Appendix H - Historical Archaeological and ... - CBP.gov

typically located on high terrain near major rivers and streams and on knolls near ponds,
wetlands, and lakes (Prufer, 2001:188-189). The oldest known burial/mortuary sites in Ohio date
to the Late Archaic and include Missionary Island in the northwest part of the state (Stothers et
al., 2001:244, 264-265).
Transitional / Terminal Archaic
In the Northeast, the Transitional/Terminal Archaic is defined as the time before the adoption of
clay vessel technology during which people were making stone containers, which were primarily
made from soft soapstone/steatite (Ritchie, 1980:150; Ritchie and Funk, 1973:71; Tuck,
1978:37). Obviously the timing of these developments varied from one part of the study area to
another, but typically-used dates fall in the range of ca. 3,700 B.P. to 2,700 B.P. The definitional
basis for this time period is highly problematic since recent research has demonstrated that
contexts with early ceramic vessels temporally overlap with those that have steatite containers
entirely (Hoffman, 1998; see Ritchie, 1980:157). In much of northern Ohio, the time period is
usually integrated into the Late Archaic (Prufer, 2001; Stothers et al., 2001).
Besides the soapstone containers, the Transitional Archaic in Ohio is associated with a series of
Susquehanna tradition broad-headed stone spear points (Funk, 1983:331; Trubowitz and
Snethkamp, 1975:19; Witthoft, 1971; some researchers associate Genesee and Snook Kill points
with the broad point tradition (Funk, 1983:331; 1993:224; Stothers et al., 2001:238). Examples
of these projectile points in northern Ohio include: Susquehanna Broad, Perkiomen Broad;
Ashtabula; ‘Turkey-tail’; and Adder Orchard points (Justice, 1995:167-170; Ritchie, 1971;
Stothers et al., 2001:238). In the northwestern part of the state, broad-headed points were
succeeded by a series of small projectile points (the Late Archaic Small Point Horizon) in the
latter years of the Late (Terminal) Archaic that include types such as Innes, Crawford Knoll,
Trimble Side-Notched, and Merom Expanding-Stem (Stothers et al., 2001:238; Justice,
1995:130-132). Besides projectile points, other typical Transitional Archaic artifacts include:
chipped stone scrapers, drills, and gravers (many of which have bases similar to Susquehanna
tradition projectile points, suggesting expedient reuse); possible ‘strike-a-lights’; netsinkers
manufactured from pebbles; hammerstones; rectangular shale gorgets; ‘cupstones’; adzes; and
anvils (Ritchie, 1980:151, 159).
In parts of the Northeast, Transitional Archaic sites typically “occupy a riverine setting, never far
from the main stream” and are typically small or “occur as superimposed components marking a
succession of temporary sojourning places by the same group” (Ritchie, 1980:157; see also
Tuck, 1978:37). The presence of netsinkers on some sites suggests that fishing was a prominent
element of subsistence (Ritchie, 1980:151, 157-159; Ritchie and Funk, 1973:72). Transitional
Archaic sites in western New York have been found in a variety of ecological settings, including
glacial uplands, terraces, and river floodplains (Trubowitz and Snethkamp, 1975:20).
People inhabiting Ohio in the final years of the Archaic were participating in the earliest known
of a series of practices relating to elaborate burial treatment of the deceased that included
interments in mounds and the presence of exotic grave goods, the “Glacial Kame culture” (Abel
and Fuerst, 1999:16; Tuck, 1978:39). As the name suggests these burials were placed in natural
gravel knolls. They include items such as distinctive “sandal sole shell gorgets,” rectangular
shell gorgets, rolled copper beads, shell beads, copper adzes, projectile points, leather fragments,
and pieces of galena (Funk, 1983:334; Griffin, 1983:253; Ritchie, 1980:133-134). Some of these
Northern Border Activities H-35 July 2012