AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE LOWER WABASH VALLEY IN GIBSON AND POSEY COUNTIES IN INDIANA
Abstract
Can an intensive archaeological field survey of a geographically meaningful portion of the lower Wabash Valley provide adequate data to interpret culture history and reconstruct prehistoric subsistence-settlement patterns with the ultimate aim of explaining culture process and the impact of the ecological zone known as the "Indiana Pocket" on prehistoric cultures? An archaeological survey of the floodplain and adjacent upland surfaces of a portion of the lower Wabash Valley in the western portions of Gibson and Posey Counties of Indiana was completed. In conjunction with the archaeological survey, an excavation program was conducted at selected sites. The survey analyzed site data from over 300 sites and was able to hypothesize subsistence-settlement patterns for all cultural traditions found within the survey area. The site distribution patterns for the various cultural traditions revealed a continuing alignment of cultural boundaries with the extent of the "Indiana Pocket" ecological zone from the Middle Archaic Tradition to historic times. The survey identified a previously unknown Early Woodland culture which was named the Blair Culture.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Archaeology
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