KOBS SITE

Riv.Bas.Sur.

Pap. No. 4]

ADDICKS

BASIN

— ^WHEAT 177

178

tationbeing345°.

As

ⁱⁿthe

Doering

site, agridsystemof 1 m. (3.28 feet) squares

was

staked off,

and

excavation

was by

arbitrary levels of 15cm. (0.49 foot). Allthe material

was

screened

and

theartifacts weresegregated

by

square

and

level. Profilesestablished

by

usingan architect's telescopic level

and

target rod

were

plotted

on

standard

graph

paper,

and from

this a contour

map was

prepared (fig. 14).

Depth was measured from

thesurfacelevelof the designator stake for eachsquare.

The uppermost

stratum of the site consists of sandy

midden

soil, I

lighttanin color,

and

varyingin thickness

from

a

few

centimeters at ⁱ the center of the site to

some

30 cm. (0.98 foot) about the perimeter

(fig.15).

While

thecolor

may

reflect,in part,aweatheringout of the organicstains

common

to

human

occupation, it is probablethat occu- pation

was

not constant, and, furthermore, that

some

of the sand

is the result of aggradation

by

natural agencies.

Below

the light- colored sandy layer is a stratum of dark, sandy

midden

deposit to a f

maximum

depth of 75cm. (2.46 feet). This deposit fans out

toward

^• the perimeter of the site. Since this stratum produced the largest ^;

number

of artifacts

and

animal bones, it seems likely that this zone _>

marks

theperiod of densest occupation.

Conformably

underlying the

midden

properis a knoll of

unknown

depth

composed

of very light-colored, water-laid sand.

As

in the Doering site, the precise transition

from

the knoll to the overlying

midden

deposit is

masked by

theblending ofthesand

composing

the knoll with the lower part of the midden.

Although

artifacts occur but infrequently in this stratum, they nevertheless indicate limited occupation of the site during a period

when

the knoll

was

still

aggrading.

Artifacts

from

the

Kobs

sitewere

most numerous

inthedark mid- den zone.

The

majorityoftheprojectilepoints in thisstratum

were

PerdizPointed Stem,

Alba

Barbed,

and Eddy and

Scalhoni

Stemmed.

At

the base of the

midden

deposit these

were

of about equal occur- rencewith

Gary Stemmed

^points, indicating that the transition

from

the use of the large pointstothe smaller ones

was

already wellunder way. Pottery occurred frequentlyin this layer.

All theproje<;tilepoints

from

thesandknoll arelarge,themajority being

Gary Stemmed

^{points. Pottery}

was

quite rarein this stratum.

Inthe

upper

part of the knollseveralsherds of aTchefuncte

Stamped

pottery jar were found,giving us one of our

most

important chrono- logical clues

and

affording a tentative cross-dating with the early Tchefuncteculturesof the

Lower

Mississippi Valley.

Three

burials were

found

in the

Kobs

site.

Two

of these were flexed, while the third

was

semiflexed.

Two

were buried in pits

dug

intothe sand knoll, easily recognizedbecause of the dark

midden

fill.

Rlv.Bas. Sur.

P;il>.No.4] ADDICKS BASIN

— ^WHEAT 179

fI

i

OF

AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

[Bull.154

Figure

16—

^Burials, Kobs site (42/66A6-3). A. Burial S. B, Burial 6. C, Burial 7.

pS.N^o^.'4T'^'

ADDICKS

basin

WHEAT 181 The

thirdburialprobably

was

alsointerred inapit, but inasmuch ^as there

was no

penetrationinto the whitesand of theknoll,

none

could be defined. Burial

numbers

were continued serially

from

those of the

Doering

site.

BurialNo.5 (fig. 16,a):

Location:9N/7W.

Depth:72cm. (2.36 feet) to skull.

Matrix:Middenfill inovalpit 85cm. (2.78 feet) longandofindeterminate width and depth. Pit well defined on south side by contrast of middenmaterial withwhite sandoftheknoll.

Position: Flexed on back; head oriented to southwest, facing southeast.

Arms: Right arm tightly folded against itself, hand to chin; left arm

foldedalongsidechest,handto left shoulder.

Legs:Thelegs werepulled closeto and ontop ofbody with lowerlegs rotated medially so that the feet crossed each other above the pelvis.

Age:Adult.

8eip: Female.

Associated Objects: Halfof a small turtle shellwith a few pebblesbeneath

it,found ontop of thechest,

may

have beenarattle.

Remarks: Bone condition fair; some breakage due to groundpressure.

BurialNo.6 (fig. 16,6)

:

Location: 11N/7W-12N/7W-11N/8W-12N/8W, center of burial pit almost directlyunder designatorstake forsquare12N/8W.

Depth:70cm. (2.29 feet) to skull.

Matrix: Midden fill in elongated oval pit, 120 cm. (3.93 feet) long, 67 cm.

(2.19 feet) wide, 40 cm. (1.31 feet) deep, excavated from midden intowhite sandofknoll.

Position:Semiflexedonright side; headorientedtosoutheast,facing north- east.

Arms: Upper ^right arm across chest to front of body,lower arm and hand missing; left arm folded alongside body, hand to left shoulder.

Legs: Upper legs form approximately a 140° angle with the body, the lowerlegsfolded tightly againstthem.

Age:Adult.

Sex: Female.

AssociatedObjects:None.

Remarks:

A

number of bones were missing, including the left and right radii, left ulna,thelower vertebrae, pelvis,hand and foot bones, and mostof the ribs. Thelegbones were separatedfrom theupper body by a distance much greater than normal. This, together with the number of missing bones, suggests the possibility that the body was partly decomposedbefore burialand that someattemptat rearticula- tionhad beenmade.

BurialNo.7(fig. 16,c)

:

Location:10N/9W.

Depth: 40 cm. (1.31feet) to skull.

Matrix:Middenfill.

182 BUREAU

OF

AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

[Bull.154 Position:Flexed onleftside, almost on itsback^; head oriented north-north-

east,facing southeast.

Arms: Right arm folded along side, hand (missing) between right shoulder and chin^; left arm tightly folded beneath the left leg,

handunderleft side offace.

Legs: Pulledcloseto chest, feet atpelvis.

Age: Adult.

Sex: Male.

Associated Objects:None.

Remarks: Best preserved skeleton from the site. No burial pit visible be- causeofhomogeneityofmiddenearth.

THE GRISBEE

SITE (42/66A3-1)

The

Grisbeesiteislocated atthenorth

end

of a

westward meander

of

Langham

Creek about 150

m.

(492.12 feet) south of its junction with

Horsepen

Creek (fig.5)^.

At

thesouth endof themeander, pot- sherds, lithic artifacts,

and

other

camp

debris are eroding

from

a stratum about 10 cm. (0.32 foot) inthickness underlying

an

average 20 cm. (0.75 foot) of alluvial fill.

The

area

encompassed by

the

meander

supportsa cover of small pinetrees,

many

of

them

of second growth.

Along

the stream are oaks

and

other

hardwood

trees, as well aswillows

and

a

few

larger pines.

Approximately

20 m. (65.61 feet) abovethesite

an

intermittent contributaryjoinsthe

main

channel of

Langham

Creek

from

the northeast.

The

siteconsistsof a

midden

deposit90 cm. (2.95 feet) thick over- lying a kidney-shaped knoll

which

parallels the

bend

of the stream onthe southeast

bank

asitturnsintothe

westward meander

(fig. 17)

FiGURE 17.—Sketch map, Grisbee site (42/66A3-1), showing test pit.

Kiv.Bas.Sill

Pap. No.4] ADDICKS BASIN

WHEAT

18^

The

siteis 15

m.

(49.21 feet) across its northeast-southwest axis

and

27 m. (88.58 feet) across its northwest-southeast axis.

The

north- eastern

end

rises sharply to approximately 45 cm. (1.47 feet) above the flood plain

and

the

midden

slopes gently to the south

and

west.

The

^site is undergoing

some

lateral erosion

on

the edge next to the creek in the

form

of a miniature

guUey

cutting

headward

into the central portion of the midden.

The

remainder of the surface is sta- bilized by an

undergrowth

of thorny vines

and

low bushes.

Three

large oak trees are

growing

on the lower slopes of the midden.

A

stratigraphic test pit 1.20 m. (3.93 feet) square

was

excavated

by

15 cm. (0.49 foot) arbitrary levels, approximately in the center of the

midden

(fig. 18).

From

the surface to a depth of 15 cm.

(0.49 foot)

was

an indurated crust oftopsoil

and

sparse

midden

de- posit, compacted, perhaps,

by

the pressure of the hooves of grazing cattle (fig. 16, h).

Below

this crust the

midden

earth

was

cohesive.

6

12 18

24 30 36

15

30 45 60 75 90

o 3

Indurated Crust

Midder)

Deposit

Sterile Clay Unexcavated

Figure 18.

—

Stratigraphicsection,Grisbeesite(42/66A3-1).

From

45to75cm. (1.47 to 2.46 feet) the organiccontent of the deposit greatly increased,

making

it

more

friable

and

perceptibly darker in color.

Most

of theartifactsobtainedat this site

come from

thislevel,

which

probabl}^ represents the period of heaviest occupation.

Below

this levelthe

midden

continued to atotal depth of 90cm. (2.95 feet)

where

itrestedconformably

upon

thesterileclay

composing

theknoll.

The uppermost

60 cm. (1.96 feet) of the deposit contained Perdiz Pointed

Stem and

other upper level types, as well as a few

Gary

Stemmed

projectile points.

Below

this level only the larger points were found. Potsherds occurred in all levels of the

midden

but were infrequentin level75-90.

One

sherd

from

thebase ofa flat-bottomed vessel

and two

small rodlike pieces of pottery that

may

have been limbs of potteryfigurineswere unusualfinds in thissite.