ABSTRACTS 2009

Bob Maslowski, Marshall University Graduate College
Fort Ancient and the Shawnee
For decades Ohio Valley archeologists have used the direct historical approach to link the Shawnee to Fort Ancient village sites. This link is evaluated in terms of NAGPRA lines of evidence used for determining Native American cultural affiliation. The ten lines of evidence listed by the University of Arizona for their cultural affiliation study of the New River Gorge National River and the Gauley River National Recreation Area include anthropological, archeological, biological, folklore, geographical, historical, kinship, linguistic, oral tradition and expert opinion.

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MORNING SESSION

The Dickinson Farm Site (46Ka111) Data Recovery: Project Overview. Patrick H. Garrow, MACTEC, Inc.

Data recovery investigations were conducted by MACTEC on the Dickinson Farm Site in 2007 in advance of planned construction of a Wal-Mart supercenter. The Dickinson Farm site is located in the Kanawha River floodplain near the Quincy crossroads, and contains extensive archaeological deposits that date at least from the Early Archaic through Late Prehistoric periods. The data recovery was conducted under a research design and work plan negotiated with the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Officer in accordance with West Virginia law. This paper will provide a general overview of the site, including a discussion of prior investigations and the results of the data recovery investigations.

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2007

MORNING SESSION

Stone Vessel Stylistic Variation, the Burning Spring Branch Site (46Ka142)

Flora Church, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., Berlin Heights, Ohio

An assemblage of 255 stone vessels, preforms, and remnants was recovered from Late Archaic contexts at the Burning Spring Branch site in Kanawha County, West Virginia. Steatite and sandstone vessels were present; evidence suggests on-site manufacturing of the sandstone sample. A detailed analysis of the vessel forms indicated that bowls predominated; these exhibited distinctive stylistic variations in the forms of lugs. In addition, analysis revealed engraved decorative motifs on a number of both sandstone and steatite vessels. These consisted of linear elements that appear to have been largely restricted to the rim and/or appendage portions of vessels.

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MORNING SESSION

The Henry Stahl Collection
Jerry Anderson
Little Kanawha Chapter of WVAS, Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Henry Stahl, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, amassed a remarkable collection of prehistoric artifacts from Blennerhassett Island and the surrounding area in the period from 1863 to 1923. He used this collection as the basis for lectures around the area and mounted the artifacts on panels that served as his “slides.” The collection was purchased by the Wood County BOD in 1923, and it has maintained its integrity until present. The collection is now displayed in the Blennerhassett Historical Park Museum. The history, range of artifact types, and value for archeological research will be explored in this presentation- Continue reading →

Saturday, November 18, 2005

Buck Garden Revisited
Bob Maslowski, Milton, West Virginia.

The Buck Garden Ceramic Series was defined by McMichael in 1965 on the basis of a sample of 556 sherds. His original definition is reviewed and discussed in terms of modern Woodland chronologies. While most archeologists admit that Buck Garden is now a general term for Late Woodland in West Virginia and has little interpretive value, its use still persists and its meaning continues to be expanded. Problems with Late Woodland chronologies are discussed and solutions to these problems are presented. The paper concludes with an accurate and usable definition of Buck Garden. Continue reading →

Saturday, November 13, 2004

Artifacts from the Kanawha Valley Mound Explorations of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Darla I. Spencer, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., Hurricane, WV.

This presentation is the result of a grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council sponsored by the Council for West Virginia Archaeology to photograph artifacts curated at the Smithsonian Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland. Of the approximately 600 artifacts from the Kanawha Valley, the majority were collected during the BAE mound explorations in the 1880s. Very few individuals have seen the collections. Although specific provenience is lacking for many of the artifacts, generalizations can be drawn from them about the mortuary customs and lifeways of the Woodland peoples who occupied the Kanawha Valley. Continue reading →

Saturday, November 1, 2003

Historic Central Appalachian Mortuary Customs: A View from Eastern Kentucky.
Alexandra D. Bybee, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., Lexington, Kentucky.

Historic customs surrounding human death in central Appalachia developed from local tradition and culture, with economic and social conditions existing within individual populations strongly influencing death rituals. As a result, a variety of mortuary customs developed, many of which were specific to nineteenth and early twentieth century central Appalachia. This paper discusses mortuary practices fundamental to many historic central Appalachian populations. An emphasis is placed on eastern Kentucky, with examples from several rural family cemeteries. Continue reading →