[Research Objectives] [Method][Results] [Conclusions]
Surface Survey
Intensive level surveys were conducted at three sites: Bundy-Voyles (12 Mg 1); Sugar Creek (12 Jo 289); and Moffitt Farm (12 H 6). The first two sites were also investigated by archaeological test excavations, and the results of these surveys are presented by site in sections 3 and 4 of this report. The remainder of this section is a report on the survey of the Moffitt Farm site.
The Moffitt farm site is located in Hamilton County on a floodplain ridge that roughly parallels the West Fork of the White River. It is a large multicomponent site contained within the boundaries of property currently owned by the Hamilton County Board of Parks and Recreation. For administrative purposes, the boundaries of 12 H 6 are artificially defined by the park board property lines and encompass approximately 65.6 acres (Figure 2.1). The area surveyed for this study is about 36 acres. The area surveyed consisted of the northern portion of the property located in section 26 and a small area within section 35 located west of a north-south line running from where the pipeline leaves the east edge of the field to the section 26 line (Figure 2.2).
Survey conditions were poor within section 26, and visibility over most of the area was estimated at between 20 and 25 percent. Contributing to this low visibility estimate were bean stubble, poor weather, leaf litter along field edges, and background clutter (glacial till). An area located in section 35 had been fall plowed and seeded in grass; at the time of the survey this area exhibited about 90 percent visibility.
Despite the conditions, three discrete artifact concentration areas were identified during the survey (Figure 2.3). Area 1 is located in a low area of the northwest portion of the property and is characterized by a light scatter of fire-cracked rock. Area 2 is to the east and is marked by a continuous scatter about 40 meters wide of chert debitage and fire-cracked rock that covers the western slope and follows the ridge along its entire length. The material scatter quickly dissipates to the southwest, beyond the crest of the ridge. It is safe to assume this material continues south into the 20-meter-wide fence line and the southern half of the park property. Area 3, in the southeast portion of the north field, is characterized by a heavy concentration of chert debitage that runs parallel to the bluff edge along the White River. This is a continuous scatter, and it, too, emerges on the south side of the fence line. The west and south edges of Area 3 were not identified because of time and budget constraints.
For all three areas of 12 H 6, all fire-cracked rock was weighed, counted, and then discarded. All other material is curated at the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology (GBL), Indiana University, under accession number 9299.
The main objective of this survey was to relocate the Late Prehistoric components that were reported by Jack Householder in 1952 (GBL site files). He reported 12 H 6 to be a prehistoric village site and referred to pits exposed on the surface. Late Prehistoric pottery collected by Householder from this site and curated at the Indiana State Museum and the GBL appears to be a variant related to the Springwells Phase of northeastern Indiana and northwestern Ohio (Stothers and Pratt 1981; McCullough 1991, 1992).
A high priority of the current research was to locate and conduct test excavation on sites with non-Oliver Phase components. From the materials collected by Householder, it appears that the Moffitt farm site is the only known site in central Indiana with significant amounts of cord impressed Great Lakes Late Woodland pottery and without any Fort Ancient varieties, which are often associated in this time period. Both because of the unique nature of the deposits and because the site is slated for development by the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department, this site was a high priority for the current investigation.
The park property located within section 26 was walked on transects spaced five meters apart, running west to east. All cultural materials were flagged along each transect. Two north south lines were also laid out to aid in mapping and to help control for "wander" in the long east west collection transects. This layout divided the field into six unequal zones that were used as collection units (see Figure 2.3). All flagged material within each zone was bagged, washed, identified, and cataloged under GBL accession number 9299. Fire-cracked rock was counted, weighed, and the discarded. The portion of the south field that was surveyed is a right-angle triangle-shaped area, with transects running north to south, spaced at 5.0-meter intervals. The western extent of the survey area is a line that runs due north of where a gas pipeline leaves the plowed field and crosses the river.
The spatial distribution of the survey flags showed three discrete areas of artifact distribution, separated by areas of little or no material. On the basis of this distribution, three separate areas were identified and mapped. The results of this survey are summarized in Table 2.2.
Area 1 was an isolated scatter of fire-cracked rock located in a level place at the western edge of the field. Measured along transect 20 (for the east-west collection line, see Figure 2.3), this scatter begins 30.0 meters from the east edge of the pavement of River Avenue and continues east approximately 60.0 meters. The 20th transect is also the approximate midpoint of the north to-south scatter, which is about 45.0 meters. No chert debitage was found within this site. Nine large pieces of granitic fire-cracked rock were identified, with a total weight of 4318.2 G.
Area 2 is characterized by a combination of fire-cracked rock and chert debitage that first appears at the south edge of the north field about 120.0 meters east of River Avenue. This artifact mix continues northeast, following the slope of the glacial remnant, which is the most prominent landform in this field. The cultural material is scattered in moderate density and in a band about 40.0 meters wide along the entire length of the glacial ridge. The highest concentration of artifacts corresponds to the highest elevation. Across the crest of the ridge to the southeast, the artifactdensity drops quickly. Unfortunately, no diagnostic artifacts were recovered within this scatter, although a small triangular knife was recovered in the south portion of this area. The artifact distribution is oriented toward Vestal Ditch and River Avenue (see Figure 2.3).
Area 3, containing a heavy density of chert debitage relative to fire-cracked rock, follows, and is partly covered by, the unplowed field edge at the eastern extreme. This area also continues south into a probably unplowed, 20.0-meter-wide strip of ground along the fence line that approximates the boundary between sections 26 and 35. Area 3 reemerges in section 35 and continues along the field edge at least as far as the point where the gas line crosses the White River. Two Riverton Culture projectile points were recovered from section 35. The long scatter on Area 3, paralleling the edge of a major waterway is also consistent with Riverton site preference and known settlement patterning. No western edge for Area 3 was determined. The eastern boundary of the site revealed recent disturbances to the ground surface by park personnel. Earthmoving equipment had recently pushed topsoil and brush toward the unplowed east edge of the field. Numerous chert flakes and chunks of fire-cracked rock were observed in the spoil piles along the tree line. There is also evidence of illegal digging along the east edge of Area 3 and in the fence line that bisects it, indicating that there is enough subsurface material present to warrant looting.
The survey failed to relocate the Late Prehistoric component, commonly known as the Moffitt farm village. However, because of the friable nature of ceramic materials and poor surface conditions at the time of the survey (20 to 25 percent visibility through "no-till" bean stubble), it is highly probable that the surveyors would not have been able to identify the Late Prehistoric components in the north field. Resurvey of the north field under better conditions or by intensive shovel probes with screened samples is highly recommended as well as the completion of the archaeological survey of the south field within section 35.
The Moffitt farm site (12 H 6) is a very large and complex site, with prehistoric occupations ranging from the Early Archaic to the Late Prehistoric periods. Controlled surface collection or systematic testing designed to isolate and define the separate components is recommended. Especially significant would be the location and documentation of the Late Prehistoric Moffitt farm village site, because of the rare occurrence of a Great Lakes Late Woodland site without the mixing of other Late Prehistoric components. A site such as this would greatly contribute to our understanding of Late Prehistoric cultural dynamics.
During future archaeological testing, or other earthmoving activities, care should be taken around the fence separating sections 26 and 35 and the eastern edge of Area 3; in both areas there exists a strong potential for either unplowed or shallowly plowed subsurface deposits.