Botanical remains from three late prehistoric habitation sites in central Indiana
Few flotation-era studies have been conducted on late prehistoric subsistence practices in what is now the state of Indiana. Fortunately, such research is now being undertaken. Initial findings, such as those reported here, suggest that the unique historical trajectory of native cultures coupled with the floral communities specific to Indiana result in subsistence practices that are often unexpected and interesting.
GO TO FLORAL ANALYSIS SUMMARY OF: [Bundy-Voyles 12 Mg 1][Sugar Creek 12 Jo 289][Crouch 12 Jo 5]
No detailed environmental information from either modern or ancient times is available for the immediate site locations in this report, and such studies were beyond the scope of the investigation reported here. Therefore, the brief environmental sketches below are taken from regional-level sources such as United States Department of Agriculture soil surveys and aerial photographs, United States Geologic Service maps, and studies included in Linton 1966.
The Bundy-Voyles site sits in the floodplain of the West Fork White River, just west of modern Martinsville, Indiana. The site is about 200 meters southeast of the modern channel of the White, across from a shallow place in the river that would have made it relatively easy to cross at that point. Tall bluffs lie west of the river, giving ready access to upland resources for site inhabitants willing to ford the river. An old channel of the West Fork White River is visible on topographic maps, soil maps, and aerial photos, running northwest to southeast along the northern border of the site. A midden lying on this bank was visible in the geomagnetic survey of the site and was later uncovered during excavation. The bank midden yielded a rich array of cultural material. It is not known if the channel was still active at the time of Oliver Phase occupation. Whether the channel was active, marshy, or completely silted in, Bundy-Voyles in habitants would have had been within easy distance of both active channel and wetland resources, if not immediately north of the site then certainly with a short distance elsewhere along the West Fork White River.
The Bundy-Voyles site lies in the Norman Upland physiographic zone, south of the Wisconsin glacial boundary but north of the Illinoian boundary. The site is just south of the Tipton Till Plain and just east of the Illinoian drift region. The forest in the immediate vicinity of the site would have been a floodplain forest. These forests are complex, since the water margin, insular and point bars, floodplain proper, floodplain depressions and terraces are all different physiographically and ecologically. Petty and Jackson (1966:276), however, report that in the few detailed studies that have been undertaken, ten tree species comprise 86.2% of all trees in floodplain forest communities. In order of importance they are: silver maple, sycamore, American elm, cottonwood, hackberry, cork elm, box-elder, black willow, white ash and red elm. Understory trees and shrubs of economic importance include hawthorn, wild plum, pawpaw, grape and green briar.
Floodplain forests were not the only forests within immediate reach of Bundy-Voyles inhabitants. Oak-hickory associations would have been present in the uplands just across the river, and beech-maple forests were in the Till Plain to the north. Oak-hickory forests tend not to have a terribly well-developed understory, but shrubs in such woods include blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), huckleberry (Gaylussacia spp.) and related plants. Beech-maple understory trees include dogwoods and redbuds; shrubs and herbaceous plants of economic interest include pawpaw, elderberry, spicebush, viburnum, bedstraw and false Solomon's-seal. Wetland and riverine resources would also have been readily available to Bundy-Voyles inhabitants.
The soils on the site are of the Genessee series in the higher, southern areas, with Shoals and Stonelick soils to the north, along the old bank. Genessee soils are deep well-drained flood plain soils with little slope (0-2%) formed in loamy and silty alluvium. Stonelick soils are similar but have less silt and clay. Shoals soils have less silt and clay and form at the lowest elevations of the three. Genessee soils predominate in the floodplain near the site and would have been the most likely agricultural soil for the site's inhabitants.
Culturally, the Bundy-Voyles site belongs to the Oliver Phase of late prehistory in Indiana. Radiocarbon dates place the site in the late 14th to early 15th centuries. Although the site structure, with occupational debris spread along a lake margin, is very different from the classic circular villages of Bowen, Clampitt and Cox's Woods, the density of occupational debris indicates it was something more than a farmstead or hunting camp. By default then, Bundy-Voyles is referred to as a "village" site.
In many ways, the situation of 12 Jo 289 is similar to that of Bundy-Voyles. The site is located in the floodplain of a major watercourse, Sugar Creek, about 100 meters east of the modern channel. Sugar Creek and the Big Blue River join to form the Driftwood River a little more than 2 km downriver from the site. The floodplain on the east side of the river is broad, but uplands are easily accessible just to the west of the river. Sugar Creek is shallow and easily crossable near the site. Thus, both upland and floodplain resources would have been readily available.
The Sugar Creek site lies in the Tipton Till Plain physiographic zone but is near the southern boundary of the Wisconsin glaciation and the Norman Upland physiographic zone. Mature vegetation in the area would have been a general beech-maple association, but the immediate area of the Sugar Creek-Big Blue confluence would most likely have been a floodplain forest.
The soils in the area of the Sugar Creek-Big Blue confluence are complex and reflect the many channels cut through the area over the millennia. The site itself is located mostly on Fox series soils, with some interfingering by Genessee soils. Fox soils are well-drained, moderately deep soils over sand and gravelly loamy sand. They form on outwash plains and terraces, kames and eskers. During excavation, the most notable feature of these soils was the presence of varying densities of glacial till. It came as no surprise to field hands at 12 Jo 289 that the USDA soil survey for Johnson County notes that, "most gravel and sand pits are in areas of Fox soils."
Like Bundy-Voyles, Sugar Creek is also an Oliver Phase "village" site. The three radiocarbon dates from the site are widely spaced. At one standard deviation, they run from the mid-13th century to the early 16th century.
The Crouch site's situation is very different from that of the other two sites. The nearest major watercourse is the West Fork White River, about 3.5 km to the west northwest. Two seasonal steams exist nearby today: Frances Creek about 600 meters to the northeast and Smith Run about 150 meters south. The nearest permanent water is Turkey Pen Creek, 800 meters south of the site.
The Crouch site, like Sugar Creek, lies in the Tipton Till Plain physiographic zone. Mature forest in the general area would have been a beech-maple association. The well-drained loamy soils of the immediate vicinity, combined with what was probably a much wetter area immediately east of the site, make it likely that the Crouch site area was an exception to the general beech-maple rule. Trees favoring a dryer environment than beeches and maples (e.g., oaks and hickories) likely grew on the sandier areas in and around the site while wetter vegetation (e.g., bulrushes, cattails) grew in the lowlands to the east.
The Crouch site was built on two different soil types. Most of the site lies on Fox Complex soils. These soils are eroded soils on 6-12% slopes. Fox series soils in general are well-drained moderately deep over sand and gravelly loamy sand. They form on outwash plains and terraces, kames and (as is the case at 12 Jo 5), eskers. The modifier "complex" indicates what was readily apparent to excavators at the site: many soil variants are present within a small area at 12 Jo 5, and the resolution of United States Department of Agriculture soil survey books is not sufficient to adequately characterize the complexity of soils in the area. Immediately east of the site, the soil type resolves into a Rensselaer silty clay loam. This soil, which is nearly level, forms in slightly depressed areas of broad outwash plains and in old glacial drainageways and lake basins. At Crouch, the soil is very poorly drained and even today cannot be walked without risk to shoes and clothing. It is likely that the area was a wetland during late prehistoric times as well.
Traditional wisdom has it that most Native farming was done in floodplain situations, so the location of 12 Jo 5 fields is unclear. Riley (1994), however, notes that raised fields at Ocmulgee as well as at many sites in Wisconsin and Michigan are found in upland situations, so it is possible that Crouch site inhabitants were farming nearer the site than their location 3.5 km from the White would indicate.
Unlike the other two sites reported here, Crouch is not an Oliver site. The
pottery tradition, feature types and site structure are very different from
those at Bundy-Voyles and Sugar Creek. While occupations of this nature are
very poorly documented in central Indiana, the site most likely belongs to a
Vincennes Phase Mississippian or Oneota tradition. Radiocarbon dates place late
prehistoric site occupation in the 14th to early 15th centuries.