Justice, Noel D. (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University,
Bloomington)
CULTURAL-HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE MCKINLEY SITE
The McKinley site is located within Hamilton County, just south of Noblesville,
Indiana. It is situated upon a major terrace overlooking the West Fork of the
White River floodplain which is sometimes referred to as the Horse Shoe Prairie.
The site lies on the south side of one of the oldest homes in the area. This house
is reported to have been a connection for the underground railroad in early American
History, before abolition. The house is now the home of the Third Phase Christian
Center. From conversations with Reverend Violette and other local informants,
it was learned that the original house foundation has a number of, now sealed,
tunnels leading out from the basement toward the river and hollows located away
from the McKinley site. The southern boundary of the site is difficult to determine
due to housing development, although indications are that the southerly portion
of the site was affected by this development.
Excavations conducted by Downey Raibourn and the late Jack Householder and under
the direction of the late Glenn A. Black took place at the McKinley site from
1953-55 . More recently, excavations were conducted by members of the Indianapolis
Amateur Archaeological Association (IAAA) between 1977 and 1979. The IAAA crew
were assisted by Gary Ellis of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division
of Historic Preservation and Archaeology and John Richardson, W. Fredrick Limp
and other personnel from the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology. We would like
to extend our gratitude to all those who have previously worked with the McKinley
site. The late Jack Householder and the membership of the Indianapolis Amateur
Archaeological Association were especially instrumental in recovering and preserving
the material remains which are now housed at the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of
Archaeology. Principal actors in that organization who were involved at the McKinley
site include Tom Ciskowski, Nancy Ciskowski, Nancy Hendricks, Ted Spurgeon, Mary
Boatright, Arnot Haubt, and many others.
The 1953-55 excavations are the focus of this presentation. The area of subsurface
investigations covered about 2,000 square feet. Excavations units were taken to
sterile soil and in some cases cultural deposits were found to extend to over
three feet below the surface. Data from these excavations were analyzed as part
of a Master's thesis by Robert Little at Indiana University in 1970. Some evidence
of strati- graphic separation, as discerned by soil characteristics, was noted,
and three zones of apparent occupation were identified and discussed in Little's
thesis (Figure 6). Beginning at the present
ground surface, an upper zone, Zone C, was coincident with the surface and plowzone.
This zone contained sporadic Historic trash mixed with earlier cultural remains
from prehistoric midden accumulation. Zone B was characterized by a very dark
to black organic midden varying in thickness from several inches to two feet and
indicative of a very intense occupation. Zone B contained possible post holes
or molds, many overlapping features, and other indications of significant cultural
activity. The midden contained significant quantities of fire-cracked rocks, sporadic
mussel and snail shell, and faunal and floral remains.
The earliest and deepest zone, Zone A, consisted of discontinuous patches of biogenic,
stained soil that was much lighter in color than the soil above it and which contained
many fragmentary shells. Zone A varied widely in thickness to as much as two feet
and had an uneven contact with the basically sterile terrace soil composed of
clay and gravel. Zone A is interpreted as the basal portion of the midden and
represents the ephemeral beginnings of the midden accumulation from prehistoric
occupation in the form of staining from above through percolation. In some cases
the excavators reported that the terrace soil was spotted with black soil and
an occasional fleck of wood or nut charcoal. A deep trench made to contain a holding
tank was excavated to a depth of six and one half feet on the site. This pit was
examined and showed a substratum of several feet of sand and gravel. No cultural
material was reported for this deep trench (Little 1970:56). In one area of the
site, sand was encountered at three feet below the surface. This sand layer relates
to a natural drainage or wash which was later filled with trash.
A wide range of cultural material was recovered from the site. There are over
350 projectile points which represent all time periods, beginning with the Early
Archaic period. There are only a few indications of Riverton, other Terminal Archaic,
and Early Woodland occupations which are suggested mainly by projectile points
from surface collections. There is also evidence for a late prehistoric, Oliver
phase occupation. Overall, a Late Archaic habitation is outstanding at the site;
there are axes, atlatl weights, bone tools, and most cultural material relates
to this component.
After studying the excavation reports and collection, it became apparent that
Early and Middle Archaic projectile points were recovered during excavations within
the midden deposits. For example, excavations produced several Kirk Corner Notched
points which date from about 7000 B.C. There was a single Lake Erie Bifurcated
point which has an Early Archaic age of about 6300 B.C. Also recovered were two
projectile points classed as Godar and Raddatz Side Notched. These are known in
the Midwest to date from 6000 to 4000 B.C. In addition, a large side scraper was
also recovered. It is made of Muldraugh chert has even, pressure flaked edges
and is associated with an Early Archaic tool kit. Littl's Master's thesis and
the original field notes were consulted to determine if there is any record of
in situ subsurface context for these materials. In all cases, indications of earlier
cultural components were apparently disturbed by the subsequent Late Archaic use
of the site.
Diagnostic artifacts of the upper midden from 0.8-1.2 feet below surface (b.s.)
are dominated by McWhinney Heavy Stemmed projectile points
(Figure 7 c,d) and those generally representative of the Late Archaic Stemmed
cluster. These points were manufactured from local glacial gravel and imported
cherts which were normally heat- treated and reduced to maximize the length of
the finished product. Obviously heat-altered remnants of the pebble and block
cortex or rind are present on large numbers of these points which can account
for some of the hafting and shape variability observed on projectile points of
this type. They are, nonetheless, artfully crafted with well-prepared and maintained
blade edges. McWhinney points were intentionally produced using combinations of
soft-hammer percussion and pressure- flaking and finished into an even lanceolate
shape with a relatively thick biconvex cross- section. The basic McWhinney Heavy
Stemmed manufacturing technology foreshadowed later developments and may have
been the most significant progenitor of what is later recognized as Adena Ovate
Base in the Early Woodland period. The original collections used to define the
McWhinney Heavy Stemmed type are from archaeological sites located in southwestern
Ohio in the vicinity of Cincinnati (Geistweit 1970; Vickery 1972). Although also
diagnostic of the Late Archaic period, only a few Matanzas points are represented
in the collection from the McKinley site excavation. Other artifacts typical of
the upper midden include chert drills, granitic hammerstones, a chert hammer,
a notched pebbles or net sinkers (Figure
7 b), and cut and shaped, bone and antler artifacts; some of which are awls
and needles.
Cultural material from the 1.2-2.0 feet b.s. levels at McKinley site are generally
reflective of the same occupations discussed above with McWhinney Heavy Stemmed
dominating the chipped stone tool assemblage. There is no significant change in
the basic inventory of cultural material. Items new to the inventory include what
are often called antler projectile points. These are deer antler tines carved
and abraded into shape with the interior spongy bone reamed out for hafting, presumably
to a shaft of wood (Figure 7 e) . These
were probably secured with glue made from processed vegetal or animal extracts
or petroleum from natural seeps. A small fragment of polished bone was identified
as a piece of an atlatl hook made from a deer antler tine; it is broken just below
the projection of the hook (Figure 7 g).
Atlatl hooks were made in much the same manner as antler projectile points. Each
of the complete examples of atlatl hooks from other Late Archaic sites show a
cut inset which formed the hook located near the narrow tip of the deer antler.
This is the most vulnerable part of the hook which explains the condition of the
illustrated fragment. James H. Kellar has discussed the origin and use of the
atlatl in North America (Kellar 1955). This device was invented to add length
to the arm and impart great power to the hand- thrown spear. Most of the information
for such devices in the Eastern United States indicate that the atlatl was composite
tool consisting of a handle and hook joined together with a wooden shaft. Finely
polished and drilled stone weights, often called "bannerstones," were apparently
added to the shaft. All of the atlatl weights from McKinley site were found on
the surface and plowzone (see Redman and Justice, Figure
11, this publication). Other items from this part of the midden include bipitted
stones or nutting stones, a partially d rilled shell bead, and burned clay. One
piece of bone was broken across two drilled holes. There is also a single example
of an intrusive late prehistoric pot sherd from above.
The cultural inventory of the lowest occupation levels, from below 2.0 feet b.s.,
once again shows a great deal of similarity to materials recovered from higher
midden levels. Although bell pestles and a few hafted scrapers occur, the basic
elements of the lithic tools and general cultural assemblage are unchanged. The
few shell beads recovered show various stages of manufacture from a species of
mussel (see Figure 7 h-i), and antler projectile points, a
bone needle, and a nutting stone are present as well. A hook shaped fragment of
bone has the attributes suggestive of a semi-finished fishhook (Figure
7 f). Although, mussel and snail shell was recovered throughout the midden,
the highest frequency of these shells was noted within the deepest occupation
levels of the site.
Conclusions and Discussion
Nearly all of the diagnostic cultural material from all levels of the McKinley
site midden relates well to the Late Archaic period. In the Master's thesis by
Litle (1970) comparisons of the McKinley Late Archaic assemblage were made to
those of Indian Knoll Kentucky, and the Faulkner site in Illinois. This prompted
a review of more current literature that defines a number of Middle to Late Archaic
phases. These include the Helton phase of the Lower Illinois Valley (Cook 1976),
material from the Black Earth site in southern Illinois (Jefferies 1987), Green
River phase material of Kentucky which includes Indian Knoll (Webb 1946), the
French Lick phase defined from excavations in the Patoka River Valley in Southern
Indiana (Munson and Cook 1980; Cheryl Munson, personal communication), and the
Maple Creek (Vickery 1976) and McWhinney phases (McHugh and Michael 1984) discussed
in the literature for the area around Cincinnati, Ohio and west to the Falls of
the Ohio region respectively. Information about individual sites in Indiana was
obtained, including such notables as the McCain site in Dubois County (Miller
1941) and the Bluegrass site in Warrick County (Anslinger 1988, 1989; personal
communication).
In reviewing the Indian Knoll report by Webb (1946), the obvious similarities
are with the McKinley worked bone and shell bead assemblage. However, in essence,
the basic traits such as antler projectile points, awls, cut antler, carved bone
fishhooks and shell beads are not particularly exotic in any Middle to Late Archaic
collection in the Midcontinent where there is good preservation of these materials.
Nearly all of the phases and sites mentioned have a preponderance of Matanzas
cluster or other projectile point types and have produced geometrically decorated
bone pins. At McKinley site there are no good indications from the worked bone
collection that decorated pins are present and McWhinney Heavy Stemmed projectile
points dominate the lithic assemblage. Essentially, all salient cultural connections
of the McKinley site are with Late Archaic sites further to the south and southeast
and concentrated in the central Ohio Valley. McWhinney Heavy Stemmed projectile
points are ubiquitous at sites such as Maple Creek and related sites near Cincinnati,
Ohio referred to as "Central Ohio Valley Archaic" (Vickery 1976, 1980), sites
in adjacent areas of northern Kentucky (Jefferies 1990:198-200), 12 Sw 99 in Switzerland
County, Indiana (McHugh and Michael 1984), and Clark's Point, Elrod and related
site components in the Falls of the Ohio region of Indiana and Kentucky (Guernsey
1939, 1942; Jansen 1977; Collins, ed. 1979). The reader is referred to Justice
(1987:139) for a distribution map for the McWhinney Heavy Stemmed type.
Projectile points identified as McWhinney Heavy Stemmed are dominant and occur
throughout the midden at the Maple Creek site. These points also occur in later
levels of the site with occupations attributed to the Maple Creek phase (Vickery
1980:28). The assemblage reflects a range of McWhinney related variations in lithic
technology among other identified projectile point types. Radiocarbon dates from
the Maple Creek site suggest an age between 2750 and 1750 B.C. to possibly as
late as ca. 1000 B.C. which would correspond to the end of the Maple Creek phase
(Vickery 1972; 1976:141-143, Table 5; 1980; personal communication). Seven radiocarbon
dates obtained from the Patriot site (12 Sw 99) with a range of 2250 to 1650 B.C.
appear to correspond with those from the Maple Creek site (cf.McHugh and Michael
1984:27). As we are presently without radiocarbon dates from good context in the
midden from the McKinley site, a temporal span of ca. 2750 to 1200 B.C.might best
be applied to the McKinley site Late Archaic and the McWhinney Heavy Stemmed type.
Supporting evidence for a social and cultural connection between the McKinley
site and sites in the central Ohio Valley comes from the lithic raw materials
identified at McKinley. There are numerous glacial gravel cherts derived from
Silurian and Devonian limestones in the lithic assemblage from the site. However,
chert types which are known to derive specifically from sources outcropping to
the southeast (Cantin n.d) are well represented at McKinley site. Cherts imported
from these areas include Laurel, Marble Hill, Muldraugh, Jeffersonville, and a
small amount of Wyandotte (see also Little 1970:27).
The final prehistoric occupation at the McKinley site relates to the late prehistoric,
Oliver phase dating after A.D. 1000. This component represents an ephemeral occupation
relating to a small community or camp established for unknown reasons. It is no
doubt related to other late prehistoric sites recorded within a half mile radius
of McKinley (12 H 2, 12 H 5, 12 H 41,and 12 H 44). Materials diagnostic of this
occupation include thumbnail scrapers, triangular points of the general Madison
type, and grit tempered, cord marked, and trailed ceramics. A number of sherds
exhibit the curvilinear guilloche design motif which is typical of Oliver phase
ceramics (Figure 7 a) .
At the McKinley site, there are some indications of a discrete cemetery area located
on slightly higher ground on the north side of the excavation. In all, sixteen
flexed and two extended burials were excavated. These were found throughout the
vertical extent of the midden. Given the presence of Oliver phase cultural debris
at the surface, and in some cases the upper levels of the McKinley site, we might
suspect that, while many are probably Late Archaic, perhaps certain members of
the burial population could be from the Oliver phase occupation. In one case a
late prehistoric pot sherd was recovered from 1.2 feet b.s., indicating some intrusion
into the Late Archaic midden. Unfortunately, there are no funerary artifacts at
McKinley that allow clear temporal assignment. On the other hand, McWhinney Heavy
Stemmed points are well represented in funerary context at the Rosenberger site
located near Louisville (Collins 1979; Driskell 1979:Table 7.12) which begs explanation
of their absence in inhumations at McKinley. Bone awls are present with burials
at McKinley and, in one case, a turtle shell rattle was associated with a burial.
Future collections research might approach the problem with Stable Carbon and
Nitrogen Isotope analysis such as conducted by Schurr (1989) at the Angel Mounds
site. This could be used to determine if corn may have been in the diet of individuals
buried at the McKinley site. If this were true, it would place an interment in
later prehistory, well-removed and disassociated from a Late Archaic component
at the site. Of course, since the collection contains a wealth of charcoal samples,
radiocarbon analysis should be performed to further answer questions of chronology
and association.
References Cited
Anslinger, C. Michael
1988 Archaeological Excavations at the Middle-Late Archaic
Bluegrass Site (12 W 162), Warrick County, Indiana.
Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 97:97.
Anslinger, C. Michael
1989 An Overview of Archaeological Excavations at the Bluegrass
Site (12 W 162), Warrick County. In Current Research in
Indiana Archaeology and Prehistory: 1987-1988, edited by
C. S. Peebles, pp. 4. Indiana University, Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology, Research Reports No. 10,
Bloomington, Indiana.
Cantin, Mark
n.d. Provenience, Description and Archaeological Use of
Selected Indiana Cherts. Occasional Paper No. 1.
Department of Anthropology, Indiana State University,
Terre Haute.
Cook, Thomas Genn
1976 Koster: An Artifact Analysis of Two Archaic Phases in
West Central Illinois. Northwestern University
Archaeological Program, Prehistoric Records 1.
Collins, Michael B. (editor)
1979 Excavations at Four Archaic Sites in the Lower Ohio Valley,
Jefferson County, Kentucky. Department of Anthropology,
University of Kentucky. Occasional Papers in Anthropology
No. 1, 2 Volumes, Lexington.
Driskell, Boyce N.
1979 The Rosenberger Site (15 Jf 18). In Excavations at Four
Archaic Sites in the Lower Ohio Valley, Jefferson County,
Kentucky, edited by Michael B.Collins, pp. 697-799.
Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky.
Occasional Papers in Anthropology No. 1, Lexington.
Geistweit, Barbara Ann
1970 Archaic Manifestations in Ohio and the Ohio Valley.
Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology,
The Ohio State University, Columbus.
Guernsey, E.Y.
1939 Relationships Among Various Clark County Sites.
Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 48:27-32.
1942 The Culture Sequence of the Ohio Falls Sites. Proceedings
of the Indiana Academy of Science 51:60-67.
Jansen, Donald E.
1977 An Examination of Late Archaic Development in the Falls
of the Ohio Area. In For the Director: Research Essays
in Honor of James B. Griffin, edited by Charles E. Cleland,
pp. 123-143. Anthropological Papers No. 61, Museum of
Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Jefferies, Richard W.
1987 The Archaeology of Carrier Mills: 10,000 Years in the
Saline Valley of Illinois. Center for Archaeological
Investigations, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale,
Carbondale, Illinois.
1990 Archaic Period. In The Archaeology of Kentucky: Past
Accomplishments and Future Directions, Volume 1, edited
by David Pollack, pp. 143 246. State Historic Preservation
Comprehensive Plan Report No. 1. Kentucky Heritage Council,
Frankfort.
Justice, Noel D.
1987 Stone Age Spear and Arrow Points of the Midcontinental
and Eastern United States. Indiana University Press,
Bloomington.
Kellar, James H.
1955 The Atlatl in North America. Indiana Historical Society,
Prehistory Research Series 3(3), Indianapolis.
Little, Robert M.
1970 The McKinley Site. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department
of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington.
McHugh, William P. and Ronald L. Michael
1984 Archaeological Investigations at Sites 12 SW 89 and 12 SW 99,
IPL Patriot Site, Switzerland County, Indiana.
GAI Consultants, Inc.
Miller, Rex K.
1941 McCain Site, Dubois County, Indiana. Indiana Historical
Society, Prehistory Research Series 2(1), Indianapolis.
Munson, Cheryl Ann and Thomas Genn Cook
1980 Late Archaic French Lick Phase: A Dimensional Description.
In Archaeological Salvage Excavations at Patoka Lake,
Indiana: Prehistoric Occupations of the Upper Patoka
River Valley, edited by C.A. Munson, pp.721-740. Indiana
University, Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology -
Research Reports No 6, Bloomington, Indiana.
Schurr, Mark R.
1989 The Relationship Between Mortuary Treatment and Diet at
the Angel Site. Ph.D dissertation, Department of
Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington.
University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
Vickery, Kent D.
1972 Projectile Point Type Description: McWhinney Heavy Stemmed.
Paper presented at the 29th Southeastern Archaeological
Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia.
1976 An Approach to Inferring Archaeological Site Variability.
Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology,
Indiana University, Bloomington.
1980 Preliminary Definition of Archaic "Study Units" in
Southwestern Ohio. Prepared for the State Archaeological
Preservation Plan Meeting, Columbus, Ohio.
Webb, William S.
1946 Indian Knoll Site Oh 2, Ohio County, Kentucky. The
University of Kentucky Reports in Anthropology and
Archaeology Vol. IV(3)Pt 1, Lexington.
Key to Figure 7
a. Rim sherd; finger impressed, curvilinear? guilloche-
like design; grit temper. 7 1/2 L 2 1/2, depth 0-.4'.
GBL 872/177.
b. Net sinker; chipped and notched, sandstone. 3 R 2,
feature 8, pit 3 or above, depth 1.0-1.2'. GBL 872/129.
c. McWhinney Heavy Stemmed; heat treated glacial chert.
7 L 2, 2.4'+, zone A. GBL 872/567.
d. McWhinney Heavy Stemmed; Fort Payne formation chert?
7 1/2 L 3, 2.4-2.8'. GBL 872/620.
e. Antler projectile point fragment; shaped and drilled/reamed.
1.2-1.6'. GBL 872/974.
f. Fish hook fragment; splinted deer? long bone, shaped.
7 L 3, 2.0-2.4', feature 12-2. GBL 872/635.
g. Atlatl hook fragment; cut and shaped antler tine.
7 1/2 L 3 1/2, 2.0', shell layer. GBL 872/373.
h. Unfinished shell disk bead; drilled and shaped mussel valve.
7 L 2, 2.4-2.8', shell layer. GBL 872/405.
i. Shell disk bead; drilled and shaped to finish.
7 L 2, 2.8'+, in rock area or pit. GBL 872/448.
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