Mixing and Moving Earth: The Geoarchaeology of a Newly Rediscovered Middle Woodland Earthen Enclosure in Central Kentucky

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Earthwalker Circle is a small Middle Woodland era (ca. 200 BCE–CE 500) ceremonial ditch and embankment enclosure located on privately-owned land at the border of Kentucky’s Bluegrass and Knobs physiographic regions. This enclosure was recently rediscovered as part of a regional assessment of LiDAR-derived visualizations and drought-based aerial photography. Excavations at the site focused on assessing how and when the ditch refilled, and how the causeway entrance to the site was arranged. Using a combination of macro and micro-based geoarchaeological methods we assess the nature of ditch refilling, as well as use of the site after this enclosure was no longer visible on the landscape. Our work shows it is unlikely that the ditch refilled naturally after a period of abandonment and was most likely refilled through intentional human actions. Moreover, our results indicate that the site was potentially marked by later Fort Ancient (ca. CE 1000–1500) villagers using arrangements of wooden posts. The culmination of our research at the Earthwalker enclosure emphasizes a landscape in motion, whereby the built environment changed as local histories tied to much broader social movements unfolded.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36845.0