1 PREHISTORY OF CANAAN VALLEY: AN ECOLOGICAL VIEW ...

Archaeological Site
The distribution of archeological sites throughout the Canaan Valley region suggests an
interesting pattern (Fig. 3). Multiple sites have been found in major valleys along the
Cheat, Tygart Valley, and South Branch Potomac rivers. In contrast, the upland areas
have yielded fewer prehistoric sites.
To illustrate the diversity of prehistoric land uses in the Mid-Atlantic highlands, I
summarize the findings at four archeological areas:
1. The Cheat River area is a series of 31 sites along 55 km of the Cheat River, 20
km west of Canaan Valley (Jensen 1970). Although this area has yielded no
evidence of Paleo-Indians, two fluted points have been found in neighboring
Preston County. The earliest evidence of humans in this area is within Horseshoe
Bend at 8,200 YBP. The area was next occupied at 7,500 YBP, possibly by
nomadic hunting families. The area's projectile points suggest immigration from,
or trade with, the South. Woodland signs include stone burial mounds and
limestone tempered pottery. These people lived in small villages with an economy
based on hunting and corn-beans-squash agriculture. The important Seneca Trail
crossed the Cheat River at Horseshoe Bend (Fig. 2).
During 1,000-400 YBP, people of the Monongahela culture lived here in
fortified villages, hunted with small triangular points that were probably propelled
by bow and arrow, and practiced sophisticated horticulture. By 300 YBP, the
Cheat River area was empty of people.
2. The Burnsville Reservoir area, composed of 23 sites along 16 km of the Little
Kanawha River, is 110 km southwest of Canaan Valley (Broyles et al. 1975,
Fitzgibbons et al. 1979). Even though it was occupied from 10,500 YBP to the
early 17th century, and is located in wide valley areas with tributaries and
terraces, it appears that no site was more than a seasonal camp or bivouac. Some
sites served for lithic reduction (crafting a tool from a raw stone). The artifact
assemblage reflects affinities with the Carolina piedmont and upstate New York.
3. Three Tygart Valley sites, located on the western slope of Cheat Mountain 45 km
southwest of Canaan Valley, reveal prehistoric lithic technologies.
At the Files Run Quarry site, the Greenbrier Formation features exposed
nodules of chert, a stone that local people began using in the Early Archaic
(Lesser 1988). Although Greenbrier chert is only fair to mediocre in its knapping
qualities, it may have been the best stone available locally. The site's debitage
assemblage indicates intense or long-term activity. Nodules were collected or
extracted, then moved to a reduction station below and adjacent to the quarry, as
well as to another reduction station 4 km southwest of the quarry.
Multicomponent sites within 9.5 km have also yielded Greenbrier chert points.
The Limekiln Run site, located on a sandstone bench less than 100 m below
an outcrop of Greenbrier limestone, served as a reduction and manufacturing
station (Brashler and Lesser 1985). Artifacts suggest the chert was extracted and
moved below to be reduced from raw material to tools.
The Hill site is a typical example of an Archaic settlement in the floodplains.
Most of its debitage consists of Greenbrier chert (Lesser 1986).
4. A new Canaan Valley site is situated on the east side of West Virginia Route 32
in the Valley, on a small knoll near a spring at an elevation of 985 m (Traver et al.
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