2005 News Archive

09/01/2005

September is Indiana Archaeology Month.  To find a listing of state wide activities visit the DHPA's Archaeology Month page.

ARMS will be at Mounds State Park in Anderson, Indiana beginning on September 17th through the 23rd from 9 am to 4 pm.  We will be conducting excavations at one of the small earthworks in the park and around the late 19th century Bronnenburg House.  We will take volunteers.  We will also conduct tours of the earthworks at 10 am and 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday (17th and 18th).  For more information contact Mounds State Park at 765-649-8128 or ARMS at 765-285-5328.
 

The Fudge Site: A New Look at an Ancient Monument

ARMS received a grant to investigate the Fudge site in Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana.  The Fudge site is the largest enclosure recorded in Indiana surrounding 31 acres and is the only Indiana site to be featured in Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley.    In 1929, a mound located in the center of the enclosure was excavated by Frank Setzler, an archaeologist hired by the Indiana History Bureau.  Little other investigation has been done.  The earthwork’s integrity has been compromised by road construction, early industry, cultivation and residential construction.  This project will involve surveys of the site and surrounding area, an instrument survey of the site, limited test excavations, completion of a National Register nomination, and public outreach.  The main goal of this project is to further our understanding of Early/Middle Woodland ceremonial and settlement systems in eastern Indiana and the Ohio River valley through investigations of the Fudge site chronology, construction and function. 

Thus far we have mapped most of the surviving walls of the enclosures.  Previous dimensions and maps of the site disagree on the size and arrangement of the walls.  The  new map data gives us new insights on the exact dimensions and orientation of the earthwork.  The map data also helps to document the level of destruction and disturbance that has occurred.

We have also completed some of the survey of the enclosure and surrounding area.  The artifacts recovered primarily relate to early occupations of the region and predate the construction of the earthwork.  No large camps or village have been located within the enclosure and confirm the site was used for non-secular activities. 

We will continue to work at the site throughout the year.  Click here to view a poster presentation of the Fudge Site by Brad King.  Please check back for updates.

The project has been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.

ARMS completed an FY2004 Historic Preservation Fund Grant administered by the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology in the Department of Natural Resources to deconstruct and redefine the Late Woodland Albee Phase.  The project was structured to investigate six research questions concerning the Albee Phase in the upper White River drainage basin of the West Fork: 

1. What are the chronological limits of the Albee Phase? 
2. What are the diagnostic artifacts of the Albee Phase? 
3. Is there diachronic variation in the material culture of the Albee Phase? 
4. What is the Albee Phase settlement pattern? 
5. What are the chronological and cultural relationships between the Albee Phase and other archaeological constructs? 
6. Is there definable regional variation of the Albee Phase? 

The project involved the BSU summer archaeological field school.  We surveyed approximately 200 acres of agricultural land in White River valley in Hamilton County, IN and conducted limited testing of site 12-H-993 located at Koteewi Park at Strawtown, Indiana.  A magnetometer survey of a small portion of the site helped to direct the placement of excavation units.  The excavations have uncovered numerous cultural features and the locations correlate with the magnetometer survey data.  The features excavated thus far are large, circular to oval pits (1 m diameter x  1 m deep) that have been filled with midden (trash deposits).  The artifacts recovered display a wide range of pottery including Albee Cordmarked and Bowen Cordmarked styles.  Several triangular points and lithic debris have also been recovered.  Animal bone is also present in the feature fill.  To view a poster presentation of this project arranged by Brad King, click here.  An abstract for the final report of this project is available or a complete PDF format of Volume 1 is also available from the publications page.