sand ridges and overlooked aquatic areas.
The Blue Sea site was located on the shore of a large prairie marshland, historically
known as the Blue Sea, and the Updegraff site bordered the marshy floodplain of
the Iroquois River. In both cases, these sand ridges are, and presumaly were during
prehistoric times, covered with dense stands of oak-hickory forest surrounded
by vast open marshlands. Both sites contain significant amounts of occupational
debris, but neither has been found to contain features or accumulations that would
indicate intensive occupations. Shovel testing of the Updegraff Ridge site did,
however, reveal consistently large numbers of Middle to Late Woodland pottery
sherds by comparison to chert and fire- cracked rock.
This prehistoric cultural geography is paralleled closely by the distribution
of Early Historic sites, indicating a great deal of overlap in these subsistence
economies. The early pioneers of the wetland prairie were faced with the same
constraints as the prehistoric inhabitants. Dry ground for habitation sites was
limited primarily to the wooded sand ridges, which were also the location of the
only significant source of wood for construction and fuel, and formed the home
for serveral game species, most notably white-tail deer.
It is probably no coincidence that the Updegraff ridge site was later the site
of one of the first pioneer settlements in Jasper County. William Updegraff came
to this area shortly after it was opened for settlement following a treaty with
the Potawatomi in the 1830's, and selected the same location that had been utilized
previously by prehistoric Native Americans. Today the grave of William Updegraff,
alongside that of a neighbor's child, lies in the midst of the Late Woodland site
that now bears his name.
Similarly, when the first settlers arrived in the riverine areas of Carroll County,
they too selected site locations that were consistent with those of the Late Prehistoric
period. Tipton-sport, platted in 1826, was one of the first such settlements.
This Early Historic Period village, which catered to river and stage line traffic,
is believed to have consisted of approximately six log cabin homesteads, a tavern,
a general store, and a riverboat and stage coach service facility. Like their
prehistoric forerunners, these pioneers were drawn to this location by the Wabash
River and its resources. Completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal in the early
1840's undercut the economic foundation of Tiptonsport. As the emphasis shifted
from a local economy to a more regional economy Tiptonsport's population diminished
rapidly, and within a few years the community ceased to exist.
The Van Gundy residence, built in the 1840's and torn down in the 1970's, was
the only lasting remnant. Artifacts from the Van Gundy site include pottery, glass,
and other items dating from the mid-to-late 1800's. Several other nearby sites
produced a similar range of artifacts. Additional evidence found along the Wabash
can be linked to the Stage Road. Artifacts include wagon parts, horse tack, and
a brass sleigh bell. Historic midden materials from the same time period were
also found on sandy hills farther back from the river.
In summary, the spatial and seasonal patterning of prehistoric settlements appears
to have undergone little significant change from Late Woodland through the Early
Historic period. Larger spring-summer communities were located in or near major
river valleys and smaller fall-winter encampments were located to maximize the
diversity of the prairie wetlands. This settlement model also has strong predictive
potential with regard to the location of Early Historic settlements, in spite
of the fact that the seasonal aggregation-dispersion process was absent. The food
resources and possibly the facilitation of transportation provided by the river
corridors caused both prehistoric and historic populations to gravitate toward
these streams. The widely dispersed resources of the prairie areas offered a more
narrow range of potential settlement locations, which led to a high degree of
conformity in the configuration of Late Prehistoric and Early Historic settlement
systems. [return to 1991 abstracts menu][continue to next]