The project area is located in central Indiana and encompasses a portion of the drainage for both the east and west forks of the White River (Figure 1.1). Generally, the physiography of the project area is dominated by the results of the mid-Wisconsin glaciation. Most of the deposits consist of glacial till where the glacial ice stagnated, forming large areas of very little relief, while the southern margins of the active ice sheets created moraines, which are mostly present in Morgan and Johnson counties. Along the borders of the major glacial meltwater channels (for example, the White River), wind and erosion formed elevated terraces and sand dunes. Later, sediment formed as alluvial deposits along drainageways, as bog sediments in wetlands and as colluvial deposits on slopes (Wayne 1963).

Within this broad area, three distinct physiographic regions are present (see Figure 1.1). Most of the project area is on the Tipton Till Plain, a region characterized by nearly level to moderately rolling ground moraine. Occasional terminal moraines, knolls, and kames are present, with esker remnants and meltwater drainageways entrenched in the till. These entrenched channels often contain present-day streams or swamps or have been filled with sediment, leaving shallow depressions (Wayne 1966; Sturm 1979). The Tipton Till Plain extends south across most of Johnson County and the northern and northeastern portions of Morgan County. The Scottsburg Lowland in southeastern Johnson County is characterized by mostly level to gently sloping outwash plains and terraces and nearly level river bottoms along the Blue River and Sugar Creek (Sturm 1979). Generally, the Scottsburg Lowland is a north-south linear belt of low relief underlain by relatively nonresistant shale. The northernmost portion of the Scottsburg Lowland, which encompasses the Johnson County area and the vicinity of the Sugar Creek site, is covered with glacial drift (Schneider 1966). The Norman Upland, which comprises most of Morgan County, is characterized by pronounced local relief, with narrow ridge tops and deep V-shaped valleys with steep slopes. Even major streams have but narrow valley flats, and the smaller tributaries have only incipient floodplains. This physiographic unit is underlain by fairly resistant siltstone and by interbedded early- to middle-aged Mississippian shales (Schneider 1966).

These three distinct terrains provided a wide range of habitats for both plants and animals. While the presettlement vegetation was dominated by beech-maple forest, which typically occur on Wisconsin and Illinoian till, elm was also common, as were such species as black cherry, sassafras, tulip poplar, and walnut (Petty and Jackson 1966:283-85). Smaller trees, such as redbud, dogwood, and blue beech, flourished in the understory, as did such shrub species as spicebush, greenbriar, elderberry, pawpaw, wahoo, leatherwood, and maple-leaf viburnum (Petty and Jackson 1966:285). In the northern portion of the study area, small patches of prairie-type soils indicate a break in the closed-canopy, beech-maple forest, and provided a wider variety of species than is typically associated with a primary forest. Also, poorly drained glacial bogs are scattered on the landscape within the Tipton Till Plain, providing additional variation to species present. (For an analysis of floral remains, see Appendix 2.)

The primary forests and drainageways of central Indiana undoubtedly contained an abundance range of animal species as well (Gammon and Gerking 1966; Minton 1966; Mumford 1966). While the Late Prehistoric peoples relied heavily on farming, they supplemented their plant foods with such faunal resources as deer, elk, turkey and other fowl, raccoon, bear, fish, and mussels. (For an analysis of faunal remains, see Appendix 3.)