Taber Well Site (33HO611): A Middle Woodland Habitation and Surplus Lithic Production Site in the Hocking Valley, Southeastern Ohio, The

Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Spring 2008 by Peoples, Nicole, Abrams, Elliot M, Freter, AnnCorinne, Jokisch, Brad, Patton, Paul E

Within the site core, our excavation covered 102 m^sup 2^, or about 16 percent of that area. This sample was deemed adequate for defining site function and chronology. The area within our broad peripheral survey was 3220 m^sup 2^. Although the excavated 9.25 m^sup 2^ represented less than 1 percent of that area, we infer the function of that space from those artifacts in comparison with those from the site core.

Several depositional transforms affected Taber Well. Construction of a railroad north of the site (extending south and northeast adjacent to the marshland) and the use of oil wells in the area disturbed the site, as did recent deforestation with subsequent crop planting and reforestation of White Pine (Finns strobus L) by the Citizen Conservation Corps (CCC). These anthropogenic disturbances along with intruding roots, bioturbations and acidic soils have acted as transformational agents on the site's remains.

Data from the Site Core

Features

Twenty features were recovered from the site core (Table 1, Figures 4, 5). All contained some combination of charcoal, flakes, fire-cracked rock (FCR), pottery, and/or hematite. Twelve were structural postmolds, judging by their dimensions, profiles, and contents. No discernable structure outline was identified, although Feature 21 was a post remnant once chinked with pottery, indicating an interest in post preservation. Six features were classified as hearths and two were classified simply as generic pits. They are concentrated along the spine of the site core. Their depths indicate superpositioning, with Features 13 and 14 having been dug directly into the older Feature 16, reflecting site reuse. The features are consistent with domestic occupation by a small community on a recurrent basis.

Radiometric Analysis

Two conventional radiocarbon dates (Features 21 and 12) and one accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) date (Feature 5) assisted in establishing Taber Well's chronology (Table 2). The intercept dates with a calibration curve indicate that Features 12 and 21 were affiliated with the Middle Woodland period, while Feature 5, a hearth, dates to the late Early Woodland period. These chronometric data, combined with the chronological inferences from point types (below), indicate that the site was established during the Late Archaic period, with occupation extending through the Middle Woodland period.

Chipped Stone Artifacts

The artifact assemblage from Taber Well was predominantly chipped stone. Given that the classification of artifacts is specific to the analytic goals of the research (Morrow and Jefferies 1989), the reduction sequence here was designed to identify tool manufacture. Following Sutton and Arkush (2002), the reduction sequence was as follows: raw nodules, cores, decortication flakes, primary flakes, secondary flakes, tertiary flakes, bifacial thinning flakes, and shatter/chunks (Table 3.) Raw nodules were untested blocks of stone; cores were tested sources of flakes; decortication flakes displayed cortex on more than 50 percent of their surface; primary flakes had less than 50 percent cortex on their surface; secondary flakes had no remaining cortex; tertiary flakes were retouch or edge thinning flakes; bifacial thinning flakes were curved transverse flakes for tool thinning; shatter was irregular chunks. Tools were classified as follows: utilized flakes, bifacial projectile points, unifacial/bifacial tools, drills, and bladelets.