The Kansas Anthropological Association and the Kansas Historical Society excavated an Early Ceram... more The Kansas Anthropological Association and the Kansas Historical Society excavated an Early Ceramic (ca. 400-1100 CE) Keith phase site in Ellis County Kansas in 2015. The occupation lies within the Buckner Creek paleosol and radiocarbon assays indicate the site was occupied roughly 1000-1200 CE, quite recent for a Keith phase site. The site is interpreted as a seasonally-occupied hunting and game processing camp. There is no evidence of structures or even hearths, there is little pottery and few ground stone implements. There is, however, a substantial amount of animal bone and many projectile points and modified flakes. The investigations recovered a maize kernel and maize phytoliths in ceramic cooking vessel residue, unexpected in a Keith phase site. Finally, there is evidence of intense burning at the site, especially in lithic debris heated to the point of fracturing, but no clear evidence as to the nature of the heat source.
In 1994, the Archeology Office of the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS) initiated excavations to m... more In 1994, the Archeology Office of the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS) initiated excavations to mitigate the impact to eight recorded archaeological sites—Larcom-Haggard, 14CO1; Arkansas City Country Club, 14CO3; Schrope, 14CO331; Havelock, 14CO332; Living the Dream, 14CO382; Radio Lane, 14CO385; Killdeer, 14CO501; and Thompson Gardens, 14CO1509—in the path of the proposed Arkansas City Bypass and Levee Project. The project area is situated on the floor and adjacent uplands of the Walnut River valley east of the City of Arkansas City in southern Cowley County. In the end, over 600 subsurface pit features were excavated, along with numerous features of other types. Four components are represented at the sites: the Late Archaic, Woodland, Great Bend aspect, and Historic period. Only the Great Bend aspect component produced substantial information, the analysis of the other components does not go beyond documenting the location and nature of the recovered material culture. This report describes the environmental setting of the lower Walnut River valley and its confluence with the Arkansas River at Arkansas City, Kansas, including a summary of the geomorphology of the Lower Walnut drainage. It also includes a discussion of the cultural historical sequence of south-central Kansas up to and including Wichita history and tribal movements. The report emphasizes accounts of archeological research on the Great Bend aspect in Kansas and surrounding areas, providing background for the current analysis. Excavation and analytical techniques are presented, including feature descriptions, sampling strategies, and an analysis of radiocarbon ages and archaeomagnetic dates. The chronometric analysis shows that the Great Bend aspect component was present in the region minimally between 1400 and 1700 of the Common Era (CE). Great Bend aspect subsistence is explored through analysis of plant and animal remains. Terrestrial fauna, especially bison, were the most commonly exploited animal resources, riverine resources, with the exception of mussels, were largely ignored. Plant remains indicate the cultivation of maize, squash, beans, tobacco, and a variety of native domesticates, though the latter species clearly were being de-emphasized at this locality, eclipsed by the strong role of maize. Analysis of stone tools and ceramics demonstrates very little technological or stylistic change through the period of Great Bend aspect component. Trading patterns are evaluated through the analysis of nonlocal materials. The Great Bend aspect occupants of the project locality, part of the Lower Walnut focus, traded primarily with non-Great Bend aspect groups to the southwest, south-southeast, and east. Trade between Great Bend aspect localities was not strong, indicating that a free flow of people and goods between different Great Bend foci was unlikely. The investigation of Great Bend aspect components at these eight sites gives us a comprehensive view of this important time period, confirming some earlier thinking and giving rise to more detailed information on how these people carried out their lives.
February 2006
432 pages, 33 photographs, 18 tables, 31 maps, 6-1⁄8 x 9-1⁄4
Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-... more February 2006 432 pages, 33 photographs, 18 tables, 31 maps, 6-1⁄8 x 9-1⁄4 Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-1428-8, $34.95 University Press of Kansas
From Kanorado to Pawnee villages, Kansas is a land rich in archaeological sites—nearly 12,000 known—that testify to its prehistoric heritage. This volume presents the first comprehensive overview of Kansas archaeology in nearly fifty years, containing the most current descriptions and interpretations of the state’s archaeological record. Building on Waldo Wedel’s classic Introduction to Kansas Archaeology, it synthesizes more than four decades of research and discusses all major prehistoric time periods in one readily accessible resource.
In Kansas Archaeology, a team of distinguished contributors, all experts in their fields, synthesize what is known about the human presence in Kansas from the age of the mammoth hunters, circa 10,000 b.c., to Euro-American contact in the mid-nineteenth century. Covering such sites as Kanorado—one of the oldest in the Americas—the authors review prehistoric peoples of the Paleoarchaic era, Woodland cultures, Central Plains tradition, High Plains Upper Republican culture, Late Prehistoric Oneota, and Great Bend peoples. They also present material on three historic cultures: Wichita, Kansa, and Pawnee.
The findings presented here shed new light on issues such as how people adapted to environmental shifts and the impact of technological innovation on social behavior. Included also are chapters on specialized topics such as plant use in prehistory, sources of stone for tool manufacture, and the effects of landscape evolution on sites. Chapters on Kansas culture history also reach into the surrounding region and offer directions for future inquiry. More than eighty illustrations depict a wide range of artifacts and material remains.
An invaluable resource for archaeologists and students, Kansas Archaeology is also accessible to interested laypeople—anyone needing a summary of the material remains that have been found in Kansas. It demonstrates the major advances in our understanding of Kansas prehistory that have applications far beyond its borders and point the way toward our future understanding of the past.
“A rich overview that provides the latest word about what the earliest Kansans were doing between about 12,000 years ago and the arrival of Europeans.”--W. Raymond Wood, author of Archaeology on the Great Plains
“A useful and remarkable volume. . . . The Sunflower State now has good reason to promote its archaeological heritage as central to understanding Plains prehistory.”--Don Wyckoff, Curator of Archaeology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
“A nicely written, lavishly illustrated, and indispensable guide to Kansas, to the Plains, and indeed, to North America as a whole.”--Marvin Kay, professor of anthropology, University of Arkansas
ROBERT J. HOARD has served as Kansas State Archaeologist since 2000. WILLIAM E. BANKS was an archaeologist with the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office for six years and is now a researcher for the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France.
Published in association with the Kansas State Historical Society
Northern and Central Plains obsidian artifacts curated by the Smithsonian Institution's National ... more Northern and Central Plains obsidian artifacts curated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History have received little attention by researchers working to understand the nature of long-distance trade, exchange, and interaction. We present the results of a chemical analysis of obsidian stone tools and debitage from these collections. Significant differences in patterns of obsidian use exist between the Northern and Central Plains. Shifts in obsidian use through time within the Central Plains may indicate larger socioeconomic shifts, while obsidian from Northern Plains assemblages suggests an antiquity to interaction networks at least as old as the first Plains Village sites in the region. By creating the first multi-regional obsidian database encompassing parts of the Northern and Central Plains, we expect that the data and our interpretations enhance discussions at the intersection of trade, exchange, and inter-group interaction in the Northern as well as Central Plains.
Four different soil zones were documented in the test excavations at the Stauffer s_ite (Martin e... more Four different soil zones were documented in the test excavations at the Stauffer s_ite (Martin et al. 1994:44-47). Zone 1 was identified as an AO horizon that is a late 19th to early 20th century erosional feature originating from the hill above the site. Zone 2, a 15-to-20-cm-thick brown to dark brown slightly clayey silt loam, is the Ap horizon, containing a high density of prehistoric artifacts. Zone 3, a 1 0-to-15 -em-thick dark yellowish brown clayey silt loam, was described by Martin et al. as a Late Woodland living surface. Zone 4 is the subsoil, a 15-to-20-cm-thick yellowish brown clay loam with an angular to sub-angular structure and mottled magnesium nodules. In preparation for large-scale excavation, MoDOT Geotechnical Liaison George Davis evaluated the soils at the Stauffer site as follows: Ap: 0 to 2 em: Very dark grayish-brown to grayish brown (10 YR 3/2 to 10 YR 4/ 2) silt loam; weak very fine granular structure, friable, many very fine roots; abrupt wavy boundary. A: 2 to 5 em: Brown (1 0 YR 4/3) silt loam; weak fme prismatic structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; friable; common fine and very fine roots; clear wavy boundary. 2AE: 5 to 20 em: Brown (10 YR 4/3 to 10 YR 5/3) silt loam with common fine prominent 7.5 YR 4/6 mottles; weak fine prismatic parting to weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine iron-manganese concretions; few very fine faint silt coats on faces of peds; gradual, wavy boundary. 2E: 20 to 38 em: Dark yellowish brown (10YR4/4) silt loam withmanyvery fine
Excavation at the Stauffer site produced 24,247 sherds weighing51.9kg. Ofthese, 803 were rims wei... more Excavation at the Stauffer site produced 24,247 sherds weighing51.9kg. Ofthese, 803 were rims weighing over 5 kg, and 23,444 were body sherds, weighing 47.3 kg. In general, the sherds are in good condition, and some sherds recovered from features are large, with axes as long as 10 em. Our analysis was oriented toward collecting data that could be used to address research questions posed for the Stauffer site. Sherds that passed through a 6 mm (approximately one quarter inch) screen were not analyzed because they were too small to be useful for identification of significant attributes. In back sight, half-inch screen would have been preferable, as sherds below this size are of questionable analytical value. Also, heavily weathered or eroded sherds were not analyzed for similar reasons. A total of 18,187 sherds weighing nearly 43 kg was analyzed from excavations at Stauffer. The remaining small and eroded sherds make up 25 percent by count and 18 percent by weight of the total assemblage. Sherds were sorted into groups based on shared attributes, which are described below. As an example, alllimestone-temperedrim sherds with vertical orientation, a flat lip, a brushed exterior, and a smooth interior from any given provenience were grouped. Data on these groupings were entered into an automated database to allow sorting by any set of attributes. This allows cross-provenience analysis of different wares and stylistic types, and for investigation of patterns in distribution across the site and through time where radiocarbon age determinations are available. It also allows for general types and wares and their proportions at Stauffer to be related to other sites of similar age. There are several intractable problems associated with this analysis. The most appropriate unit of ceramic analysis is the vessel, but no complete vessels were recovered despite the concerted ef-
junction of two major provinces of Missouri: the Ozark Plateau and the Dissected Till Plains (Fen... more junction of two major provinces of Missouri: the Ozark Plateau and the Dissected Till Plains (Fenneman 1938:613, 647-642). The site lies at the extreme southern limits of the undifferentiated Nebraskan and Kansas glacial drift (Branson 1944) and in the Deciduous Forest-Temperate Grassland Contact as defined by Shelford (1963). In this area, the forest stands occur where primary stream drainages have dissected the prairies forming an oak-hickory /tall grass prairie ecoton~ in the marginal uplands. The landscape in the vicinity of the site is characterized by narrow upland ridges, forested hill Adapted from the USGS Hartsburg, Missouri 7.5' Quadrangle Map 1969 (1981)
Dr. Valerie Wheeler, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at California State University – Sacrament... more Dr. Valerie Wheeler, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at California State University – Sacramento, died 16 January 2017 after succumbing to leukemia. After a childhood spent on farms in Ohio and M...
Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Jul 1, 2021
A minimum of 14 drilled bear canine teeth associated with 5 human teeth and fragmented bone from ... more A minimum of 14 drilled bear canine teeth associated with 5 human teeth and fragmented bone from a surface exposure in east-central Kansas indicate contact between groups participating in the Hopewell social network in the American Midwest. Drilled, polished, ground, and scored bear teeth, along with a range of exotic and symbolic artifacts, are characteristic of Hopewell burial sites. The Kansas site, 14LY405, where the bear teeth were found marks the southwestern extent of the known distribution of sites with a specific kind of drilled bear canines and helps define the boundary of the Hopewell social network in the Great Plains.
The Kansas Anthropological Association and the Kansas Historical Society excavated an Early Ceram... more The Kansas Anthropological Association and the Kansas Historical Society excavated an Early Ceramic (ca. 400-1100 CE) Keith phase site in Ellis County Kansas in 2015. The occupation lies within the Buckner Creek paleosol and radiocarbon assays indicate the site was occupied roughly 1000-1200 CE, quite recent for a Keith phase site. The site is interpreted as a seasonally-occupied hunting and game processing camp. There is no evidence of structures or even hearths, there is little pottery and few ground stone implements. There is, however, a substantial amount of animal bone and many projectile points and modified flakes. The investigations recovered a maize kernel and maize phytoliths in ceramic cooking vessel residue, unexpected in a Keith phase site. Finally, there is evidence of intense burning at the site, especially in lithic debris heated to the point of fracturing, but no clear evidence as to the nature of the heat source.
In 1994, the Archeology Office of the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS) initiated excavations to m... more In 1994, the Archeology Office of the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS) initiated excavations to mitigate the impact to eight recorded archaeological sites—Larcom-Haggard, 14CO1; Arkansas City Country Club, 14CO3; Schrope, 14CO331; Havelock, 14CO332; Living the Dream, 14CO382; Radio Lane, 14CO385; Killdeer, 14CO501; and Thompson Gardens, 14CO1509—in the path of the proposed Arkansas City Bypass and Levee Project. The project area is situated on the floor and adjacent uplands of the Walnut River valley east of the City of Arkansas City in southern Cowley County. In the end, over 600 subsurface pit features were excavated, along with numerous features of other types. Four components are represented at the sites: the Late Archaic, Woodland, Great Bend aspect, and Historic period. Only the Great Bend aspect component produced substantial information, the analysis of the other components does not go beyond documenting the location and nature of the recovered material culture. This report describes the environmental setting of the lower Walnut River valley and its confluence with the Arkansas River at Arkansas City, Kansas, including a summary of the geomorphology of the Lower Walnut drainage. It also includes a discussion of the cultural historical sequence of south-central Kansas up to and including Wichita history and tribal movements. The report emphasizes accounts of archeological research on the Great Bend aspect in Kansas and surrounding areas, providing background for the current analysis. Excavation and analytical techniques are presented, including feature descriptions, sampling strategies, and an analysis of radiocarbon ages and archaeomagnetic dates. The chronometric analysis shows that the Great Bend aspect component was present in the region minimally between 1400 and 1700 of the Common Era (CE). Great Bend aspect subsistence is explored through analysis of plant and animal remains. Terrestrial fauna, especially bison, were the most commonly exploited animal resources, riverine resources, with the exception of mussels, were largely ignored. Plant remains indicate the cultivation of maize, squash, beans, tobacco, and a variety of native domesticates, though the latter species clearly were being de-emphasized at this locality, eclipsed by the strong role of maize. Analysis of stone tools and ceramics demonstrates very little technological or stylistic change through the period of Great Bend aspect component. Trading patterns are evaluated through the analysis of nonlocal materials. The Great Bend aspect occupants of the project locality, part of the Lower Walnut focus, traded primarily with non-Great Bend aspect groups to the southwest, south-southeast, and east. Trade between Great Bend aspect localities was not strong, indicating that a free flow of people and goods between different Great Bend foci was unlikely. The investigation of Great Bend aspect components at these eight sites gives us a comprehensive view of this important time period, confirming some earlier thinking and giving rise to more detailed information on how these people carried out their lives.
February 2006
432 pages, 33 photographs, 18 tables, 31 maps, 6-1⁄8 x 9-1⁄4
Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-... more February 2006 432 pages, 33 photographs, 18 tables, 31 maps, 6-1⁄8 x 9-1⁄4 Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-1428-8, $34.95 University Press of Kansas
From Kanorado to Pawnee villages, Kansas is a land rich in archaeological sites—nearly 12,000 known—that testify to its prehistoric heritage. This volume presents the first comprehensive overview of Kansas archaeology in nearly fifty years, containing the most current descriptions and interpretations of the state’s archaeological record. Building on Waldo Wedel’s classic Introduction to Kansas Archaeology, it synthesizes more than four decades of research and discusses all major prehistoric time periods in one readily accessible resource.
In Kansas Archaeology, a team of distinguished contributors, all experts in their fields, synthesize what is known about the human presence in Kansas from the age of the mammoth hunters, circa 10,000 b.c., to Euro-American contact in the mid-nineteenth century. Covering such sites as Kanorado—one of the oldest in the Americas—the authors review prehistoric peoples of the Paleoarchaic era, Woodland cultures, Central Plains tradition, High Plains Upper Republican culture, Late Prehistoric Oneota, and Great Bend peoples. They also present material on three historic cultures: Wichita, Kansa, and Pawnee.
The findings presented here shed new light on issues such as how people adapted to environmental shifts and the impact of technological innovation on social behavior. Included also are chapters on specialized topics such as plant use in prehistory, sources of stone for tool manufacture, and the effects of landscape evolution on sites. Chapters on Kansas culture history also reach into the surrounding region and offer directions for future inquiry. More than eighty illustrations depict a wide range of artifacts and material remains.
An invaluable resource for archaeologists and students, Kansas Archaeology is also accessible to interested laypeople—anyone needing a summary of the material remains that have been found in Kansas. It demonstrates the major advances in our understanding of Kansas prehistory that have applications far beyond its borders and point the way toward our future understanding of the past.
“A rich overview that provides the latest word about what the earliest Kansans were doing between about 12,000 years ago and the arrival of Europeans.”--W. Raymond Wood, author of Archaeology on the Great Plains
“A useful and remarkable volume. . . . The Sunflower State now has good reason to promote its archaeological heritage as central to understanding Plains prehistory.”--Don Wyckoff, Curator of Archaeology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
“A nicely written, lavishly illustrated, and indispensable guide to Kansas, to the Plains, and indeed, to North America as a whole.”--Marvin Kay, professor of anthropology, University of Arkansas
ROBERT J. HOARD has served as Kansas State Archaeologist since 2000. WILLIAM E. BANKS was an archaeologist with the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office for six years and is now a researcher for the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France.
Published in association with the Kansas State Historical Society
Northern and Central Plains obsidian artifacts curated by the Smithsonian Institution's National ... more Northern and Central Plains obsidian artifacts curated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History have received little attention by researchers working to understand the nature of long-distance trade, exchange, and interaction. We present the results of a chemical analysis of obsidian stone tools and debitage from these collections. Significant differences in patterns of obsidian use exist between the Northern and Central Plains. Shifts in obsidian use through time within the Central Plains may indicate larger socioeconomic shifts, while obsidian from Northern Plains assemblages suggests an antiquity to interaction networks at least as old as the first Plains Village sites in the region. By creating the first multi-regional obsidian database encompassing parts of the Northern and Central Plains, we expect that the data and our interpretations enhance discussions at the intersection of trade, exchange, and inter-group interaction in the Northern as well as Central Plains.
Four different soil zones were documented in the test excavations at the Stauffer s_ite (Martin e... more Four different soil zones were documented in the test excavations at the Stauffer s_ite (Martin et al. 1994:44-47). Zone 1 was identified as an AO horizon that is a late 19th to early 20th century erosional feature originating from the hill above the site. Zone 2, a 15-to-20-cm-thick brown to dark brown slightly clayey silt loam, is the Ap horizon, containing a high density of prehistoric artifacts. Zone 3, a 1 0-to-15 -em-thick dark yellowish brown clayey silt loam, was described by Martin et al. as a Late Woodland living surface. Zone 4 is the subsoil, a 15-to-20-cm-thick yellowish brown clay loam with an angular to sub-angular structure and mottled magnesium nodules. In preparation for large-scale excavation, MoDOT Geotechnical Liaison George Davis evaluated the soils at the Stauffer site as follows: Ap: 0 to 2 em: Very dark grayish-brown to grayish brown (10 YR 3/2 to 10 YR 4/ 2) silt loam; weak very fine granular structure, friable, many very fine roots; abrupt wavy boundary. A: 2 to 5 em: Brown (1 0 YR 4/3) silt loam; weak fme prismatic structure parting to weak fine subangular blocky; friable; common fine and very fine roots; clear wavy boundary. 2AE: 5 to 20 em: Brown (10 YR 4/3 to 10 YR 5/3) silt loam with common fine prominent 7.5 YR 4/6 mottles; weak fine prismatic parting to weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine and very fine roots; common fine and very fine iron-manganese concretions; few very fine faint silt coats on faces of peds; gradual, wavy boundary. 2E: 20 to 38 em: Dark yellowish brown (10YR4/4) silt loam withmanyvery fine
Excavation at the Stauffer site produced 24,247 sherds weighing51.9kg. Ofthese, 803 were rims wei... more Excavation at the Stauffer site produced 24,247 sherds weighing51.9kg. Ofthese, 803 were rims weighing over 5 kg, and 23,444 were body sherds, weighing 47.3 kg. In general, the sherds are in good condition, and some sherds recovered from features are large, with axes as long as 10 em. Our analysis was oriented toward collecting data that could be used to address research questions posed for the Stauffer site. Sherds that passed through a 6 mm (approximately one quarter inch) screen were not analyzed because they were too small to be useful for identification of significant attributes. In back sight, half-inch screen would have been preferable, as sherds below this size are of questionable analytical value. Also, heavily weathered or eroded sherds were not analyzed for similar reasons. A total of 18,187 sherds weighing nearly 43 kg was analyzed from excavations at Stauffer. The remaining small and eroded sherds make up 25 percent by count and 18 percent by weight of the total assemblage. Sherds were sorted into groups based on shared attributes, which are described below. As an example, alllimestone-temperedrim sherds with vertical orientation, a flat lip, a brushed exterior, and a smooth interior from any given provenience were grouped. Data on these groupings were entered into an automated database to allow sorting by any set of attributes. This allows cross-provenience analysis of different wares and stylistic types, and for investigation of patterns in distribution across the site and through time where radiocarbon age determinations are available. It also allows for general types and wares and their proportions at Stauffer to be related to other sites of similar age. There are several intractable problems associated with this analysis. The most appropriate unit of ceramic analysis is the vessel, but no complete vessels were recovered despite the concerted ef-
junction of two major provinces of Missouri: the Ozark Plateau and the Dissected Till Plains (Fen... more junction of two major provinces of Missouri: the Ozark Plateau and the Dissected Till Plains (Fenneman 1938:613, 647-642). The site lies at the extreme southern limits of the undifferentiated Nebraskan and Kansas glacial drift (Branson 1944) and in the Deciduous Forest-Temperate Grassland Contact as defined by Shelford (1963). In this area, the forest stands occur where primary stream drainages have dissected the prairies forming an oak-hickory /tall grass prairie ecoton~ in the marginal uplands. The landscape in the vicinity of the site is characterized by narrow upland ridges, forested hill Adapted from the USGS Hartsburg, Missouri 7.5' Quadrangle Map 1969 (1981)
Dr. Valerie Wheeler, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at California State University – Sacrament... more Dr. Valerie Wheeler, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at California State University – Sacramento, died 16 January 2017 after succumbing to leukemia. After a childhood spent on farms in Ohio and M...
Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Jul 1, 2021
A minimum of 14 drilled bear canine teeth associated with 5 human teeth and fragmented bone from ... more A minimum of 14 drilled bear canine teeth associated with 5 human teeth and fragmented bone from a surface exposure in east-central Kansas indicate contact between groups participating in the Hopewell social network in the American Midwest. Drilled, polished, ground, and scored bear teeth, along with a range of exotic and symbolic artifacts, are characteristic of Hopewell burial sites. The Kansas site, 14LY405, where the bear teeth were found marks the southwestern extent of the known distribution of sites with a specific kind of drilled bear canines and helps define the boundary of the Hopewell social network in the Great Plains.
In 2009 the Kansas Department of Transportation requested cultural resources consultation with th... more In 2009 the Kansas Department of Transportation requested cultural resources consultation with the Contract Archeology Program of the Kansas Historical Society and the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office regarding a proposed borrow area associated with the reconstruction of Highway K-18, KDOT project 18-81 KA-0410-01, SFBA no. 1.
A Phase II survey conducted by the Contract Archeology Program led to the discovery and documentation of three archeological sites: 14RY328, the Elk Hill site; 14RY329; and 14RY330. All three sites were recommended for Phase III National Register of Historic Places eligibility testing.
Because of the urgency of the project, limited Phase III testing was implemented at 14RY328 before the completion of the survey of the project area. The test excavations are the focus of this report; the survey also is described.
Testing indicates the presence of Late Woodland and Central Plains tradition Smoky Hill phase components. The Late Woodland component is represented by only one arrow point, but ceramic vessel fragments and triangular arrow points, as well as areas of charcoal and burned earth, indicate a more robust Central Plains tradition occupation at the site. This occupation is confirmed by radiocarbon age determinations of 580±70 and 820±70 with median probabilities of 1356 and 1200 CE from buried, intact occupation layers at the site. Nine test excavation units
encountered four features. These include a probable house floor (Feature 3), two pits (Features 1 and 2), and an artifact concentration (Feature 4).
The recovered artifact assemblage is consistent with a Central Plains tradition component. Chipped stone tools are made predominantly from local Permian-aged chert and include notched triangular arrow points, scrapers, bifacial and unifacial knives, and cores. Pottery sherds are consistent with the Central Plains tradition Riley cord-roughened type. Visible temper in the ceramic sherds consists of sand, grit, grog, and shell. Some sherds show combinations of temper types. Several sherds are decorated with incised designs.
Only 5.9 g of faunal material—bone and a mussel shell—were recovered. Plant remains are represented by two maize cupules, one maize glume, two monocot stem fragments, and one Polygonum sp. seed.
The Elk Hill site provides information on a habitation site at the southeastern edge of the Smoky Hill phase of the Central Plains tradition. It is relatively undisturbed and in our opinion it is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Uploads
Books by Robert J Hoard
432 pages, 33 photographs, 18 tables, 31 maps, 6-1⁄8 x 9-1⁄4
Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-1428-8, $34.95
University Press of Kansas
From Kanorado to Pawnee villages, Kansas is a land rich in archaeological sites—nearly 12,000 known—that testify to its prehistoric heritage. This volume presents the first comprehensive overview of Kansas archaeology in nearly fifty years, containing the most current descriptions and interpretations of the state’s archaeological record. Building on Waldo Wedel’s classic Introduction to Kansas Archaeology, it synthesizes more than four decades of research and discusses all major prehistoric time periods in one readily accessible resource.
In Kansas Archaeology, a team of distinguished contributors, all experts in their fields, synthesize what is known about the human presence in Kansas from the age of the mammoth hunters, circa 10,000 b.c., to Euro-American contact in the mid-nineteenth century. Covering such sites as Kanorado—one of the oldest in the Americas—the authors review prehistoric peoples of the Paleoarchaic era, Woodland cultures, Central Plains tradition, High Plains Upper Republican culture, Late Prehistoric Oneota, and Great Bend peoples. They also present material on three historic cultures: Wichita, Kansa, and Pawnee.
The findings presented here shed new light on issues such as how people adapted to environmental shifts and the impact of technological innovation on social behavior. Included also are chapters on specialized topics such as plant use in prehistory, sources of stone for tool manufacture, and the effects of landscape evolution on sites. Chapters on Kansas culture history also reach into the surrounding region and offer directions for future inquiry. More than eighty illustrations depict a wide range of artifacts and material remains.
An invaluable resource for archaeologists and students, Kansas Archaeology is also accessible to interested laypeople—anyone needing a summary of the material remains that have been found in Kansas. It demonstrates the major advances in our understanding of Kansas prehistory that have applications far beyond its borders and point the way toward our future understanding of the past.
“A rich overview that provides the latest word about what the earliest Kansans were doing between about 12,000 years ago and the arrival of Europeans.”--W. Raymond Wood, author of Archaeology on the Great Plains
“A useful and remarkable volume. . . . The Sunflower State now has good reason to promote its archaeological heritage as central to understanding Plains prehistory.”--Don Wyckoff, Curator of Archaeology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
“A nicely written, lavishly illustrated, and indispensable guide to Kansas, to the Plains, and indeed, to North America as a whole.”--Marvin Kay, professor of anthropology, University of Arkansas
ROBERT J. HOARD has served as Kansas State Archaeologist since 2000. WILLIAM E. BANKS was an archaeologist with the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office for six years and is now a researcher for the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France.
Published in association with the Kansas State Historical Society
Papers by Robert J Hoard
432 pages, 33 photographs, 18 tables, 31 maps, 6-1⁄8 x 9-1⁄4
Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-1428-8, $34.95
University Press of Kansas
From Kanorado to Pawnee villages, Kansas is a land rich in archaeological sites—nearly 12,000 known—that testify to its prehistoric heritage. This volume presents the first comprehensive overview of Kansas archaeology in nearly fifty years, containing the most current descriptions and interpretations of the state’s archaeological record. Building on Waldo Wedel’s classic Introduction to Kansas Archaeology, it synthesizes more than four decades of research and discusses all major prehistoric time periods in one readily accessible resource.
In Kansas Archaeology, a team of distinguished contributors, all experts in their fields, synthesize what is known about the human presence in Kansas from the age of the mammoth hunters, circa 10,000 b.c., to Euro-American contact in the mid-nineteenth century. Covering such sites as Kanorado—one of the oldest in the Americas—the authors review prehistoric peoples of the Paleoarchaic era, Woodland cultures, Central Plains tradition, High Plains Upper Republican culture, Late Prehistoric Oneota, and Great Bend peoples. They also present material on three historic cultures: Wichita, Kansa, and Pawnee.
The findings presented here shed new light on issues such as how people adapted to environmental shifts and the impact of technological innovation on social behavior. Included also are chapters on specialized topics such as plant use in prehistory, sources of stone for tool manufacture, and the effects of landscape evolution on sites. Chapters on Kansas culture history also reach into the surrounding region and offer directions for future inquiry. More than eighty illustrations depict a wide range of artifacts and material remains.
An invaluable resource for archaeologists and students, Kansas Archaeology is also accessible to interested laypeople—anyone needing a summary of the material remains that have been found in Kansas. It demonstrates the major advances in our understanding of Kansas prehistory that have applications far beyond its borders and point the way toward our future understanding of the past.
“A rich overview that provides the latest word about what the earliest Kansans were doing between about 12,000 years ago and the arrival of Europeans.”--W. Raymond Wood, author of Archaeology on the Great Plains
“A useful and remarkable volume. . . . The Sunflower State now has good reason to promote its archaeological heritage as central to understanding Plains prehistory.”--Don Wyckoff, Curator of Archaeology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
“A nicely written, lavishly illustrated, and indispensable guide to Kansas, to the Plains, and indeed, to North America as a whole.”--Marvin Kay, professor of anthropology, University of Arkansas
ROBERT J. HOARD has served as Kansas State Archaeologist since 2000. WILLIAM E. BANKS was an archaeologist with the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office for six years and is now a researcher for the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France.
Published in association with the Kansas State Historical Society
A Phase II survey conducted by the Contract Archeology Program led to the discovery and documentation of three archeological sites: 14RY328, the Elk Hill site; 14RY329; and 14RY330. All three sites were recommended for Phase III National Register of Historic Places eligibility testing.
Because of the urgency of the project, limited Phase III testing was implemented at 14RY328 before the completion of the survey of the project area. The test excavations are the focus of this report; the survey also is described.
Testing indicates the presence of Late Woodland and Central Plains tradition Smoky Hill phase components. The Late Woodland component is represented by only one arrow point, but ceramic vessel fragments and triangular arrow points, as well as areas of charcoal and burned earth, indicate a more robust Central Plains tradition occupation at the site. This occupation is confirmed by radiocarbon age determinations of 580±70 and 820±70 with median probabilities of 1356 and 1200 CE from buried, intact occupation layers at the site. Nine test excavation units
encountered four features. These include a probable house floor (Feature 3), two pits (Features 1 and 2), and an artifact concentration (Feature 4).
The recovered artifact assemblage is consistent with a Central Plains tradition component. Chipped stone tools are made predominantly from local Permian-aged chert and include notched triangular arrow points, scrapers, bifacial and unifacial knives, and cores. Pottery sherds are consistent with the Central Plains tradition Riley cord-roughened type. Visible temper in the ceramic sherds consists of sand, grit, grog, and shell. Some sherds show combinations of temper types. Several sherds are decorated with incised designs.
Only 5.9 g of faunal material—bone and a mussel shell—were recovered. Plant remains are represented by two maize cupules, one maize glume, two monocot stem fragments, and one Polygonum sp. seed.
The Elk Hill site provides information on a habitation site at the southeastern edge of the Smoky Hill phase of the Central Plains tradition. It is relatively undisturbed and in our opinion it is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.