ML20040C242
| ML20040C242 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Perry  |
| Issue date: | 06/21/1973 |
| From: | Brose D, Albert Lee NUS CORP. |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20040C239 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8201270444 | |
| Download: ML20040C242 (15) | |
Text
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. i A SUMMERY REPORT ON THE Archaeological Survey and-Testing of the
- Perry Nuclear Power Plant Area , Lake Co. , Ohio Submitted ,to the N.U. S. Corporation Rockville, Maryland ,
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David S. Brose A> fred M. Lee June 21,1973 i
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t 8201270444 820125 l-PDR ADOCK 05000440 PDR _.
A
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ,
Prehistoric and historic occupation of the region encompassing northern Ohio can conveniently be divided into six culturally significant, and relatively homogeneous phases (see Chart 1).
The presence of drchaic'And PaleoIndia6. materials ih' northern
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Ohio' was no.ted in the .early twentieth century. During the succeeding decades surface collections recovered e large typological sample with limited information on location. At the same time detailed geological studies have provided a rough framework to order these types through time. Little , if any, information had been provided concerning the con-temporary environment or the prehis. toric settlement or economic adapta-tion: The changing projectile point styles have been regarded as in-dications of migration from outside the Ohio area.
During the past three years Case Western Reserve University 'sur-veys have located a number of Paleo Indian and early archaic sites with-in the Lahe Erie drainage systems on the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau l in northeast Ohio. Initial archaeological testing at several of these l
sites indicated Lehese early materials vere undistrubed and associated l with considerable faunal material: The controlled recovery of economic data and site locations and a full description of the chipped-stone tools provided the first detailed reconstruction of early occupations in northern Ohio.
Virtually all of the large PaleoIndian and early Archaic sites located reflected a strong locational preference for secondary stream drainage functions down-cutting through high (above 650 feet) fossil l
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la }p beach ridges . The profitability of encountering significant quan-tities of early material in the PNPP test areas was thus rather low.
The possibility of locating a small ophemeral campsite 6f.this phase ,
w'as nonetheless' r6al.
Late Archaic and Early Middle Woodland sites in northern Ohio are poorly reported and Wu;.8/f)5
_..y scattered. There is some suggestion of
. population decline. The sites recorded seem to cluster 'along major drainage systems well inland. Although there did exist a possibility of encountering a lakeside encampment., the recorded history- of shore-line erosion suggested this was not a significant probability.
Considerable attention to the Late Woodland-Mississippian
'p'e'ri~od has provi'ded clearerand mo're..deta'ileti understanding.
Archaeological investigation in the region of northeastern Ohio has been sporadic. During the mil-nineteenth century Charles Whittle-sey engaged in both survey and excavation of prehistoric materials (Squie4' and Davis , .19 48 ; Whittlesey,1851). In 1929 Emerson Greenman conducted a program of survey and excavations for the Ohio State Mu-l l
seum at 15 sites in northern Ohio and concluded that at least seven of these could be ~ regarded as " Iroquoian. " These were termed the Whittle-sey Focus (Greenman 1935a , 1935b , 1937 ). In 1943 Morgan and Ellis add-ed the Fairport Hirbor site to the Whittlesey Focus and suggested an Erie identity. In 1945 Raymond Vietzen, included sites along the Ver-million and Black Rivers within the Whittlesey Focus. Greenman also plac-ed several sites from southeastern Michigan within the Whittlesey Focus (1939:25-26), and Lee (1958 ) included the Parker Earthwork at Corunna ,
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Ontario.
Excavations at the South Park site enabled sequential phases to '
be recognized on the basis of ceramic style changes. The proposed se-q,uence has not been confirmed by reanalysis and salvage. It is ciea'r that minimal geographic variations exist within the "Whittlesey" ceramic assemblage present at all of these sites. The majority of the ceramic variations between components can be attributed to temporal differences, e By extending these ceramic phases to northeastern Ohio it be- ,
came possible to develop a diachronic model of settlement systems oper--
ating in this area between A.A. 900 and A.D. 1500.
' During the early period ( A.D. 900 - A.D. 1300) small agricultural villages were established in the early summer both in the interior drain-age basin uplands and along the Lake Erie Coastal Plain. These villages were occupied until the autumn harvest when a number of somewhat smaller
- camps were established on the coastal plain for the collection of migra-tory waterfowl and fall-spawning fish. .During winter those camps appear to have been abandoned and very small nuclear or extended . family hunting camps were established in the interior" uplands or on the ridges adjoining the lake plain. Maximum population aggregates seem to reoccur with the establishment of small fishing villages on the coast in the early spring.
Agriculture seems of minimal importance throughout the seasonal cycle.
l The economic adaptation could be _ easily characterized as diffuse.
The second period (A.D. 1250-1450) represents a - shif t to a great-er reliance on agriculture and a reduction in seasonal movemw?. Agri-
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./cultura$ villages are established both on the coastal plain and in the a
interior uplands, and are occupied from late spring through autumn. They I i
_ appear to have been surrounded by small special purpose ' camps for both l
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hunting and collecting. Fall through spring occupations seem to cluster
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at lake-side villages where fish and some waterfowl were obtained. Hunt-ing parties from these coastal villages established small short-duration campsites in upriver locations throughout this portion of the year.
-- The. third and final period ( A.D. 1400-1600) corresponds to the
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establishme'nt of year-round occupation at large generally fortified a
' agricultural villages in the interior uplands bordering major river valleys , 'These villages are associated with numerous hunting and butch-ering" stations along the valleys , and further into the interfluvial pla-teau region. These small camps (some of which are fortified) represent 4
predominantly summer or winter occupations. No major villages exist on the coastal plain during this period: Lake-side occupations are represenQed' only by small campsites occupied in the autumn and/or spring for the collection of fish and/or migratory waterfowl.
In order to test the validity of this archaeological model' a number of further excavations and surveys have been carried out.
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j During 1967 and 1968 James L. Murphy excavated the hyman site on the Grand River, and Fairport Harbor, and South Park for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. In 1969 Fel V. Brunett conductcd a series of j test excavations at the South Park site for the Cleveland Museum of Natur-al History under the supervision of David Brose. During the summer of 1970, with the support of a National Science Foundation Grant (GS-3062) Brose l
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directed extensive excavations at the South Park and Greenwood Village sites. During the Fall of that year several other components were test-ed in the Northeastern Ohio region and the following spring a number of additional siths were located. W'ith ~the support of another grant from the National Science Foundation (GS-28985) the summers of 1971 and 1972 were spent in a systematic archaeological survey (stratified by ecological, parameters 5 investigating the settlement pattern of the Late Prehistoric period in northeastern Ohio. In addition a number of i.he sites previous-ly excavated by Greenman and subsequently tested by Murphy, were retest-ed. To a large extent the summary presented here is based on the results of the 1970-71 years ' effort.
The 1972 season was devoted to a statistically valid archaeolog-ical survey of the interfluvial plateau, the headwaters of the Ohio-Mississippi system in Northeastern Ohio, and the minor and secondary stream valleys. No new site types recovered were assignable to the post-Middle Woodland Period. Small seasonal agricultural villages were located at stream junctures on secondary drainage systems within the Numerous additional seasonal hunting camps were alluvial floodplains.
located in the poorly dissected regions of the interfluvial plateau.
Along the minor recent streans draining directly into Lake Erie a number of very small seasonal camps or mini-villages were located.- Most of these seemed to represent specialized extractive activities although in the headwaters of the south flowing streams several small seasonal agricultur-al sites were located. Within the PNNP test area several fragments of chipped stone tools and charred fish bone were found associated with 4
ceramic sherds. These archaeological materials were eroding from the sandy river bank along the northeastern margin of the PNNP area. Sub-sequent testing suggested a small fishing camp had existed at about A.D.1100 but had been almost entirely lost by shortline erosion. In addition, s relatively large spring / fall fishing camp pertaining to Phase II/III Whittlesey was located and tested along the lakeshore at Camp Roosevelt, approximately 3.1 miles west of the PNNP area.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE Of PNNP AREA
, Following a series of telephone conversations with Mr. Steven Breslauer, Environmental Systems Group, N. V. S. Corporati:n, an informal meeting was arranged between Mr. Breslauer, Mr. Vyhnalek (representing the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company), and Dr. Brose. A t the meeting in April 1973 Dr. Brose outlined the archaeological nature of the PNNP area suggesting that most habitation in the area was clustered i
along the maj or rivers and at creeks on the .lakeshore. Small encampments I
of the early inhabitants dat the lakeshore with great frequency, occurring every mile or two. Larger villages are somewhat less common, appearing l
j every 15 miles or so. The presence of one of these larger communities near
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the PNPP to the west makes it highly unlikely that a similar village would be located at the PNPP. Additionally, the topography and soils at the PNPP render it very unlikely that an ancient burial ground would be present i at the site. Finally, the rate of erosion of the shoreline at the PNPP 1
has probably washed most of the shoreline remains into the lake. While l artifacts and other archaeological remains , representative of a small i
transient encampment, are probably present at the site, it is very un-l
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likely that the site contains any unique or major archaeological in-formation.. Nonetheless, it was Dr. Brose's recommendation that an 2
archaeological reconnaissance be made of the site 'to determine whether any remains of prior habitation can be identified and to investigate .
in detail the locations which have. been so identified.
Subsequently, Mr. Breslauer discussed this with CEI, and they agreed that it would remove any questions, no matter how slight, regard-l ing the archaeological importance of the site, and that it could make a
! modest contribution to an understanding of the archaeology of the area.
Accordingly , they authorized that the study be conducted as outlined.
Archaeological reconnaissance of the proposed nuclear power plant site at Perry, Ohio was conducted during a period of three weeks ,
l from May 22, 1973 to June 8, 1973 Five full wori.ing days were required to i comple'te the field survey with crews ranging from three to eight persens.
l l The area covered is about one-quarter section (160 acres ). It is pri-marily meadow and nursery-stock farmland although approximately 30 acres are second growth forest cover or domestic architective.
Witn the aid of an aerial photograph, the survey area was divided into smaller plots on the basis of ground cover (see Figure 1). Four i
j major types of ground cover, each dictating differenspsurvey techniques, were encountered in the area. Type A cover comprised all recently cul-tivated fields , currently planced in nursery crops. The wooded areas sur- i rounding cultivated fields were designated Type B. Type C areas were those covered by dense vegitation, on which direct observation of the ground surface was impossible. Type D included areas around occupied P
dwelling, yards and lawns, i
- The survey commenced on May 22, 1973, with a crew of eight.
. The first day was spent examining a large portion of .the open, culti-4 l vated fields , Area A1 on the map. These fields were surveyed unden i 2
optimal conditions : They were recently cultivated, and had'been washed by rain after cultivation. These conditions had the effect of leaving all hard materials such as stones, as well as cultural material such as chipped flint, pcttery or bene, in plain view of the surface. Survey technique consisted of walking the fields in passes ten to ' fifteen feet apart, examining material lef t on the surface for evidence of prehistor-ic occupation. Only one small concentration of cultural mateeial was discovered, and was the designated Site 1 material recovered including one complete example of a projectile point Fitting (1964) has called the Lake Erie Bifurcate-Based type (see' plate, right). Although this point type has not been found in dated archaeological context in northeastern Ohio, similar points have been recovered at the St. Albans site near the mouth of the Kanawha River in West Virginia (Broyles 1971). Radio-carbca dates from that site would suggest a date of from 5000 B.C. for i
the lake Erie Bifurcate-Based point. Other material found with the point
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included two other bifacially chipped flint tools (see plate, lef t),
- neither of which was complete enough for identification, several flint-chips, one of which showed edge modification and wear suggestive of use as a scraper, and three fragments of. deer bone.
The material recovered suggests that this site represents a short-term hunting and butchering camp, occupied sometime between 5000 B.C. and 3000 B.C, by a small group of hunters bearing a culture -
referred c: as Middle Archaic. An examination of the aerial photograph revealed the presence of a small intermittent stream or spring in this location, suggesting a reason for selection of this site by the archaic hunters. Little more may be said of these people, as little is known about them. The bifurtate-based projectile points occur scattered over a wide area , and rarely in larger numbers , suggesting a semi-nomadic hunting and gathering subsistence-settlement base.
A second area examined on this was Area C , the land border-ing a small stream in the southwest corner of the survey area. Here survey technique ccnsis ted of examining the stream banis for material being wash-ed out, checking areas of exposed soil, and the excavation of test pits on the higher ground above the stream. N a evidence of prehis toric occupation was encountered in this area.
Weather again permitted field work on May 31, 1973 On that day a crew of four finished the examination of cultivated fields , Area A 2' continuing the technique of direct surface observation in passes ten to fif teen feet apart. No further material of archaeological interest was encountered in this area.
On June 1,1973 a crew of three surveyed the wooded areas on the perimeter of the proposed plant site, Areas B and B . 2 The first part of this area examined was the land adjacent to the streams ficwing through the woods , and the lake front. This was perhaps the most likely type of location for prehistoric occupations. It was tested both by direct ob-servation of the ground surface where possible, and by the excavation of three-by-three foot test units where vegetation was dense. Erosion by the
lake and streams was heavy in this area , and it is likely that any occu-pations that may have been present are now destroyed. One small concen-tration of chipped flint was discovered in this area, and designated Site2*
It consisted of several unmodified flint chips , limited to a four foot area , at the edge of the stream channel. Three test units were excavated in the area of the concentration, with negative results. The concentration probably represents the efforts of a small group of hunters who stopped to make or resharpen a flint tool of some sort.
The remainder of the wooded area , that away from water, was found to be subject to sheet erosion, probably the result of water run-off from the adjacent cultivated fields, Ground cover was extremely sparse , making possible direct observation of the surface. The wooded area was theref ore examined in fifteen foot passes by surface collection. No evidence of pre-his toric use of this area was , encountered.
On June 5,197?, test excavations were made as a means of survey-ing those areas of the site on which ground vegetation was too dense to permit direct observation of the surface, Area C2 and C 3, The three-by-three foot units were excavated by shovel, and all of the soil was picked through with trowels or screening to remove any possible cultural material.
Each unit was excavated through the plowing level, which varied in depth from 0.7' to 1.3', down into the underlying yellow clay Wisconsin till (see profile drawing). A total of fif teen such test units were excavated, all with negative resulte.
A series of test units was also made in the area designated site 1.
That these units produced no cultural material supports the inference that
this is a very short term hunting occupation, and further suggests that the site has already been destroyed by plowing.
Further survey was conducted in the areas designated Dy and D2-Here the technique used was one of seeking out areas of exposed soil, and surface collecting these. Standard surface collection was also em-ployed in the field adjacent to the plant site, Area A3 which is to oe used for dumping fill. No evidence of prebtee,ric occupation sas en-countered in any of these areas.
The survey was completed on June d, 1973, Much of .ne time spent that day was devoted to demonstratir.g the techniques used in the survey for an NUS photographer. Another test excavation was made in the area of.
site 1, again with negative results. Furtner, the site area was subject-ed to four lines of soil resistivity survey. This technique consists of passing a small electric current through the soil between two probes , and measuring the resistence of the soil. Dif ferential soil mois ture content, which of ten is the result of prehistoric use of the land, results in a corresponding differential soil resistence. In this case , however , no significant difference's in soil resistivity were encountered , f anfirming the conclusion tnat any further evidence of this occupation has been de-l stroyed by plowing.
CONCLUSION The area of the proposed CEI Perry Nuclear Power Plant has been subjected to a thorough professicnal archaeological reconnaissance. Anal-yses of previous archaeological work in the region lead to the hypothesis
that little, if any, evidence for significant prehistoric occupation would be encountered in the test area. The analysis of both black and white and infra-red aerial photographs (provided by Kuchera Associates , Inc. ) indi-cated nothing to altcr this hypothesis. During late May and early June of 1973 field investigation of the area was carried out by crews from the Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, under the supervision of Alfred M. Lee. Stratified surface samples and statistically determined test excava tions were carried out. Finally earth resistivity survey was implemented to determine the presence of sub-surface features.
Field investigation revealed that the PNNP area was occupiec by only a small transient hunting camp some time during the Archiac Period. This component been fully analyzed.
The probability of earlier, more deeply buried occupation in the test area is extremely 1 w. Nonetheless , if such a prehistoric compcnent exists it may not be locatable by any limited archaeological testing, For that reason the Case Wes tern Reserve University field crews will again visit the site when significant earth-moving operations begin. Furthermore, should any such prehistoric occupation be encountered during the course of site construction all material and contextual informacion will be salvaged upon notification.
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Chart 1 Prehistoric-historic Phases of Northern Ohio Recene pos t-AD 1840 Pioneer AD 1640-1040 Late Woodland-Mississippian AD 800-1640 Early-Middle Woodland 1000 BC-AD 800 Archaic G000-1000 BC PaleoIndian 12,000-6000 BC i
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