An Archaeological Survey of the Salamonie Reservoir

Part of the Salamonie Reservoir Survey 1982 project

Author(s): William R. Wepler; Donald R. Cochran

Year: 1982

Summary

An archaeological survey of the Salamonie Reservoir was carried out to identify the variables that influenced site selection, refine the cultural history of the area, develop hypotheses concerning Early Archaic settlement patterns, investigate the seeming lack of Middle Archaic occupation of the area, and evaluate the effect the reservoir has had on the archaeological resources

Refinements and expansion of the description of the natural setting of the area as originally presented by Wepler (1982) allowed the definition of a region to be called the Upper Wabash drainage. This region is characterized by till plain topography, beech-maple forests, and extensive outcrops of only one type of chert.

The survey identified 370 prehistoric sites reflecting occupation from the Late Paleo-Indian through the Late Woodland periods. Late Paleo-Indian and Early Archaic sites were found to be small, usually single component, and most often located on the Till Plain. Middle and Late Archaic sites were large and most often located on terraces within the river valley. Early and Middle Woodland components were identified on only four sites and, as in the Late Paleo-Indian and Early Archaic periods, appeared to represent small group activity. Late Woodland sites were also relatively small and were found on low terraces at the edge of the river and on bluff edges overlooking the river.

Outcrops of chert were not located within the survey area although an abundance of chert was available in the glacial till. Use of cherts from sources outside the area was found in all periods except the Late Paleo-Indian and Late Woodland. This use was, however, most prevalent during the Early Archaic when cherts from the Middle Wabash Valley and eastern Ohio were in use. Late Archaic and Early Woodland exotic cherts were from north central Ohio while the one Middle Woodland point was manufactured from southern Illinois chert.

Reservoir impacts were found to be essentially the same as for the Mississinewa Reservoir. Potentially significant sites were found that are being damaged by cultivation, lake shore erosion, and uncontrolled artifact collecting. A number of recommendations are made for the management of these archaeological resources.

Cite this Record

An Archaeological Survey of the Salamonie Reservoir. William R. Wepler, Donald R. Cochran. 1982 ( tDAR id: 401195) ; doi:10.6067/XCV88P628Z

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Archaic • Early Archaic • Early Woodland • Historic • Historic Native American • Late Archaic • Late Woodland • Middle Archaic • Middle Woodland • PaleoIndian • Woodland

Material
Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Fauna • Glass • Ground Stone • Metal • Shell

Site Name
12HU188 • 12HU190 • 12HU191 • 12HU192 • 12HU193 • 12HU194 • 12HU195 • 12HU196 • 12HU197 • 12HU198 • 12HU199 • 12HU200 • 12HU201 • 12HU202 • 12HU203 • 12HU204 • 12HU205 • 12HU206 • 12HU207 • 12HU208 • 12HU209 • 12HU210 • 12HU211 • 12HU212 • 12HU213 • 12HU214 • 12HU215 • 12HU216 • 12HU217 • 12HU218 • 12HU219 • 12HU220 • 12HU221 • 12HU222 • 12HU223 • 12HU224 • 12HU225 • 12HU226 • 12HU227 • 12HU228 • 12HU229 • 12HU230 • 12HU233 • 12HU234 • 12HU235 • 12HU236 • 12HU237 • 12HU238 • 12HU239 • 12HU240 • 12HU241 • 12HU242 • 12HU243 • 12HU244 • 12HU245 • 12HU246 • 12HU247 • 12HU248 • 12HU249 • 12HU250 • 12HU251 • 12HU252 • 12HU254 • 12HU255 • 12HU256 • 12HU257 • 12HU258 • 12HU259 • 12HU260 • 12HU261 • 12HU262 • 12HU264 • 12HU265 • 12HU266 • 12HU267 • 12HU268 • 12HU269 • 12HU270 • 12HU271 • 12HU272 • 12HU273 • 12HU274 • 12HU276 • 12HU277 • 12HU278 • 12HU279 • 12HU280 • 12HU281 • 12HU282 • 12HU283 • 12HU284 • 12HU285 • 12HU286 • 12HU287 • 12HU288 • 12HU289 • 12HU290 • 12HU291 • 12HU292 • 12HU293 • 12HU294 • 12HU295 • 12HU296 • 12HU297 • 12HU298 • 12HU299 • 12HU300 • 12HU301 • 12HU302 • 12HU303 • 12HU304 • 12HU305 • 12HU306 • 12HU307 • 12HU308 • 12HU309 • 12HU310 • 12HU311 • 12HU312 • 12HU313 • 12HU314 • 12HU315 • 12HU316 • 12HU317 • 12HU318 • 12HU319 • 12HU320 • 12HU321 • 12HU322 • 12HU323 • 12HU324 • 12HU325 • 12HU326 • 12HU327 • 12HU328 • 12HU329 • 12HU330 • 12HU331 • 12HU332 • 12HU333 • 12HU334 • 12HU335 • 12HU336 • 12HU337 • 12HU338 • 12HU339 • 12HU340 • 12HU341 • 12HU342 • 12HU343 • 12HU344 • 12HU345 • 12HU346 • 12HU347 • 12HU348 • 12HU349 • 12HU350 • 12HU351 • 12HU352 • 12HU354 • 12HU355 • 12HU356 • 12HU357 • 12HU358 • 12HU359 • 12HU360 • 12HU361 • 12HU362 • 12HU363 • 12HU364 • 12HU365 • 12HU366 • 12HU367 • 12HU368 • 12HU369 • 12HU370 • 12HU371 • 12HU372 • 12HU373 • 12HU374 • 12HU375 • 12HU376 • 12HU377 • 12HU378 • 12HU379 • 12HU380 • 12HU381 • 12HU382 • 12HU383 • 12HU384 • 12HU385 • 12HU386 • 12HU387 • 12HU388 • 12HU393 • 12HU394 • 12HU397 • 12HU427 • 12HU429 • 12HU430 • 12HU431 • 12HU432 • 12HU433 • 12HU434 • 12HU435 • 12HU436 • 12HU437 • 12HU438 • 12HU439 • 12HU440 • 12HU441 • 12HU442 • 12HU443 • 12HU444 • 12HU534 • 12HU68 • 12WB133 • 12WB134 • 12WB135 • 12WB136 • 12WB137 • 12WB138 • 12WB139 • 12WB140 • 12WB141 • 12WB143 • 12WB144 • 12WB145 • 12WB146 • 12WB147 • 12WB148 • 12WB149 • 12WB150 • 12WB151 • 12WB152 • 12WB153 • 12WB154 • 12WB155 • 12WB156 • 12WB157 • 12WB158 • 12WB159 • 12WB160 • 12WB161 • 12WB162 • 12WB163 • 12WB164 • 12WB165 • 12WB166 • 12WB167 • 12WB168 • 12WB169 • 12WB170 • 12WB171 • 12WB172 • 12WB173 Show More

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Artifact Scatter • Isolated Artifact

Investigation Types
Heritage Management • Reconnaissance / Survey

General
Base Camp • Collections Management • Habitation • Hunting Camp

Geographic Keywords
Huntington County (County) • Indiana (State / Territory) • Salamonie Reservoir • Upper Wabash drainage • Wabash County (County)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -85.714; min lat: 40.736 ; max long: -85.522; max lat: 40.825 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, St. Louis District

Principal Investigator(s): Donald R. Cochran; William R. Wepler

Landowner(s): US Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District

Sponsor(s): US Department of the Interior, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service

Repository(s): Applied Archaeology Laboratories, Ball State University

Prepared By(s): Archaeological Resources Management Service, Ball State University, Muncie, IN

Submitted To(s): US Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District

Notes

General Note: The digital materials in this collection were processed by the Veterans Curation Program (VCP), and include the artifact database, artifact report, finding aid, scanned asset key, and select artifact photographs. Additional digital materials held by the VCP include additional artifact photographs, box labels, document folder listing, initial data sheets, and notes. For additional information on these materials, refer to the Finding Aid.

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
1040-0004.pdf 24.94mb Jan 19, 2016 4:28:37 PM Confidential

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Contact(s): US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, St. Louis District