An Archaeological Survey of Benton County: Enhancement of a Data Deficient Region, Part II Grant # 18-16FFY-03
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An Archaeological Survey of Benton County: Enhancement of a Data Deficient Region, Part II Grant # 18-16FFY-03 By: Amanda Balough, Christine Thompson, Matthew P. Purtill, and Kevin C. Nolan Principal Investigators: Christine Thompson and Kevin C. Nolan Reports of Investigation 99 Volume 1 May 2017 Applied Anthropology Laboratories, Department of Anthropology Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306-0439 Phone: 765-285-5328 Fax: 765-285-2163 Web Address: http://www.bsu.edu/aal i An Archaeological Survey of Benton County: Enhancement of a Data Deficient Region, Part II Grant # 18-16FFY-03 By: Amanda Balough, Christine Thompson, Matthew P. Purtill, and Kevin C. Nolan Christine Thompson and Kevin C. Nolan Principal Investigators ________________________________ Reports of Investigation 99 Volume 1 May 2017 Applied Anthropology Laboratories, Department of Anthropology Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306-0439 Phone: 765-285-5328 Fax: 765-285-2163 Web Address: http://www.bsu.edu/aal i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF STATE AND FEDERAL ASSISTANCE This project has been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. The project received federal financial assistance for the identification, protection, and/or rehabilitation of historic properties and cultural resources in the State of Indiana. However, the contents and opinions contained in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability in its federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, NW, MS-2740, Washington, D.C. 20240. i Acknowledgements This project was a shared effort of numerous people. I am indebted to the following individuals for their assistance in completing this project. I would like to thank the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA) and Ball State University for making this project possible. This project was funded in part by a Department of the Interior grant administered by the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Thanks to DHPA staff Malia Vanaman and Rachel Sharkey for their assistance in this project. Matching funds for this project were furnished by Ball State University. Thanks to Chad Paskiewicz, Matt Moore, and Ann Sheller in Sponsored Projects Administration at Ball State University for managing the accounting for this project. Thank you to Christine Thompson for beginning the research for this project and writing the proposal. Thanks to the Department of Anthropology for support and assistance throughout this project. The project could not have been completed without access to agricultural fields in Benton County. I would especially like to thank the following landowners: for granting us permission to survey their land. I appreciate your interest in this project. We also thank for allowing us to review and analyze their artifact collection. Thanks to Ted Anchor and Alyssa Nyberg of The Nature Conservancy, Kankakee Sands for hosting us on our collector visit to Newton County. We appreciate their support and hospitality. Thanks to the Benton County Historical Society for hosting our May 2017 presentation. We had a large attendance and we appreciate the advertising done by the historical society. The field work and laboratory processing was completed by AAL Director and Senior Archaeologist Kevin C. Nolan, AAL Archaeologist Christine Thompson, AAL Administrative Assistant and Archaeologist Amber Yuellig, myself, and the following Ball State students: Sneha Chavali, Abby Clark, Lindsey Cron, Henry Easley, Chyan Gilaspy, Justin Fleetwood-Goolsby, Sydney Green, Nora Hillard, Charity Munroe, Kiya Mullins, Savanah Myers, Kyree Nelson, Mia Nickelson, Sean Smith, and Lilly Tucker. I would like to thank Amber Yuellig for organizing field crews and ordering supplies. I would especially like to thank Christine Thompson and Kevin C. Nolan for their help and guidance in all aspects of this project. Without their organization, leadership, archaeological and accounting skills, I would have been unable to perform the tasks required. Amanda Balough ii Abstract The Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL) at Ball State University conducted a data enhancement project for archaeological resources in Benton County, Indiana for a FY2016 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-16FFY-03). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Benton County, Indiana with a focus on the southern half of the county. A total of 928.36 acres (375.69 hectares) of agricultural land was surveyed and 115 new archaeological sites were recorded. The survey recovered 102 prehistoric artifacts and 2161 historic artifacts from 13 parcels of land within Benton County. No human remains were discovered as a result of this grant project. Cultural periods that are represented in the artifact assemblage include precontact components dating to the Late Archaic, Middle Woodland, and possibly the Early Archaic, in addition to Historic components. The average site density recorded for the project area for precontact sites was one site per 14.07 acres and for historic sites was one site per 13.65 acres. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Environmental Setting ................................................................................................................ 2 Location .................................................................................................................................. 2 Geology ................................................................................................................................... 4 Physiography......................................................................................................................... 15 Soils....................................................................................................................................... 15 Water Resources ................................................................................................................... 17 Climate .................................................................................................................................. 21 Archaeological Background...................................................................................................... 29 Culture History...................................................................................................................... 37 Archaeological Survey .................................................................................................................. 44 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 44 Methods..................................................................................................................................... 44 Field Survey .......................................................................................................................... 44 GIS Mapping ......................................................................................................................... 45 Survey Area 1 ........................................................................................................................... 50 Artifacts................................................................................................................................. 53 Sites ....................................................................................................................................... 56 Density .................................................................................................................................. 56 Survey Area 2 ........................................................................................................................... 59 Artifacts................................................................................................................................. 62 Sites ....................................................................................................................................... 66 Density .................................................................................................................................