The Middle Ohio Valley Fort Ancient Transformation as Viewed from Fox Farm

Summary

Throughout the middle Ohio Valley, archaeologists have documented ca. A.D. 1400 region-wide changes in material culture and settlement patterns that they have characterized as the Madisonville Horizon. Established ca. A.D. 1300, the three hundred year continuous occupation of Fox Farm, located in northern Kentucky, spans the Fort Ancient transformation (A.D. 1375-1425). As the site grew in size during the fourteenth century, the settlement shifted from a circular to clustered arrangement of structures, to accommodate a larger population. This was accompanied by the development of a distinctive ceramic decorative tradition (deeply incised lines and punctations), coarsely serrated triangular points, chipped limestone discs, and decorated sandstone discoidals. By the late fourteenth century house size had increased, shifting from single- to multi-family dwellings. Fox Farm’s growth and its establishment as a central place within the Fort Ancient region represents a local response to the volatile cultural landscape of the late fourteenth/early fifteenth century. In this paper, we highlight changes in Fort Ancient material culture and settlement patterns that immediately predate the Madisonville Horizon and consider Fox Farm’s role in the development of an emerging regional Fort Ancient social identity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22573