Review of Kansas Archaeology, 2006, edited by R. Hoard and W. Banks

2003

1987

In 1994, the Archeology Office of the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS) initiated excavations to mitigate the impact to eight recorded archaeological sites—Larcom-Haggard, 14CO1; Arkansas City Country Club, 14CO3; Schrope, 14CO331; Havelock, 14CO332; Living the Dream, 14CO382; Radio Lane, 14CO385; Killdeer, 14CO501; and Thompson Gardens, 14CO1509—in the path of the proposed Arkansas City Bypass and Levee Project. The project area is situated on the floor and adjacent uplands of the Walnut River valley east of the City of Arkansas City in southern Cowley County. In the end, over 600 subsurface pit features were excavated, along with numerous features of other types. Four components are represented at the sites: the Late Archaic, Woodland, Great Bend aspect, and Historic period. Only the Great Bend aspect component produced substantial information, the analysis of the other components does not go beyond documenting the location and nature of the recovered material culture. This report describes the environmental setting of the lower Walnut River valley and its confluence with the Arkansas River at Arkansas City, Kansas, including a summary of the geomorphology of the Lower Walnut drainage. It also includes a discussion of the cultural historical sequence of south-central Kansas up to and including Wichita history and tribal movements. The report emphasizes accounts of archeological research on the Great Bend aspect in Kansas and surrounding areas, providing background for the current analysis. Excavation and analytical techniques are presented, including feature descriptions, sampling strategies, and an analysis of radiocarbon ages and archaeomagnetic dates. The chronometric analysis shows that the Great Bend aspect component was present in the region minimally between 1400 and 1700 of the Common Era (CE). Great Bend aspect subsistence is explored through analysis of plant and animal remains. Terrestrial fauna, especially bison, were the most commonly exploited animal resources, riverine resources, with the exception of mussels, were largely ignored. Plant remains indicate the cultivation of maize, squash, beans, tobacco, and a variety of native domesticates, though the latter species clearly were being de-emphasized at this locality, eclipsed by the strong role of maize. Analysis of stone tools and ceramics demonstrates very little technological or stylistic change through the period of Great Bend aspect component. Trading patterns are evaluated through the analysis of nonlocal materials. The Great Bend aspect occupants of the project locality, part of the Lower Walnut focus, traded primarily with non-Great Bend aspect groups to the southwest, south-southeast, and east. Trade between Great Bend aspect localities was not strong, indicating that a free flow of people and goods between different Great Bend foci was unlikely. The investigation of Great Bend aspect components at these eight sites gives us a comprehensive view of this important time period, confirming some earlier thinking and giving rise to more detailed information on how these people carried out their lives.

Missouri Archaeological Society Quarterly, 2021

In 1984, on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Missouri Archaeological Society (MAS), an article by Eric van Hartesveldt was published in MAS Quarterly 1(4). It was entitled “A Fifty-Year Perspective on the Archaeological Survey of Missouri.” The article provided a brief history of the efforts of archaeological site recording in Missouri from 1934 to 1984 and included a map showing the breakdown of sites recorded by county. By including this figure, the author hoped to illustrate the geographic trends that had characterized site recording during this period and to highlight those counties where relatively few sites had been recorded. It was hoped that MAS members would work to redress this imbalance. Much has changed in our world and in the Missouri archaeological community since 1984, including the trends of archaeological site recording in the state. I was invited by the editors of MAS to provide an update on this subject as a retrospective on the trends that have characterized site recording in Missouri over the past 36 years. Following on the 1984 article, I have also provided a map (Figure 1) showing the numbers of sites by county as they stand at the time of writing, although by the time you read this the numbers will already be out of date since over the course of a year the Missouri SHPO averages about two new site form submissions per day.

2016

The Forrest site, 14PA303, was excavated by amateur archaeologist Earl Monger between 1957 and 1967. Monger received advice and assistance from professionals, kept records of his excavations, and published a short summary of what he had learned from his efforts. This paper is a reanalysis of the material recovered from the site. The material culture of the site is consistent with the Keith phase, a Late Plains Woodland archaeological manifestation on the High Plains of Kansas and Nebraska. After assessing the data from the site, it is considered in its temporal, environmental, and social contexts. Several conclusions are drawn from this analysis. A significant increase in Keith phase sites is correlated with increased precipitation, and Keith phase sites are occupied longer than sites from previous time periods. Diverse fauna are exploited from local aquatic, riparian, and upland resource areas, but stone resources come from a larger area, most likely a result of trade relationships. No direct evidence for horticulture is found, but a case is made that targeted analysis is needed to determine if this is an accurate assessment of the Forrest site and other sites on the High Plains 500-1000 CE.

The Missouri Archaeologist, Vol. 72, 2012

Archaeological excavations were conducted in northeastern Missouri during the summer of 2008 by the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeology (OSA) for the Rockies Express-East pipeline (REX-East). This article presents the results of fieldwork at 23PI294 (Figure 1). These excavations yielded over 50,000 artifacts spanning thousands of years of prehistory. Occupations during the Early to Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, transitional Late Archaic-Early Woodland, and Middle Woodland periods have been isolated across the southern 1 ha (2.4 acres) of the site. It must be emphasized that only a small area of what was a large prehistoric site and dynamic landform was sampled due to the size of the project right-of-way, but we believe it is essential to make the data and what interpretations can be brought to bear on the Archaic and Woodland periods for northeastern Missouri and the Midwest available to researchers. Analyses of various artifacts and samples recovered from the site contribute to understandings of climate, local food sources, and seasonality of prehistoric occupations. A study of the local geomorphology and landscape history along the Grassy Creek and Salt River terrace complex contributes to our understanding of landscape evolution in the region. Relative and absolute dates indicate that several prehistoric occupations occurred at the site during Archaic and Woodland times. Temporally diagnostic projectile points recovered from the site expand understandings of tool production and use within the Salt River valley of northeastern Missouri. Finally, use-wear analysis of stone tools allows for insights into tool use through time.

Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 1996

On November 2018 the Marmaton Birdman Site (called Birdman in this report) was discovered by Wayne R. Tucker and Barbara Ann Rawlins. The search was initiated by a request from Rawlins, Head Librarian of Old Fort Scott Genealogical Society. The purpose of this report is to record pristine ceremonial sites found in Bourbon County, Kansas. It is consistent with another site near Fort Scott, Kansas. Our conclusion is that the Marmaton Birdman site dates to 11,000 years ago and the other site, near Bridal Vail Park dates to about 800 years ago. Meteoric craters found in Bridal Vail Park and Gunn area indicate that the craters where used for ceremonial activity. Until now, the Kansas SHPO record in Bourbon County has remand unexplored and undeveloped. The 200 sq/mi archeological complex reflect an advanced socioeconomic ancient community that thrived by agricultural trade with a meeting assembly architecture and related tribal culture activity. In this report, is the first comprehensive geospatial analysis of ceremonial assemblage in Bourbon County, which is an early Mississipian site in the center of Kansas State. Artifacts found at Gunn Park Rock Shelters point to a thriving agricultural community as the main purpose of the area.

Reports of Investigation, 2015

The Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL) at Ball State University conducted a data enhancement project for archaeological resources in Jasper County, Indiana for a FY2014 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-14-FFY-02). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Jasper County, Indiana with a focus on major waterways such as the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers in the southern half of the county. Approximately 900 acres (364.22 hectares) of agricultural land were surveyed and 112 new archaeological sites were recorded. The survey recovered 209 prehistoric artifacts and 307 historic artifacts from seven parcels of land within Jasper County. No human remains were discovered as a result of this grant project. Cultural periods that are represented in the artifact assemblage include Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, and Late Woodland/Late Prehistoric components that were documented from the precontact era, in addition to Historic components. The average site density recorded for the project area for precontact sites was one site per 15 acres and for Historic sites was one site per 13.85 acres.

North American Archaeologist, 2017

The impact of the New Deal has been a topic of ongoing historical investigation, with, in the past few decades, substantive research in New Deal relief programs on Americanist archaeology by disciplinary historians. The application of resources newly available through relief programs varied considerably geographically however, and this article uses Kansas as a case study of a state in which there was no federal New Deal archaeology. The article explores archaeological research conducted in the state during this era by the Smithsonian Institution as well as an attempt to secure funding for systematic investigations by the University of Kansas. The article highlights several factors that forestalled use of relief funding for archaeology.