Archaeological and Geological Investigations at the Coffey Site, Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas, Coffey Site 1970-1975

Part of the Coffey Site 1970-1975 project

Author(s): Larry J. Schmits

Year: 1981

Summary

Coffey is a complex of prehistoric campsites located along the Big Blue River in the Prairie Plains of northeastern Kansas. Archaeological and geological investigations document a long series of Holocene fluvial and cultural deposits. Five major periods of deposition (Units I through V) are identified at the site. Based on surface collections and excavated material a cultural sequence consisting of Paleo-Indian, repeated Archaic and possible Late Woodland occupations has been established for the site. It is concluded that the sedimentary units of Coffey represent a series channel cutting and filling episodes resulting from the meandering of paleochannels of the Big Blue River into the site.

Archaeological Investigations at Locality I document the presence of several additional Black Vermillion phase occupations in Unit III. Materials recovered include a large assemblage of features, chipped stone tools, faunal remains and carbonized seeds. Archaeological investigations at Locality II indicate the presence of a stratified series of Walnut phase components. Features, lithic tools and faunal remains were recovered from these deposits.

The Late Archaic cultural deposits at Coffey are compared with other sites in the Tuttle Creek area, Snyder in the EI Dorado Lake area and Williamson in the John Redmond Lake vicinity. A tripartite Late Archaic phase sequence is proposed for eastern Kansas consisting of the Black Vermillion phase (ca. 5000 B.P.), El Dorado phase (3500 B.P.), and the Walnut phase (2000-2500 B.P.). The available evidence indicates that Late Archaic adaptation in eastern Kansas was round on resources from the grassland, riparian and aquatic biotic communities of small and medium river valleys.

Cite this Record

Archaeological and Geological Investigations at the Coffey Site, Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas, Coffey Site 1970-1975. Larry J. Schmits. 1981 ( tDAR id: 437697) ; doi:10.6067/XCV82R3VCT

Keywords

Material
Chipped Stone • Fauna • Ground Stone • Macrobotanical

Site Name
14PO1 • 14PO3 • 14PO351 • 14PO352 • 14PO353 • 14PO354 • 14PO355 • 14PO356 • 14PO357 • 14PO358 • 14PO359 • 14PO362 • 14PO363 • 14PO364 • 14PO365 • 14PO366 • 14PO367 • 14PO368 • 14PO369 • 14PO370 • 14PO371 • 14PO372 • 14PO373 • 14PO374 • 14PO375 • 14PO376 • 14PO377 • 14RY15 • 14RY17A • 14RY17B • 14RY325 • 14RY326 • 14RY327 • 14RY328 • 14RY329 • 14RY330 • 14RY331 • 14RY332 • 14RY333 • 14RY334 • 14RY335 • 14RY336 • 14RY337 • 14RY338 • 14RY339 • 14RY340 • 14RY341 • 14RY342 • 14RY343 • 14RY344 • 14RY345 • 14RY346 • 14RY347 • 14RY348 • 14RY349 • 14RY350 • 14RY351 • 14RY352 • 14RY353 • 14RY354 • 14RY355 • 14RY356 • 14RY357 • 14RY358 • 14RY359 • 14RY360 • 14RY361 • 14RY362 • 14RY363 • 14RY364 • 14RY365 • 14RY366 Show More

Site Type
Archaeological Feature • Artifact Scatter • Hearth • Pit

Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation • Heritage Management

General
Collections Management

Geographic Keywords
Big Blue River • Kansas (State / Territory) • Prairie Plains • Tuttle Creek Lake

Spatial Coverage

min long: -96.759; min lat: 39.347 ; max long: -96.216; max lat: 39.707 ;

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

Contributor(s): Environmental Systems Analysis, Inc., Cultural Resources Div.

Principal Investigator(s): Alfred E. Johnson

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

Sponsor(s): US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District

Repository(s): Fort Osage, Missouri

Prepared By(s): University of Kansas, Museum of Anthropology

Submitted To(s): Interagency Archaeological Services Branch, NPS

Record Identifiers

Contract No.(s): C3510 (74)

Notes

General Note: The digital materials in this collection were processed by the Veterans Curation Program (VCP), and include artifact catalogs, finding aid, and original investigation report. Additional digital materials held by the VCP include additional artifact catalogs, notes, preliminary report, project reports, project table, and a proposal. For additional information on these materials, refer to the finding aid.

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
CoffeyReport_1981_Redacted.pdf 5.57mb Jul 17, 2017 12:19:55 PM Confidential

Accessing Restricted Files

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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