The Chronostratigraphy of Big Bone Lick and its Archaeological Implications A thesis submitted to the Division of Graduate Studies and Advanced Research of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences 2013 by Litsa A. Mortensen B.A. Anthropology, Northern Kentucky University, 2009 Committee: Kenneth B. Tankersley (Chair) Vern Scarborough Abstract This study presents and evaluates data obtained from five 2x2m profiles at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, Kentucky during summer fieldwork excavations of 2012. Through a multi-stage and multi-method approach this study provides a chronostratigraphic view of past geomorphic landscapes at the State Historic Site. The data are presented and evaluated to include sediment stratigraphy, archaeosediment stratigraphy, particle-size analysis, cultural artifacts, vertebrate paleontology, optically stimulated luminescence dates, and radiocarbon dates. The data are then correlated and integrated into geochronological, archaeological, and paleoenvironmental aspects. The current landscape, environmental information, historical information, and previous archaeological work at Big Bone State Historic Site are all taken into account. The ultimate goal of archaeology is to determine the interrelationships between past human cultures and the environment in which they lived. The environment is a dynamic factor in the analysis of archaeological content (Butzer 1982). Geoarchaeology aims to use geological information for archaeological use. The purpose of geoarchaeology is to reconstruct past environments and landscapes in which prehistoric people lived and apply the information to the archaeological record. By examining the chronostratigraphy of Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, Kentucky, this study aims to define what the environment was like at different periods of human habitation as well as how the environment and subsequently, human occupation, changed with climatic fluctuations since the Late Pleistocene. ii iii Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my advisor, mentor, and first chair on my committee, Dr. Kenneth Barnett Tankersley for helping make this research possible. I would also like to thank Dr. Vern Scarborough for being on my committee as my second reader. Thanks to the Court Archaeological Research Fund (PI Kenneth Barnett Tankersley) and the University Research Council (PI Crowley, Co-PIs Kenneth Barnett Tankersley, Linda Plevyak, and Aaron Diefendorf), which funded this thesis. I would also like to thank the Boone County Parks Department, specifically Big Bone Lick State Historic Site’s Naturalist Todd Young for helping in the summer 2012 excavation process. A special thanks to Alyssa Atkinson for her tireless efforts to assist me in fieldwork excavations and lab work throughout the summer of 2012. Thanks go out to Blake Plowden, Alex Schroff, Jessica Hughes, Eduardo Armas, Tyler Swinney, Andras Nagy, and the countless public volunteers who helped me excavate at Big Bone Lick during the summer of 2012. I would also like to thank my family for always encouraging me through my graduate work. iv Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ v List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. x Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Environmental and Geological Settings of Big Bone Lick, Kentucky ..................... 4 Location .............................................................................................................................. 4 Current Climate and Environment ...................................................................................... 7 Soils..................................................................................................................................... 7 Topography and Geology ................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 3: Prehistoric Cultures and European Development ................................................... 19 Past Environments and Cultures ....................................................................................... 19 European Contact and Development ................................................................................ 26 Chapter 4: Previous Archaeological Research .......................................................................... 38 Chapter 5: Theory ..................................................................................................................... 62 Historical Perspectives of the Use of Geology in Archaeology ....................................... 62 Geoarchaeology and Archaeological Geology ................................................................. 65 Contextual Archaeological Approach ............................................................................... 66 Applications of Contextual Archaeology.......................................................................... 68 Chapter 6: Methods ................................................................................................................... 70 v Field Methods ................................................................................................................... 70 Laboratory Methods .......................................................................................................... 77 Particle-Size Methods ....................................................................................................... 77 Stable Carbon and Stable Nitrogen Isotope Methods ....................................................... 79 Identification Methods for Culturally Diagnostic Artifacts and Vertebrate Paleontology79 Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating Methods ...................................................... 79 Radiocarbon Dating Methods ........................................................................................... 79 Chapter 7: Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 81 Current Landscape ............................................................................................................ 81 Sediment Stratigraphy ....................................................................................................... 82 Natural Sediment Stratigraphy .......................................................................................... 93 Archaeosediment Stratigraphy .......................................................................................... 95 Munsell Soil Colors .......................................................................................................... 98 Particle-Size Data............................................................................................................ 100 Stable Carbon and Stable Nitrogen Isotopes .................................................................. 113 Culturally Diagnostic Artifact Inventory ....................................................................... 117 Vertebrate Paleontological Inventory ............................................................................ 123 Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dates ..................................................................... 126 Radiocarbon Dates ......................................................................................................... 127 Chapter 8: Discussion ............................................................................................................. 129 Stratigraphic Correlations for Profiles ............................................................................ 129 Geomorphic Units ........................................................................................................... 133 Chapter 9: Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 140 vi References Cited ..................................................................................................................... 142 Appendix I: Spreadsheets ....................................................................................................... 152 Appendix II: Radiocarbon Dating ........................................................................................... 170 Appendix III: Fieldwork Photographs .................................................................................... 180 Appendix IV: Artifact Photographs ........................................................................................ 209 Appendix V: Vertebrate Paleontological Photographs ........................................................... 224 vii List of Tables Table 1: Soils Located within Big Bone Lick State