BLM LIBRARY 88000246 dUREAU of land management EASTERN STATES OFFICE BACKGROUND TO THE HISTORIC AND PREHISTORIC RESOURCES OF EASTERN KENTUCKY by Chuck M. Nlquette and A. Gwynn Henderson WITH A CONTRIBUTION BY Ellen A. Dugan CULTURAL RESOURCE SERIES NO. 1 ) / Tablet drawings by Shelly H. Fischman. These motif s are from a clay tablet (cover) and a stone tablet (titj_ e paqe) recovered from the Gaitskill Site, Montgomery County Kentucky. Taken from Webb, W.S. and R.S. Boby —The Adena People No. 2 (1975). Copies of this report may be obtained from the Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States Office, 350 South Pickett Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22304. Order No. BLM-YA-PT-84-009-4331 £i3VWZo 7? BACKGROUND TO THE HISTORIC AND PREHISTORIC RESOURCES OF EASTERN KENTUCKY By Chuck M. Niquette and A. Gwynn Henderson with a contribution by Ellen A. Dugan Prepared by Environment Consultants, Inc. for the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Under contract AA 851-CT1-71: Cultural Resource Class I Inventory Study for a 35-County Area in Eastern Kentucky Richard Brook General Editor 1984 BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LIBRARY Denver, Colorado 88660246 uenver, lu ow^^a I p>i •H u CD > •H c D >i o rH a o x;P C < 14-1 o e 3 CD CO 3 as CD JGP t4— o >1 CO CD -P ^4 3 O U JC to u Cn O -P o a, c o •H 4-> CO > to o X CD PO u o •H >1 u 3 ID P -H C CD CD « P H M-l CO o K FORWARD The Bureau of Land Management's Eastern States Office (BLM/ ESO) is a relatively unknown federal agency in the eastern half of the nation. The relative obscurity of ESO is largely attributable to the concentration of public lands in the Far West managed by BLM and the scarcity of such lands within the 31 states bordering and east of the Mississippi River. Within this 31 state area of ESO's jurisdiction, no more than 60,000 acres remain as federally- owned public domain. In marked contrast to the relative paucity of BLM surface-administered lands in the east are the estimated 25 million subsurface acres on which ESO controls developable mineral rights. This Federal Mineral Ownership—FMO— is located beneath lands managed by other Federal and State agencies or owned privately and is termed split-estate. Leasing of the various minerals, predom- inately coal and oil and gas, is the ESO's primary mission. While mineral leasing is the primary mission, ESO also must ensure that other important resource values such as cultural resources are protected. The Background to Historic and Prehistoric Resources of Eastern Kentucky provides an overview of eastern Kentucky, where ESO manages approxi- mately 150,000 acres of FMO. The primary objectives of the study were to compile existing information on historic and prehistoric resources in a 35-county area and to character- ize the nature, number and distribution of known cultural properties located on the discontiguous parcels of FMO in eastern Kentucky. Studies such as this provide federal managers with the information base needed to make sound decisions on long-term planning and management that include protection for cultural resources. >i co cu 4-> u 3 u JCa fO m CP -u j3 —a CO c o •H 4J <U > (d o X cu c •H +J ^-. to >1 M ^ 4J u CO 3 •H 4-> c c •H CU e * TJ < 4-1 CO 4J >i O +j CU •H n CO u u CU cu > •H M c U D £ fc >i en o c •H H ^ 3 a T3 s^ ^J X CU 4J -P c r-H < CU JG 4-1 MCO U e 3 « CU CO .c 3 co S (O fc^ CU X! 4-J 4-> 5 2CU 4-1 The current study points out that although a long sequence of prehistoric and historic occupation is represented in the study area, it is poorly understood. The researchers attribute this to the "fact that information currently available from the region is little more than highly biased inventory data." The lack of previous systematic on-the- ground inventory in eastern Kentucky, of particular concern within the Daniel Boone National Forest, highlights the need for Federal land-managing agencies to cooperate in arch- aeological projects where their interests overlap. In view of these problems and the overall shrinking cultural resource budgets facing many agencies, the advantages of inter-agency cooperation in this and other areas become more apparent. The researchers identify the benefits of such cooperation in their management recommendations. This publication represents the first volume in a continu- ing series of significant cultural resource reports resulting from BLM-sponsored studies in the eastern states. I believe this publication will prove useful and valuable as a document on which to build in archaeology and history in eastern Kentucky. Richard Brook General Editor sz Qu fO u cr> -u JZ wa, ^>i u 3 4J c «<u * >1 -p c 3 u c CO c sz o •-D *. *-. Vj to •H !u o CU > CU M c cu •H to cr> cu c ps a CU 4-1 <-\H o •H to > a CO ^ -U c u -H td jj cu o •H * u x: -u a w >i •H <-{ Q CT> c ^ 4J 4-> CU cp cu c •H c -u r-H c •H 3 m EC ^J CU (0 x: H -P U 4-( CU o •H X >1 3 to < CU 4J fO ^J iH 3 3 o J u ABSTRACT This report constitutes one portion of a three part Cultural Resource Class I inventory study of a 35-county area in eastern Kentucky for the Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States Office. This investigation was initiated in order to furnish data pertinent to land use planning on Federal Mineral Ownership (FMO) lands in Kentucky. A Class I inventory study includes an inventory of existing data and a review and compilation of known data from a given region, in this case eastern Kentucky. This document consists of five chapters. These include: 1) a discussion of the past and present environmental setting of the study area; 2) a review of the cultural developments, both prehistoric and historic which have taken place in the study area; 3) a discussion of the existing data with particular emphasis on the biases inherent in these data; 4) a discussion of potential research questions and problem domains for structuring future investigations specific to eastern Kentucky; and 5) management recommendations for the study area's cultural properties. These recommendations provide a framework for assessing the significance of known and yet- to-be discovered archeological and historic properties. Moreover, these recommendations provide a foundation for the development of an effective program designed to identify and manage such properties located on lands containing federally owned minerals in eastern Kentucky. n ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors owe a debt of gratitude to a number of individuals who have contributed to the present study. Dr. R. Berle Clay, Office of State Archaeology, Lexington, Kentucky was most generous with his time, facilities and valuable information. Without his help the project could not have been completed. We also appreciate the active cooperation and assistance provided by the following professionals: C. Wesley Cowan, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; Thomas N. Sanders, Charles D. Hockensmith and David Pollack of the Kentucky Heritage Council, Frankfort, Kentucky; Dr. Lathel F. Duf field and Wesley S. Creel of the Museum of Anthropology, Richard Brook of University of Kentucky, Lexington / Kentucky; the Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States Office, Alexandria, Virginia; Richard Boisvert and Malinda Stafford of the Office of State Archaeology, Lexington, Kentucky; Gary Knudsen, Forest Service Archaeologist, Daniel Boone National Forest, Winchester, Kentucky; Don Ball, Staff Archaeologist, Louisville District Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky; Dr. Jack Schock, Professor, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky; Philip DiBlasi, University of Louisville Archaeological Survey, Louisville, Kentucky. The figures were drafted by Mary Jo Staggs. The manuscript was processed by Lynn Johnson and Bet Ison, with some assistance from Garland Niquette. The authors greatly appreciate the assistance provided by all. in MANAGEMENT SUMMARY The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a number of mandated responsibilities with regard to archeological and historic properties located on lands under their control or jurisdiction. Among these responsibilities is a requirement to identify, evaluate, and protect significant properties (cultural resources). Moreover, BLM is charged to provide for appropriate public and research use of this resource base and to ensure that agency undertakings or policies do not inadvertently harm or destroy such properties. The resources which are the subject of the following document are not limited to archeological sites but also include all manner of historical and cultural properties due to their ethnic, architectural, historical, artistic, or other contributions to this country's national heritage. Within the framework of the BLM's mandated responsibilities to cultural resources, this agency's Eastern States Office has contracted with Environment Consultants, Inc., to produce a Class I study of the project area. This volume represents the results of this effort and includes a review and compilation of known data pertinent to cultural resources located on lands on which the Federal government owns the mineral rights. The document contains six chapters including an introduction, a discussion of the effective environment of the project area, an overview of the cultural and chronological developments that have occurred in eastern Kentucky, and three final sections which deal specifically with the data base, considerations for future research, and finally management recommendations.