Breeden Site (12HR11) 1966

This collection is referred to as “Breeden Site (12HR11) 1966.” This name is consistent throughout the finding aid, the file folders, and the box labels. The extent of this collection is one (1) linear inch.

The associated documentation for the Breeden Site (12HR11) 1966 was stored in one acidic folder in one acidic cardboard box with several other document collections. The archivist did not find it difficult to assign documents to one phase of the project or the other because most of the materials were dated. No deliberate original order was discerned for the materials. There was no removal of photographs or oversized materials from this collection. The Breeden site report that was processed by the archivist is a photocopy of the original report.

The report described the excavation goals at the Breeden Site, which were to establish the depth of shell deposit at the Breeden Site and to recover a sample of the cultural material of the site so that it might be compared to material yielded by other shell middens in the Ohio Valley. Bellis estimated that the Breeden Site was only one of at least five other equally large shell middens in the river bottoms on the Indiana shore. As work progressed toward the center of the Breeden Site, it was possible to pick up certain cultural strata, which provided the guide for vertical separation of the cultural material. The prehistoric sites that were tested yielded adequate data for site evaluation.

A report, entitled Observations on the Breeden Assemblage, was included in the Breeden site document collection and was apparently used to provide background information for the Breeden Site report. This document was also a photocopy of the original report. There is no author noted and the document is not dated. Due to the way the document was photocopied, the original handwritten notes on the report have been obscured and most of the notes can no longer be read. The Observations on the Breeden Assemblage report contains photocopies of photographs and illustrations. Notes associated with these figures are legible. While reviewing the report, entitled Observations on the Breeden Assemblage, the processing archivist identified that this report was used to provide background information for the Breeden Site report; therefore, it was designated as a background record.

The processing archivist contacted the principle investigator, James Bellis, by email to find out more about the archaeological investigation he performed at the Breeden Site. When Mr. Bellis was contacted on Jan 5, 2010, he seemed very pleased to know that his report was being curated and being placed on a digital database so that other researchers could review his work. Bellis was willing to offer any assistance. On Jan 25, 2010, the processing archivist sent another email explaining that the materials from the Breeden Site, along with several other collections, are being temporarily housed and rehabilitated at the St. Louis laboratory. The archivist informed Bellis that the VCP lab does not have the associated maps and field notes from the Breeden Site nor the report Bellis mentioned that he published in the Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science. Due to time constraints, the VCP staff was not able to see if these materials could be acquired from the Glenn A. Black Laboratory so that they could be processed with the Breeden Site (12HR11) 1966 document collection.

The digital materials in this collection were processed by the Veterans Curation Program (VCP), and include the appraisal report, finding aid, and scanned asset key. Additional digital materials held by the VCP include a document folder listing, initial data collection, and notes. For additional information on these materials, refer to the Finding Aid.