Historical Archeology at the Village on Pawnee Fork, Ness County, Kansas
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TR 86 Historical Archeology at the Village on Pawnee Fork, Jones Historical Archeology at the Village on Pawnee Fork, Ness County, Kansas 2002 Kansas County, Ness Fork, Pawnee on Village the at Archeology Historical Jones Ness County, Kansas National Park Service - Midwest Archeological Center Historical Archeology at the Village on Pawnee Fork, Ness County, Kansas By Bruce A. Jones Midwest Archeological Center Technical Report No. 86 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Midwest Archeological Center Lincoln, Nebraska 2002 This report has been reviewed against the cr iteria contained in 43CFR Part 7, Subpart A, Section 7.18 (a) (1) and, upon recommenda tion of the Midwest Regional Office and the Midwest Archeological Center, has been classified as Available Making the report available meets the criteria of 43CFR Part 7, Subpart A, Section 7.18 (a) (1). Abstract Extensive inventory and excavation by avocational archeologist Earl Monger and two episodes of evaluative testing by Kansas State Historical Society archeologists in 1976 and 1977 have confirmed the location of the Cheyenne-Oglala village that was destroyed by the order of Major General Winfield S. Hancock in April 1867. Monger’s work and the Society investigations exposed several concentrations of burned and broken historic Euroamerican materials, together with some other artifacts that are clearly of American Indian manufacture. The artifact concentrations correlate with the piles of Indian belongings that Hancock’s troops collected and burned following the villagers’ flight from the military expedition. The archeological context of the artifactual materials matches well with the various historical descriptions of the village and its destruction. Historic trade goods or Indian annuity materials recovered during the excavations include tin cups of the Civil War era, a variety of buckles that probably represent harness or tack, firearms parts, helmet and uniform buttons, iron kettle and oven fragments, coffee mill parts, bottle glass and crockery, and sheet brass scraps. Artifacts of American Indian manufacture include chipped-stone projectile points, a stone maul, ochre deposits, and a buffalo stone—a baculite fossil that was modified into a bison fetish. No clear evidence of lodge structures was observed, although several small post molds were identified. i Acknowledgments When an archeological project takes more than 20 years to complete, it is important to acknowledge the many individuals who helped to see the project to its completion. Society Archeologist John Reynolds arranged for the 1979 loan of the Kansas State Historical Soci- ety artifacts from 14NS403 after I had left the Society to return to work for the National Park Service. Twenty years later, Society Archeologists Martin Stein and Virginia Wulfkuhle graciously assisted with the second loan of the Society’s artifacts, providing encouragement, useful advice, help with illustrations, and recommendations on the write-up. Former Society Laboratory Supervisor and good friend Verna Detrich, one of my original 1977 crew, patiently functioned as my conscience throughout the long history of the project. Long-lost crew member Marilyn Wyss magically appeared with critical references to what was probably the most important artifact that we recovered in 1977, but given her usual optimistic out- look, Marilyn probably didn’t even know that she was lost. Former Society Archeologist Don Rowlison reviewed the draft manuscript, as did Verna and Marilyn. Fort Larned National Historic Site Superintendent Steve Linderer and Interpreter George Elmore provided partial funding for completion of this report, and loaned the Monger Collection of artifacts, maps, and field notes generated by Earl's multiple episodes of work at the site. Dr. Leo Oliva, Chairman of the Fort Larned Old Guard, provided important corrections in his review of the draft manuscript. Midwest Archeological Center Manager Mark Lynott agreed to bear the remaining cost of analysis and report preparation. Midwest Archeological Center Archeologist Doug Scott lent his considerable ex- pertise in the identification of the Society and Monger artifactual materials and put his personal reference library at my disposal. Tom Frusher willingly provided an opportunity for Doug and Midwest Archeo- logical Center Archeologist Tom Thiessen to examine his personal artifact collection from the site. Both Doug and Tom also reviewed the draft manuscript. Finally, the discovery and study of the Indian village destroyed by the Hancock Expedition in 1867 was a personal labor of love for Earl Monger, a gifted avocational archeologist from Larned, Kansas, and his wife, Iris. Much of this report simply would not have been possible to write without the field notes and maps that the Mongers kept throughout their investigations. Bruce A. Jones June 19, 2002 ii Contents Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ ii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ v List of Figures............................................................................................................................................... v Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Historical Background............................................................................................................................. 1 Project Background ................................................................................................................................. 7 Site Description ....................................................................................................................................... 8 Context and History of Research............................................................................................................. 9 The KSHS Excavations .............................................................................................................................. 11 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Excavation Methodology ................................................................................................................. 11 Vertical Stratigraphy......................................................................................................................... 11 Area 761/771 ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Description ....................................................................................................................................... 12 Features ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Area 772 ................................................................................................................................................ 14 Description ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Features ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Material Culture.......................................................................................................................................... 15 Prehistoric and Protohistoric Artifacts................................................................................................... 15 Chipped Stone .................................................................................................................................. 15 Ground Stone ................................................................................................................................... 17 Ceramics........................................................................................................................................... 17 Daub ................................................................................................................................................. 17 Fire-Cracked Rock ........................................................................................................................... 17 Firearms and Weapons........................................................................................................................... 18 Bullets, Balls, Cartridges, and Cartridge Cases................................................................................ 18 Percussion Caps ............................................................................................................................... 19 Bar Lead........................................................................................................................................... 19 Firearms Parts..................................................................................................................................