Archaeological Investigations at the Paddy's West Substation Near New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana: Subsurface Reconnaissance, Site Testing, and Data Recovery

Smith, Edward E.; Mocas, Stephen T.

Archaeological Investigations at the Paddy's West Substation Near New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana: Subsurface Reconnaissance, Site Testing, and Data Recovery

Files

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Date

1995-02

Authors

Smith, Edward E.

Mocas, Stephen T.

Publisher

Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University

Permanent Link

https://hdl.handle.net/2022/24927

Abstract

The Paddy's West Archaeological Site Complex (PWASC) consists of four archaeological sites (12Fl46, 47, 48, and 52) at the Paddy's West Electrical Substation located south of New Albany in Floyd County, Indiana. Three of these sites were discovered during borrowing activities associated with project construction; the fourth site (12Fl52) was discovered during a subsurface reconnaissance conducted at the proposed location of a power transmission tower south of the main facility. Sites of the PWASC were incorporated within and buried at variable depths beneath overbank alluvial deposits in the combined floodplains of the Ohio River and Middle Creek. The Complex lies between River Miles 612 and 613, approximately 0.48 km west of the present channel of the Ohio River. Archaeological field investigations were conducted at various intervals between August 1991 and April 1992. Laboratory analysis and report preparation continued into the Spring of 1993. These sites have yielded materials attributable to all recognized periods within the Archaic Tradition, the Early Woodland period, and the Euro-American Historic period. Site 12Fl46 contains the remainder of several archaeological components in different topographic situations. It includes the remnant of a truncated shell midden dating to the Middle-Late Archaic period, a zone of Early Archaic features at the base of the truncated floodplain ridge, and outlying features. The shell midden component, exposed in both plan and profile, contains evidence of intensive aboriginal habitation and associated debris in stratified deposits up to 4 min thickness. The Early Archaic component contains deposits up to 0.5 min thickness that represent aboriginal habitation and industrial activities. An Historic period cistern dating to the early 20th century is also present at this site. Site 12Fl47 had been heavily impacted by previous construction-related activities. Minimally, the site is represented by two features and a thin occupation level exposed in slit trenches and a vertical borrow profile, respectively. The cultural affiliation of these deposits is unclear. Site 12Fl48 is represented by deposits up to 1.0 min thickness attributable to the Terminal Archaic-Early Woodland periods. The site consists of a series of features of limited form and diversity, and with limited contents. The site appears to represent a specialized occupation locus rather than a general habitation area. Site 12Fl52 is a zone of prehistoric cultural debris buried beneath 0.9 m of overburden. It was accessed by a single backhoe trench and one large auger hole. Data derived from the PWASC provide insight into Archaic adaptations to the early and middle Holocene environments of the lower Ohio River valley. Analysis indicates intensive exploitation of local biotic and lithic resources. This pattern of exploitation culminated in the Middle-Late Archaic period with the diverse biotic resources represented in the shell mound. Apart from a few diagnostic artifacts and the probable remnants of a Woodland component in a portion of 12Fl47, materials from later cultural periods were not present in the deposits remaining at Paddy's West when archaeological investigations commenced. Later deposits, if present, had been removed by previous construction-related activities .

Description

Abstracts are made available for research purposes. To view the full report, please contact the staff of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology (www.gbl.indiana.edu).

Keywords

archaeological report

Citation

Smith, Edward E., and Stephen T. Mocas. 1995. "Archaeological Investigations at the Paddy's West Substation Near New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana: Subsurface Reconnaissance, Site Testing, and Data Recovery," Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology Report of Investigation 95-04

Rights

Digital reproductions of reports from the Glenn A. Black Laboratory are made available for noncommercial, educational, and research purposes only. Copyright is reserved for the Trustees of Indiana University.