In The Footsteps of Glenn A. Black: A Report on the 2011 Archaeological Investigation of Angel Mounds State Historic Site (12Vg1 & 12W54) by the IU/IUPUI Joint Field School in Archaeology

Abstract

Immediately east of modern Evansville, Indiana lays Angel Mounds (12Vg1). Angels Mounds is a large (ca. 47 hectares), Mississippian town geographic located on the northern bank of the Ohio River. Professional archaeological research has been ongoing at the site for approximately 80 years, with the majority of the excavation occurring between 1938 and 1965. Stratigraphic control was only marginally maintained in most context and in 2011 the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology in collaboration with the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis conducted a six-week archaeological field school. The aim of this field school was to instruct students on how to process the vast amounts of data from previous archaeological excavations and work at the Angel Mounds site. Dr. Jeremy J. Wilson served as the principal investigator for the field school. Initial work involved cleaning and securing the site as well as delivering all associated paperwork, material culture, maps, and photographs to Dr. Baumann at the Glenn Black Lab for cataloging, processing, and analysis. The six-week investigation was limited to an area in the East Village with dimensions of 5 meters by 2 meters. A total of 0.9075 hectares on the Third Terrace above the village and the Ohio River were investigated using shovel test pits. A 7.11 hectare magnetometer survey was also conducted and 12 solid earth cores were extracted from Mounds E and G. Results indicated that there are potential culturally formed anomalies present in the Third Terrace, potentially of Mississippian origin. This finding is supported by the anomalies’ close proximity to the 1939 excavations that yielded large concentrations of Mississippian cultural material. Several potential areas of future excavation have been identified. These areas were determined using a combination of shovel test pits and magnetometer surveys.