Redmond, Brian G. (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University,
Bloomington)
THE 1991 EXCAVATIONS AT THE CLAMPITT SITE (12 Lr 329): An Oliver
Phase Village Site in Lawrence County, Indiana
The 1991 excavation of the Clampitt site was held in conjunction with the Indiana
University Field School in Archaeology. Support for this work was received from
the Indiana Historical Society and the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology.
The Clampitt site is located along the East Fork White River near Bedford, Indiana.
The site is situated on a sandy glacial terrace and is bordered on the north by
a tributary creek. Information derived from the author's 1990 survey of the site
indicated that the most intensive occupation was by late prehistoric (ca. A.D.
900-1400) Oliver phase peoples of the area. The 1991 research project was designed
to provide information on the internal configuration of the village and to recover
samples of diagnostic material culture and subsistence remains from intact archaeological
contexts. These data were deemed necessary for addressing research questions pertaining
to intrasite patterning, artifact style and function, diet, storage, seasonality,
and chronology.
The field school began on May 8 and ended on June 13, 1991. The work was directed
by the author with the assistance of Bret Ruby and Stephen Ball of the Glenn A.
Black Laboratory and Robert McCullough of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
The field crew was made up of students from Indiana University, Bloomington and
Indiana University, Indianapolis.
The first week of the project was devoted to the controlled collection of all
surface material. The cultivated portion of the site was divided into five by
five meter collection squares from which all cultural material larger than one
centimeter square was collected. All recovered material was sorted into the following
artifact categories: chert, "other" rock, ceramic, bone, floral remains, and historic
material. These materials were weighed in the field and recorded. The artifact
weights were used to construct material density maps for each artifact class using
CANTATA graphics software. These maps revealed a semi-circular ring of cultural
material in the northeast corner of the site. This feature measured approximately
100 meters in diameter and was truncated by a sand road and the uncultivated field
to the north.
The surface collection data were compared with the results of a magnetic survey
of the site conducted by Stephen Ball in March 1991 (see abstract by Ball). Two
three by three meter excavation units were placed over distinctive magnetic anomalies,
and two additional units were placed in areas of high artifact density. Excavations
at each of these locations revealed cultural features from the Oliver phase occupation
of the site.
During the remaining four weeks of the project, a total of 311 square meters (155
cubic meters) of the site area were excavated (see
Figure 8). In the process, a total of 40 cultural features, ranging from post
molds to large storage/refuse pits, were recorded. Excavation also revealed the
remains of a wooden post and trench stockade that surrounded the village. The
use of additional three by three meter units and several one meter wide trenches
allowed the field crew to trace the stockade line for 110 meters around the southern
edge of the settlement. The oval stockade enclosed an estimated area of 3,000
square meters (0.75 acre). Episodes of stockade repair or rebuilding were indicated
by the presence of a second line of posts located outside of, but parallel with,
the trench. Evidence of cultural features in areas outside the stockade line may
point to habitation beyond the protective wall or the existence of multiple stockade
lines located outside the excavated area.
Excavated features ranged in capacity from 7.3 to 1492.8 liters (avg. 364.4 liters)
and included shallow basin-shaped and deep cylindrical forms. Feature contents
indicated functions such as cooking or roasting, storage, and refuse disposal.
Excavation revealed a settlement plan made up of pit clusters surrounding an open
central plaza. Several post molds were revealed within the village area, but no
house patterns were identified.
All recovered material was returned to the Glenn A. Black Laboratory for processing,
cataloging, and curation. Four charcoal samples from pit features and one sample
from a portion of the stockade trench were sent to Beta Analytic Inc. for radiocarbon
dating. The corrected mean date range for these samples was A.D. 1282-1415 (see
Figure 9). These dates indicate that the
Clampitt site occupation was contemporary with Middle Fort Ancient components
in the Middle Ohio River Valley.
Diagnostic artifacts from the site are similar to Oliver phase materials from
central Indiana. Pottery consisted of grit- or shell-tempered, globular jars decorated
with cord-impressed lines and trailed guilloche designs. Some vessels have thick
strap handles and rim bands or collars. The predominate projectile point was a
triangular form manufactured from local fossiliferous cherts. Point forms corresponded
with morphological types defined for Fort Ancient sites in Kentucky (see abstract
by A. Bailey). The bone tool assemblage included the tip of an awl and a deer
metapodial beamer. A preliminary analysis of botanical remains has documented
the consumption of maize and beans as well as native seeds, nuts, and fruits (see
abstract by L. Bush). Faunal remains included deer, raccoon, turkey, and freshwater
molluscs.
Data derived from the 1991 excavations demonstrated that the Clampitt site was
a permanent Oliver phase village site occupied during the fourteenth century A.D.
This site is most similar in size and configuration to the Bowen site in Marion
county, but also exhibits cultural similarities with components of the Anderson
phase of southwestern Ohio. Future research at the Clampitt site and related components
in the East Fork Valley will attempt to acquire data related to change and continuity
in Oliver phase culture in southern Indiana. [return to 1991 abstracts menu][continue to next]