Early Archaic -- 10,000 BP to 8,000 BP
Until the late 1960s, dealing with Early Archaic in the East was difficult
Reservoir salvage in the 1960s and a larger inventory of sites helps, but still puzzling
With what is probably oversimplification, one can say that a series of diagnostic
projectile point and knife types characterize most of the East and Midwest --these
are horizon markers
--C14 dates run from about 10,000 in the South to about 8,000 in the New England states
and average about 9,000 west of the Appalachians
This has led to a definition of a Atlantic Slope tradition
Important sites:
Icehouse Bottom
On the Little Tennessee River in Monroe County, Tennessee
--excavator believes that there are many other early Archaic, but deeply buried under river deposits
Even Icehouse was found in this situation by deep trenching, to 8-9 feet below the surface
Below that were cultural features for the next 15 feet (23 feet below the surface)
Dates come from charcoal bits and range from 9,200 to 7,400 BP
Most finds were stone--95,000 pieces of which 3,000 were tools
Some charred nut hulls, and textile impressions
Over 300 circular fireplaces scattered on all levels: most in the Kirk levels were "prepared" with clay brought in to give the hearth a base, but upper levels didn't have
A number of the clay hearths had textile or basketry impressions always manufactured in the twining technique --no know reason for pressing the basketry into the soft clay
No food animal bones recovered, but shells of acorn and hickory nuts in lower levels, eventually replaced by walnuts
Russell Cave
Near Chattanooga on tributary of Tennessee River
Actually two caves, the upper one used as a camp
Cultural deposits were 14 feet deep, the earliest at 8,200 BP
One infant burial from the base layers with a date of 8,500 BP, with Dalton points
Early Archaic Conclusions:
In terms of tool types, there are many redundancies between Middle and Late
It is possible to speak of Middle and Late not because of dramatic lifeway changes but because of the observable broadening of the spectrum of resources added and new technologies
Middle Archaic can be thought of as real beginning of cultural "richness"
Eva Site
Located in western Tennessee, on the lower reaches of the Tennessee River
Has 4 significant strata: lowest is 7,200 BP, regarded as Middle Archaic and highest is the Big Sandy, a late phase
Deer were more than a food source-- provided hides, sinew and bone for tools
In all periods nuts were used--nutting stones common for cracking nuts
Spearthowers apparent as most points are dart points
Antler tines (tips) were used for pressure flaking/retouching
Bone awls common
Of extreme interest is the number of burials from Eva -- 180 total
47 were juveniles or infants. 18 large dogs also given formal burial.
Most humans and dogs were put into prepared pits, 75 of them in the fully flexed
position
--some intruded into older burials
13% of adults survived past the age of 60, 5 of them past 70 (all male)
Nearly half of females died before age 30 (child bearing)
People were about 5' 2" with males larger and heavily muscled
Eastern Agricultural Complex
At some sites such as Phillips Spring near Rodgers Shelter in Missouri and at the Koster and Napoleon sites in Illinois are curcurbit (squash/gourd) rinds -- not numerous, about 30 instances from about 7,000 to 3200 BP
Late Archaic evidence seems to show that some level of agriculture began
First evidence is of cultivars (as opposed to cultigens)
--wild plants that respond to the nurture and encouragement by providing more and larger
fruit (seeds), but don't lose the ability to propagate and survive without intervention of
people -- no genetic change
Archaic cultivars: sunflower (Helianthus), marsh elder or sumpweed (Iva), giant ragweed (Ambrosia), maygrass (Phalaris), pigweed, knotweed, lambs-quarter, and little barley
Curcurbits may have been a cultivar first
Of special note in the Eastern Archaic:
Old Copper Culture
Upper Great Lakes (on both side sides of lakes in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario with some spread to other areas) Archaic site have native copper
Dates from 5500 to 3000 BP
Fewer than a dozen sites known, all seem to be associated with cemeteries
Also seem to often be grave goods and trade
Poverty Point
Lower Mississippi valley has more than 100 Poverty Point sites
Important sites are Jake town on Yazoo River in west-central Mississippi and Poverty Point in Louisiana
Dates around 3000 to 2200 BP
Both have rich, but standard Archaic tool inventories
Unusual objects:
Clay balls though to have been used as cooking balls as in stone boiling (little stone in the area)
Microflint industry
Of major importance are earthworks at Poverty Point
New ideas are obviously appearing by Late Archaic, but the emphasis on hunting and gathering went on till 1000 AD
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larry-zimmerman@uiowa.edu
University of Iowa Anthropology
08.20.98