INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfihn master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Ifigher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 LITHIC EVIDENCE OF PREHISTORIC ROCKSHELTER USE IN EASTERN KENTUCKY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Darlene Applegate, M.A. The Ohio State University 1 9 9 7 Dissertation Committee: Dr. William S. Dancey, Advisor Approved by Dr. Kristen J. Gremillion Dr. Paul J. Sciulli ^ Advisor Dr. Richard W. Yerkes Department of Anthropology UMI N um ber: 9 7 3 1 5 8 4 UMI Microform 9731584 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Darlene Applegate 1997 ABSTRACT Eastern Kentucky's rockshelters gained archaeological prominence in the 1920s and 1930s because of their characteristically thick ash deposits containing a wide variety of well-preserved, prehistoric organic remains. Explanations of the role that rockshelters played in the settlement strategies of prehistoric people in eastern Kentucky have been related closely to subsistence economy reconstructions. From the beginning, archaeological studies of the rockshelters placed a relatively low priority on the analytical potential of inorganic materials like lithics, especially lithic assemblages dominated by chipped-stone waste material. The present study addresses both issues, shelter use and lithic analysis, by examining the physical and spatial attributes of debitage-dominated lithic assemblages from two eastern Kentucky rockshelters. Cold Oak Shelter and Rock Bridge Shelter, in order to assess diachronic variability in prehistoric occupational intensity. Gold Oak Shelter is a multicomponent shelter with occupations from the Terminal Archaic, Early Woodland, and Middle Woodland periods. Rock Bridge Shelter, on the other hand, was occupied during the Late Woodland period only. Indicators of occupational variability include lithic density, tool diversity, use of exotic cherts, heat treatment of cherts, toolrdebitage ratio, flake fragment types, and debitage types. The results of the lithic analyses indicate that, despite the effects of formation processes that affect the distribution and condition of lithics. Terminal Archaic and Early Woodland occupations at Cold Oak Shelter were relatively more intense than later occupations in terms of duration and frequency of occupation. Comparable ranges of lithic-related 11 activities are associated with Terminal Archaic, Early Woodland, and Late Woodland occupations, although chipped-stone tool manufacture was more intense during the earlier periods and chipped-stone tool maintenance was more common during the Late Woodland period. Nonlithic remains from the two shelters support these conclusions. The results concur with previous explanations positing that Late Archaic and Early Woodland shelter use was more intense than other occupations in terms of duration and frequency of occupation. 111 Dedicated to my parents, John and Margaret I V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the support of my adviser, Dr. William Dancey, for his thoughtful comments on theoretical and methodological issues related to the research project. I am thankful for his encouragement and guidance throughout my graduate career, especially completion of this research project. I am indebted to Dr. Kristen Gremillion for introducing me to the wonders of eastern Kentucky's rockshelters and for the opportunities to work at Rock Bridge and Cold Oak. I am thankful for her patience, support, and guidance while conducting the lithic analyses and preparing the lithic reports. I sincerely thank Dr. Paul Sciulli and Dr. Richard Yerkes for their insightful comments on the dissertation proposal and manuscript and for the great classes I took with them at OSU. Dr. Loren Babcock of the Department of Geology at The Ohio State University provided helpful suggestions regarding geological issues related to the dissertation, for which I am very appreciative. Dr. Bede Clay, Kentucky State Archaeologist, generously provided me with access to site forms and cultural resource management reports for the counties of the study area. I also wish to thank USDA Forest Service archaeologists Cecil Ison, Johnny Faulkner, and Tom Fouts for their assistance in chert identification. Dr. Gremillion's work at Rock Bridge Shelter was supported financially by a University Seed Grant Award from the Office of Research, The Ohio State University, and financially and technically by the USDA Forest Service. Excavations and analyses conducted by Dr. Gremillion at Cold Oak Shelter were supported by a grant from the National Geographic Society. VITA March 18, 1964 ................................... Born - Marion, Ohio 1 9 8 6 ........................................................ B.A. Anthropology & Geology, Miami University 1991 ........................................................ M.A. Anthropology, The Ohio State University 1990 - 1994 ............................................ Graduate Teaching and Research, Associate, The Ohio State University 1993 - 1994 ................................... Archaeology Intern, Bureau of Environmental Services Ohio Department of Transportation PUBLICATIONS 1. D. Applegate, "Lithic analysis at Rock Bridge Shelter (15Wo75), Wolfe County, Eastern Kentucky." In Current Archaeological Research in Kentucky: Volume Four, pp. 32-68. Edited by Sara L. Sanders, Thomas N. Sanders, and Charles Stout. Kentucky Heritage Council, Frankfort, Kentucky (1996). 2. D. Applegate, "Lithic artifacts." In Archaeological and Paleoethnobotanical Investigations at the Cold Oak Shelter, Kentucky, pp. 89-217. Written by Kristen J. Gremillion, Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University. Report submitted to the National Geographic Society (1995). 3. D. Applegate, "Lithic analysis." In A Phase III Cultural Resources Assessment of Sites #33-Vi-391, #33-Vi-392, #33-Vi-393, »33-Vi-394, and ff33-Vi-395 for the VIN-50-8.07 (PID 5213) Bridge Replacement and Road Realignment Project, Richland Township, Vinton County, Ohio, pages 10-17. Submitted by Ohio Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Environmental Services, Cultural Resources Unit (1994). 4. D. Applegate, "Lithic analysis." In A Phase III Cultural Resources Assessment of Site #33-Li-573 for the LIC-70-27.55 (PID 10479) Road Relocation Project, Bowling Green Township, Licking County, Ohio, pages 9-15. Submitted by Ohio Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Environmental Services, Cultural Resources Unit (1993). V I 5. D. Applegate, "Lithic artifacts." in Archaeological Investigations at the Rock Bridge Shelter (15Wo75), Wolfe County, Kentucky, pages 54-133. Written by Kristen J. Gremillion, Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University. Report submitted to Cecil Ison, Field Archaeologist, Daniel Boone National Forest, Stanton, Kentucky ( 1 9 9 3 ) . FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Anthropology V I I TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Dedication .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... v Vita ............................................................................................................................................ vi List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... xi List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ xiii Chapters: 1. Research problem ................................................................................................. 1 2. Environmental and cultural milieu of the study area .................................... 11 2.1.