This section summarizes the results of the current investigation and offers recommendations for the management of these resources. This investigation was funded from many sources: Department of the Interior grant #10070-15 administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA); the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology (GBL); the Indiana Academy of Science; and the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University. In addition to funding sources, about 960 hours of volunteer time were provided by the membership of the Archaeology Society of Indianapolis, Inc., and members of the general public.
During the course of this investigation, 45 acres were intensively surveyed, 154 previously undocumented archaeological sites were recorded (an additional 27 previously recorded sites were reported), and archaeological test excavations were conducted on three sites with Late Prehistoric components. In addition, 12 new radiocarbon dates from Late Prehistoric contexts and specialized floral and faunal analysis were conducted, the results of which are presented in appendixes 2, 3, and 4. Site abstracts summarizing the site forms submitted to the DHPA with this report are presented in Appendix 5. Table 6.1 summarizes how the sites were identified, their cultural affiliation, and recommendations for each site, based on its potential for providing additional information about the Late Prehistoric occupation of central Indiana. The following four levels have been used to categorize these recommendations.
The Bundy-Voyles site is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places not only because of the presence of intact subsurface features, but because of the rarity of a single component Late Prehistoric site, its potential to reveal Oliver Phase village structure, the presence of a buried midden with stratified deposits, the contemporaneity of several features, the presence of human burials, and excellent faunal preservation.
The Bundy-Voyles site is a linear-shaped Oliver Phase village situated along an old river channel within the floodplain of the West Fork of the White River. Unlike other Oliver Phase villages excavated in southern Indiana (Redmond 1994b; Redmond and McCullough 1993, 1996), this site appears to lack a circular stockade wall. However, post molds identified near the pit features indicated that structures were probably present, and thus the deposits possess information concerning site structure, such as the number and type of domestic structures and community layout.
For all practical purposes, the prehistoric materials recovered from the site were single component Oliver Phase, with only a few fragments of non-triangular points recovered. The site's location on an abandoned river channel could be responsible for the single-component nature of the occupation. Typically, Oliver Phase sites were located along the main channels of major drainageways (often at the intersection of tributary streams) in prime locations used throughout the prehistoric period, but the temporary course of this river (or oxbow lake) may have rendered this area of the floodplain a prime location only for a relatively short period of time. The Bundy Voyles site has demonstrated a lesser degree of artifact mixing than any other Oliver Phase site excavated thus far.
The most prominent feature at the Bundy-Voyles site was the overbank midden (features 1 and 4), which was mostly buried by alluvial deposition and several Ap horizons. The midden revealed stratified layers that angled downward along the old cut-bank. The upper midden contained a thick concentration of Oliver Phase cultural materials, including charcoal and mussel shells, while a narrow trench excavated into the base of Unit C in Feature 4 documented that the lower portions of the midden (the basal layer was never identified) contained pottery similar to Oliver Phase materials but unfortunately were not diagnostic. The significance of the buried upper midden containing single-component materials is enhanced by the stratification over the lower midden deposits. Oliver Phase materials from other sites are usually located near the surface, and this buried midden represents the only known incidence of stratified Late Prehistoric deposits in central Indiana. A pottery sherd refit analysis demonstrated that the two segments of the midden (features 1 and 4), some of the pit features, and the burial represented activities that were roughly contemporaneous (Table 3.4), providing further evidence that the activities revealed represent a roughly synchronic occupation.
Excavations at the Bowen site (Dorwin 1971) and the Clampitt site (Redmond 1994b) revealed that Oliver Phase people often buried their dead within the village area. The recovery of a burial at Bundy-Voyles, given the relatively limited excavation in the vicinity of the pit features, suggests that additional human burials are present.
Also, the excavations at the Bundy-Voyles site revealed excellent bone preservation, which has allowed a more extensive faunal analysis than has been possible on previously excavated Oliver Phase sites. Specialized faunal (and floral) analysis can not only reconstruct subsistence activities but also provide insights into seasonality. For example, the current excavations recovered 43 deer mandibles; based on the age of the deer at death, these mandibles indicated that the site was probably occupied between early summer and midwinter.
As a result of this investigation, it is recommended that the Bundy-Voyles site be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, and that any future development along Highway 39 avoid the site area. Further, future research should focus on stratigraphically sampling the lower portions of the midden identified in Unit C. Since this is the only site known to have stratigraphic deposits, it holds great potential for developing a tighter chronological control of Oliver Phase materials than can be obtained through current carbon dating techniques.
The Sugar Creek site, apparently an unstockaded, roughly circular Oliver Phase village, is also eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, because it contains valuable information about sedentary village life during the Late Prehistoric period along the secondary drainages in the till plain region. Excavations revealed significant subsurface features that include midden areas, pit features, and possible domestic structures, and materials from these contexts have a high potential for specialized faunal and floral analysis. It is recommended that the Sugar Creek site be nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, and that any future development avoid the site area.
Additionally, this site contains significant plowzone deposits. (Several of the large vessel sections shown in the plates and the awl manufactured from a coyote ulna were recovered from plowzone contexts.) Substantial damage, both to the previously undisturbed deposits and to artifacts contained in the plowzone, will occur if cultivation is continued on the eastern half of the site. Either keeping this portion of the site in a hay crop or selling the one or two acres around the site area to a conservation organization would insure the protection of this valuable cultural resource. The Sugar Creek site, which is located both on private and Indiana Department of Natural Resources properties, is a prime candidate for Hoosier Heritage Trust purchase. They prioritize projects that are close to or border existing state or federal properties to enable long-term management of significant natural or cultural resources.
The Crouch site is unquestionably eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places because of the anomalous Mississippian-like occupation in central Indiana, the high number of features identified, the discovery of atypical features, and its use as what appears to be a special purpose storage facility. It is a rich site both in terms of its intact subsurface features and in its potential to provide insights into a cultural borderland.
Unlike most of the other Late Prehistoric sites identified in central Indiana, the pottery recovered from the Crouch site indicated a non-Oliver Phase cultural affiliation. The undecorated, shell-tempered pottery from this site appears to be most closely related to the Vincennes Phase, a Mississippian-like expression that was centered in the central Wabash valley. Prior to this investigation, the Vincennes Phase site distribution was thought to be confined to that region; these components had not been confirmed in the Indianapolis area. Although site 12 Jo 8, which is located immediately across the county road from 12 Jo 5, also had revealed a scatter of shell tempered pottery, it probably represents an activity area related to the Crouch site. The four radiocarbon dates (Appendix 4) obtained for the Crouch site indicate that it was occupied sometime during the late thirteenth through the early fifteenth century, contemporary with Oliver Phase sites to the south.
A total of 79 definite cultural features were identified during the course of the investigation on the Crouch site. Of these, 22 in the vicinity of Block 2 and Trench 3a (Figure 5.3) were left unexcavated. Other soil anomalies in this area were encountered but were not documented as features pending further excavation.
Some of the feature types also vary from those commonly found on Late Prehistoric sites in central Indiana. While many of the basin-shaped and cylindrical pits fit within the range of Oliver Phase features, many of the storage pits located on the highest elevation were much larger than any encountered at Oliver Phase sites. Some of the deep storage pits penetrated to a depth of over 2.0 meters below the base of the plowzone. Also, several large shallow oval features of a type not previously identified were documented on this site.
Because of past damage and proposed future impacts to this highly significant site, personnel from the DHPA, the GBL, and Eclipse Development, Inc., met on-site to discuss specific recommendations for managing the remainder of the Crouch site. At the time of this meeting, the northern, eastern, and southern portions of the site had already been adversely impacted by construction in Foxberry Trace addition. The following is a description of the agreed upon recommendations.
In Section 2 of the proposed Foxberry Trace development (Figure 5.4), the boundaries of lots 98 to 102 are to be clearly delineated. Contract investigations adjacent to lots 101 and 102 indicated that the location of the house pads were so low-lying that any grading of the pad areas would probably not affect intact subsurface archaeological deposits. Archaeological deposits within lot 100 either have been already excavated or destroyed, and no further archaeological investigations are necessary within this lot. Lots 96 and 97 also have already been destroyed. However, the extent of intact subsurface archaeological deposits within lots 98 and 99 are unknown, and it was agreed that earthmoving activites for the construction of house pads on these lots would be monitored by a qualified archaeologist. An agreement was also made to monitor the earthmoving activities associated with drainageways for the lots (98 to 102) within Section 2. The utility cuts associated with Section 2, located 25 feet south of Lionshead Lane and 25 feet east of Ramsgate Road, were authorized to proceed without any further archaeological evaluation. Personnel from the GBL clearly delineated, with metal fence posts and orange plastic fencing, the probable extent of the prehistoric subsurface features that had not yet been destroyed. Based on previous archaeological investigations and on surface landforms, this area extends into sections 2 and 3 of the housing development and includes the back portions (south and southeast) of lots 98, 99, 101, and 102, all of which extend onto the Crouch site. Construction activites are not to take place within the area delineated by the fence until an archaeological evaluation acceptable to the DHPA has been conducted. Finally, if any additional intact subsurface deposits, such as fire hearths, pits, or human burials, are encountered during construction activities, earthmoving in that area must stop and the DHPA must be notified to determine the appropriate course of action.