Archaeological Investigations in the Obion River Drainage: the West
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
.~~- -~.- .~---~~~~~~~- ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN THE OBION RIVER DRAINAGE: THE WEST TENNESSEE TRIBUTARIES PROJECT by Robert C. Mainfort, Jr. with contributions by Jamie C. Brandon Emanuel Breitburg Shawn Chapman Mary L. Kwas William L. Lawrence June E. Mirecki Andrea B. Shea Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Archaeology, Research Series No. 10 1994 . ~4~\·JRobert C. Mainfort, . Principal Investigator ii Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Archaeology, Research Series No. 10 Copyright © 1994 - Tennessee Division of Archaeology TENNESSEE DEPARTrvIENT OF ENVIRONrvIENT AND CONSERVATION, DIVISION OF ARCHAEOLOGY, RESEARCH SERIES publications are isssued at irregular intervals. Individual volumes are produced by staff members and other qualified individuals in order to promote the exchange of scholarly information concerning the history and prehistory of the State of Tennessee. Copies of all publications in the series may be obtained from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, 401 Church Street, 13th Floor, Nashville, Tennessee 37243, (615)532-1516. Pursuant to the State of Tennessee's policy of non-discrimination, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation does not discriminate on the basis of race sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or military service in its policies, or in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs, -services or activities. Equal Employment Opportunityl Affirmative Action!ADA inquiries or complaints should be directed to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, EEOlAAIADA Coordinator, 401 Church Street, 21st Floor, Nashville, TN 37243, (615)532-0103. Hearing impaired callers may use the Tennessee Relay Service (1-800-848-0298). Tennessee Department of Environment and Con servation, Authorization No. 327536, 150 copies. This public document was promulgated at a cost of $9.27 per copy. March, 1995. iii DEDICATION To the memory of Kathleen Cannon Brandon, whose promising career was cut short. iv ABSTRACT Under the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, archaeological site survey encompassing approximately 3,200 acres was conducted within the Obion River drainage of western Tennessee. Intensive testing of several prehistoric archaeological sites was also undertaken within the scope of the MOA. No significant architectural resources were observed during any phase of the project. Archaeological and geological field investigations strongly suggest that no deeply buried, intact cultural resources are present within the project area. Relatively few archaeological sites were recorded within the project area, and none of the recorded sites exhibits intact subsurface archaeological deposits. Archaeological survey was also conducted in areas immediately adjacent to the project area, resulting in the location of additional sites. Based on information provided by local informants, several sites within the Obion River drainage, but located some distance from the mitigation lands, were recorded as part of efforts to select sites suitable for sample intensive testing. This resulted in the identification of the first midden mounds recorded within the Obion-Forked Deer Drainage. Sample intensive testing was undertaken at several sites, including 40GB4l, 40GB42, and the Oliver site; limited testing was conducted at several additional sites. The prehistoric ceramic assemblage from 40GB42 served as the springboard for a reassessment of previous typologies for ceramics of the Tchula and Middle Woodland periods, and the formulation of an explicit, new set of ceramic paste and type-variety definitions for western Tennessee, which have major implications for interpreting regional chronologies. The Oliver site presented an opportunity to investigate an upland Emergent Mississippian site in the Obion River drainage. Data from the site represent an important baseline for researchers throughout the Central Mississippi Valley, as do the comparative ceramic data from the Reelfoot Lake Basin. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................ iv List of Figures .............................................................................................................. :vi List of Tables ........... ;.................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ xi Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Cultural and Environmental Setting .............................................................................. 5 Geology and Soils ................................................................................................... 5 Flora and Fauna ....................................................................................................... 5 Summary of West Tennessee Prehis~ory ................................................................ 6 Previous Archaeological Investigations ................................................................ 18 Quaternary Stratigraphy of the Mitigation Lands ....................................................... 21 Ceramic Typology ....................................................................................................... 39 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 39 Forked Deer Series .......................................................................................... :....... 40, ""-_ Madison Series ............................................................................... ................. ;; .... ~4g.:.:r,;. Tishomingo Series Paste ....................................................................................... 53 Baldwin Series ..................................................................................................... ;:56 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 59 Supplementary Data from other Relevant Sites .................................................... 63 Description of Sites in the Mitigation Lands .............................................................. 73 Sites Outside the Mitigation Lands ............................................................................. 91 Test Excavations at Selected Sites .............................................................................. 96 4OGB41 ................................................................................................................. 96 4OGB42 ............................................................................................................... 100 Kenton Mound Group ........................................................... ~ ............................. 109 Chandler Site ....................................................................................................... 111 Barner Site ........................................................................................................... 113 Oliver Site ....... ,.................................................................................................... 117 Project Summary ....................................................................................................... 171 References ................................................................................................................. 173 Appendix ................................................................................................................... 185 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1 Project Area and Selected Archaeological Sites .................................................. 3 2 Locations of Stratigraphic Section and Cores .................................................... 23 3 Lithologic Description and Interpretations of USCOE Boring 2-RO ................ 24 4 Composite Section of Channel Wall Section, Middle Fork, Obion River ......... 25 5 Composite Lithologic Section of Strata, South Fork, Obion River ................... 26 6 Distribution of Holocene Alluvial Plain and Fluvial Terraces .......................... 27 7 The Six Stage Model of Bank Slope Development ........................................... 30 8 Loss-on-Ignition Measurements and Lithology of Cores .................................. 35 9 Cormorant Cord Impressed Ceramics from Various Sites ................................. 49 10 Areas Surveyed on the Rutherford 7.5' Quadrangle .......................................... 75 11 Areas Surveyed on the Rutherford 7.5' Quadrangle .......................................... 76 12 Areas Surveyed on the Rives 7.5' Quadrangle ................................................... 77 13 Areas Surveyed on the Greenfield 7.5' Quadrangle ........................................... 78 14 Areas Surveyed on the Trimble 7.5' Quadrangle ............................................... 79 15 Areas Surveyed on the Tatumville 7.5' Quadrangle .......................................... 80 16 Locations of Selected Sites in the Vicinity of Beech Ridge .............................. 81 17 Topographic Map of 4OGB41 ...........................................................................