A 2200.7 c.

R434s

no. 42 ' 2001

ARCHEOLOGICAL

SURVEY OF THE SALT FORK OF

THE ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN IN NORTH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

BY RICHARD R. DRASS WITH A CONTRIBUTION SUSAN C. VEHIK BY

The University of Oklahoma Oklahoma Archeological Archeological Survey

Resource Survey Report No. 42

2001

Cover shows buried cultural deposits at GT31 and artifacts from various sites in the survey area.

This publication, printed by the Oklahoma Geological Survey, is issued by the University of Oklahoma and is authorized by the Director of the Oklahoma Archeological Survey. One hundred copies of this publication were prepared at a cost of $532.00 to the taxpayers of the State of Oklahoma.

ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE SALT FORK OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN IN NORTH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

RICHARD R. DRASS WITH A CONTRIBUTION SUSAN C. VEHIK BY

The University of Oklahoma Oklahoma Archeological Survey Archeological Resource Survey Report No. 42

2001

Oklahoma Archeological Survey 111 E. Chesapeake Norman, Oklahoma 73019-0575

Copyright 2001 by Oklahoma Archeological Survey Norman, Oklahoma 73019

II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project was possible through the assistance of many people especially the landowners in Grant and Kay counties who gave us permission to survey on their land. The project was undertaken with funding provided by the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, the National Park Service, and the Oklahoma Archeological Survey at the University of Oklahoma. Scott Brosowske assisted with most survey work and some of the analysis. Students, Casey Carmichael, Jessie Ballenger, and Robert Stokes, helped at various times during the fieldwork. A special thanks goes to three volunteers. Charles Sanders, Mick Sullivan, and Mary Ann Drass, who helped with the survey of several locations in the study area.

III

ABSTRACT A pedestrian survey of portions of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin in Grant and Kay counties was undertaken in the winter and spring of 1999/2000. The project examined 4.1 square miles (2622 acres) documenting 40 occupations at 36 sites. The survey included settings along Salt Fork terraces, terraces along several tributaries, and upland settings near the river and smaller streams. Research centered on the river basin in western Kay and eastern Grant counties. areas that had very little previous archeological work. The project was designed to provide a preliminary evaluation of the number and types of archeological resources in the central Salt Fork basin and present recommendations for determining the National Register potential of the sites. Information from the survey was not sufficient to determine the eligibility of any site for the National Register and testing is recommended for many of the sites to determine their significance. Twenty-seven prehistoric occupations have been identified and these range in age from Middle Archaic. Calf Creek, to Late Prehistoric. Late Archaic/Woodland and Late Prehistoric camps or base camps appear to be most common, but other sites may be deeply buried on stream terraces. Buried soils were noted throughout the study area and one cultural deposit buried about 3 meters was dated to the Late Prehistoric period. Prehistoric people of this area relied heavily on Florence-A cherts found in the Arkansas River area to the east. The somewhat low density of artifacts at most sites and the relatively high proportion of tools to debris may indicate that groups from the Arkansas River basin were using this area seasonally or periodically rather than establishing long-term camps and villages. This suggestion, however, needs further research to evaluate. Historic sites consist of 13 farmsteads and 1 cemetery, most dating to the period after homesteading, after 1893, and many farmhouses were probably abandoned by 1950. One historic site and a dugout may indicate earlier historic activity. but the few recovered artifacts were not sufficient to accurately date the occupations. Many of the farmsteads are destroyed or heavily disturbed by farming activities. In contrast, many of the prehistoric sites appear to be in good condition and some may be buried with very little disturbance from modern activities.

IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES INTRODUCTION Environmental Setting Geology and Physiography Soils Climate Flora and Fauna Paleoenvironment Cultural Setting Paleoindian Archaic Plains Woodland or Early Ceramic Late Prehistoric or Middle Ceramic Proto historic or Late Ceramic Historic RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGy Methodology SURVEY FINDINGS Historic Sites in the Middle Salt Fork Basin Prehistoric Sites in the Middle Salt Fork Basin Village/Base Camps Base Camps Camps Isolated Finds Chronology and Site Distribution Archaic/Woodland Late Prehistoric Summary Lithic Material Use in the Middle Salt Fork Basin Prehistoric Use of Florence-A Chert in the Salt Creek and Salt Fork Valleys, by Susan C. Vehik Introduction
v

iii iv viii x 1 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 13 17 20 24 26 28 30 35 35 37 42 44 44 45 45 45 47 48 48 53 53

Theoretical Considerations Archaic Period Woodland Period Late Prehistoric Period Florence-A Chert Usage in the Salt Creek Valley Late Archaic Period Woodland I Period Woodland IIIIl1 Period Late Prehistoric Period Florence-A Chert Usage in the Salt Fork Valley Archaic Period Woodland IIIIII Period Late Prehistoric Period Discussion Conclusions Theoretical Culture-Historical General Summary of Survey Findings SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES

56 57 57 60 64 64 65 66 66 66 67 67 67 68 70 70 71 71 71 73 78

APPENDIX A, DESCRIPTIONS OF SITES AND ISOLATED FINDS RECORDED DURING THE SALT FORK OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER SURVEy 90 GT3-Porter 90 GT4-Hobbs 98 GT5-Spoon 99 GT8 102 GT9-Stalker. 105 GT31-Tebow Cut 108 GT32-Frank Kirby 112 GT33- Whitehead 114 GT34-Porter House 116 GT35-Kirby House 116 GT36-Mary Ann Smith 117 GT37-Tebow #2 118 GT38-Johnston Store 120 GT39-Friends Cemetery 120 GT40-Breckenridge 121 GT41-Zeloudek Historic 122 GT42-Joe Reynolds Historic 122
VI

GT43-Breckenridge Historic GT44-McGimmsey Historic KA160 KA402- Tautfest KA403-Pump House Site KA404-Possum Site KA405-Gary Wood KA406-Walker KA407-Wood Dugout KA408-Wood #2 KA409-Wood Garden KA410-Young#1 KA411-Young #2 KA412-Young#3 KA413-Young#4 KA414-Young #5 KA415- Young Historic KA416-Stafford Historic KA417-Fruit Historic Isolated Finds GTO/2-Mueggy IF#2 GTO/3-Kirby IF#1 GTO/4-Whitehead IF#2 GTO/5-Kirby IF#2 GTO/6-Hobbs IF#1 GTOI7-Dowell IF#1 GTO/8-Tebow IF#I GTO/9-Knife IF#1 GTOIlO-Whitehead IF#I GTOIlI-Mueggy IF#1 GTOll2-Mueggy IF#3 GTOll3-Breckenridge IF#1 GT01I4-Hobbs IF#2 GTO/15-Zeloudek IF#l KAO/34-Stafford IF# 1 KAO/35-Woods IF#1 KAO/36-YoungIF#I KAO/37-Young IF#2 KAO/38-Young IF#3

] 23 123 124 124 125 125 126 127 127 128 128 129 131 132 132 134 134 135 135 136 136 136 137 137 137 137 137 138 138 138 139 139 140 140 140 141 141 141 141

vii

LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1: Map of the Project Area along the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River Basin ... 2 FIGURE 2: Salt Fork of the Arkansas River Basin in Northern Oklahoma FIGURE 3: Plains Village Sites and Complexes FIGURE 4: Surveyed Areas in the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River Basin FIGURE 5: Salt Fork of the Arkansas River Research Area 2 21 31 54

FIGURE 6 Surface Geology of North-Central Oklahoma and South-Central Kansas ... 55 FIGURE 7: Artifacts Collected from GT3; a) Williams Point Base, b) Modified Flake Scraper, c) End Scraper, and d) Arrow Point Fragment 91 FIGURE 8: Cordmarked Rim Sherds from Patterson Collection at 34GT3 FIGURE 9: Rim Profiles for Pottery from GT3A 94 95

FIGURE 10: Smoothed Rim Sherds and Repair Holes in Cordmarked Sherds from Patterson Collection at GT3A 96 FIGURE 11: Point Fragment from GT4B 99

FIGURE 12: Artifacts Found at GT5, a) Fresno Point Fragment, b) End Scraper Fragment. c) End Scraper, and d) Scraper/Knife 102 FIGURE 13: Part of Patterson Collection from GT8 104

FIGURE 14: Points Found at GT8, a) Fresno, b & c) Scallorn, and d) Calf Creek Barb ....................................................................................................... 104 FIGURE 15: Topographic Map ofGT9 and Grid Map of Excavations in Area B 106

FIGURE 16: GT9 Artifacts. Manos and Grooved Axe from the Reynolds Collection; Arrow Points from Grid B excavations; and Sherds from Grid B.. . .. .. .. .. ... .. ... . ... .. .. . ... ... 107 FIGURE 17: Exposed Bank of Terrace at GT31 with Bone and Flakes at Base of Cut 109 FIGURE 18: Profile of Exposed Bank at GT31 110

VIII

FIGURE 19: Scrapers from GT31 FIGURE 20: Coring Truck at GT32

112 113

FIGURE 21: Artifacts from GT32 and GT33. a) Mano, GT32, b) Fresno Point Fragment, GT32, and c) Knife Fragment, GT33 115 FIGURE 22: Looking Southeast at Terrace and GT36 FIGURE 23: Projectile Points and an End Scraper Fragment from GT36 FIGURE 24: Scraper from GT37 FIGURE 25: Biface and Drill Fragments Found at KA405 FIGURE 26: Artifacts from KA410 FIGURE 27: Scraper from KA411 FIGURE 28: Sherd from KA412 FIGURE 29: Morhiss-like Point from KA413 FIGURE 30: Beveled Knife Fragment and Bullet from GTO/9 FIGURE 31: Biface knife from GTOlll. 118 119 119 127 130 131 132 133 138 139

ix

LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1: Previously Reported Sites in the Salt Fork Study Area TABLE 2: Attributes of Historic Sites in the Salt Fork Survey Area TABLE 3: Attributes of Prehistoric Sites in the Salt Fork Survey Area 8 36 38

TABLE 4: Chipped Stone Tools Found during the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River Survey ........................................................................................................ 39 TABLE 5: Temper and thickness for cordmarked and smoothed pottery from Salt Fork sites 41 TABLE 6: Percentages of Lithic Material Types Found at Salt Fork Sites 50

TABLE 7: Counts of Lithic Materials for All Chipped Stone Found During the Salt Fork Survey 51 TABLE 8: Chipped Stone Items from the Patterson Collection at 34GT3A 52

TABLE 9: Florence-A Chert and Attributes by Time Period for Salt Creek and Salt Fork ........................................................................................................ 65 TABLE 10: Recommendations for Sites Examined during the Salt Fork Survey TABLE 11: Tool/Debitage Ratios for Salt Fork Sites TABLE 12: Pottery from Roy Patterson's Collection at 34GT3A TABLE 13: Chipped stone tools from the Patterson Collection at 34GT5 74 77 93 101

INTRODUCTION

This report summarizes the findings from the 1999/2000 archeological reconnaissance of select portions of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin in Grant and Kay counties. The project is part of the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service efforts to increase our record of cultural resources. The purpose of the survey is to provide an initial evaluation of the types of archeological resources and their distribution in the Salt Fork basin in north central Oklahoma. This information provides an initial assessment of the National Register eligibility of sites and will facilitate cultural resource management decisions in the state. The designated project area encompasses the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin in Kay and Grant counties (Figure 1). There are 147 recorded sites in the Salt Fork basin in these counties. plus one site each in nearby Garfield and Noble counties that are also within the basin. Most of these sites, however, are found in Kay County along tributaries of the Salt Fork. Much of the rest of the Salt Fork basin has never been intensively surveyed. A 1976 archeological survey included areas of the Salt Fork in western Grant County (Ferring et al. 1976). but this work did not locate any sites along this portion of the river. There has been limited investigation of 34GT9, a Woodland or Late Prehistoric camp near Pond Creek, but there is no published data on this site. Work in the Kaw Lake area of the Arkansas River basin just east of the study area has revealed sites ranging from Archaic to Plains Village, but Woodland and Archaic period camps are the most common. Prehistoric quarries for Florence-A chert are found just

east and north of Kaw Lake. Farther east in the Salt Creek valley investigations have revealed some Late Archaic camps, many Woodland base camps and villages, and Late Prehistoric base camps (Vehik 1985b). Little work has been done to the west in Alfalfa and Woods counties and the prehistoric occupation of the Salt Fork basin, and other stream basins, is poorly documented in those counties. Based on the distribution of known sites in the basin, the areas selected for field survey were confined to a smaller section of the basin. The project involved a sample survey, about four square miles, in portions of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin roughly between Tonkawa on the east and Nash near the Alfalfa/Grant county line on the west (Figure 1). Emphasis was on terraces and uplands bordering the Salt Fork and select tributaries close to the river. These locations in Grant and western Kay counties not only were poorly documented in the archeological record, but they also provided a cross section of settings (e.g. first and second river and tributary terraces, high river terraces, and ridges) to identify prehistoric site distributions in this region, The survey location is also about midway between the Great Salt Plains in Alfalfa County and the chert resources of the Flint Hills in eastern Kay and western Osage counties (Figure 2). The selected Salt Fork survey tracts permit evaluation of prehistoric site distributions west of the better-studied Arkansas River area, and, potentially, they could provide evidence to determine if different types of occupations occurred in

GRANT

CO.

KAY

CO.

"'ash

r----I

543210

10

15

I W L;H
SCAlE Of MILES

Figure 1: Map of the project area along the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin.

Turkty

"~

10

20

30 4O~:l

ec

Miles Kilometers

Figure 2: Salt Fork of the Arkansas River Basin in northern Oklahoma. these western prairie settings. The survey also could provide some information on the extent of the use of Florence-A chert west of the Flint Hills quarries and outcrops, a significant resource for prehistoric groups in north central Oklahoma. In general, the survey of the Salt
2

Fork of the Arkansas River basin in Grant and Kay counties provides a systematic sample of archeological resources and an initial evaluation of prehistoric use of this north central Oklahoma area.

~ I

ENVIRONMENTAL

SETTING

Geology and Physiography The Salt Fork of the Arkansas River flows from Kansas south and east entering Oklahoma in northern Woods County and emptying into the Arkansas River in eastern Kay County. This river drains 4755 square miles (12,315 square kilometers, not including the Chikaskia River and Bluff Creek) with 2549 square miles (6,602 square kilometers) in Oklahoma (Oklahoma Water Resources Board [OWRB] 1987). The Salt Fork cuts through the red Permian shales and sandstones of the Central Redbed Plains in Oklahoma, but parts of Alfalfa and Grant counties have large sand dune belts (the Western Sand Dune Belts) along the river (Curtis and Ham 1972). The most distinctive feature along the river is the Great Salt Plains in Alfalfa County. This natural concentration of salt was a major resource for various Indian groups and early settlers (see Ferring 1976). There are salt deposits along the river in Grant County but much less salt is found as you move east toward the confluence of the Arkansas and Salt Fork of the Arkansas rivers. The river, however, is considered too saline today to use as drinking water (Culver 1967:84). The Salt Fork flows through gently rolling plains with broad valleys. Most tributary streams dissect the upland hills in relatively small valleys. Principal tributaries of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River in the survey areas include Pond, Deer, Boggy, Crooked, Coldwater, and Wild Horse creeks. Of these only Coldwater and Wild Horse creeks enter from the south and they are both in western Grant County. Wild Horse Creek has Quaternary deposits of sand, gravel, and clay with both low terraces and a high terrace. This creek has flooded several times during the 20th century. Pond
3

Creek and Deer Creek are the principal drainages on the north side of the Salt Fork in the survey area. Pond Creek and its tributaries drain much of central and northern Grant County, and Deer Creek drains part of eastern Grant and western Kay counties. Both streams cut shallow valleys through gently rolling uplands. Pond Creek extends for miles across the higher terraces of the Salt Fork. In contrast, Deer Creek flows through mostly uplands before entering the Salt Fork terrace system only a couple of miles from its junction with the river. The bedrock formations in the study area consist of "flat-lying redbeds of clay shales, siltstone and fine-grained sandstones of Permian age" (OWRB 1987:3). Pleistocene terraces and sand dunes cover much of the bedrock near the river. The river currently flows on alluvium that may be 10 to 50 feet deep (Johnson 1980). In eastern Grant and western Kay counties the sand dunes decrease in frequency and appear to be more common on the north side of the Salt Fork. The dunes in western Grant County are typically stabilized by grass and brush, but some are active and sand from the flood plain is still blown onto the dunes and terraces. The uplands are gently rolling and cut by small streams. In Grant County, most of the small streams drain into the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River or into Bluff Creek or the Chikaskia River, which are also tributaries of the Salt Fork. Larger tributaries are predominantly north of the Salt Fork in Grant County. Some of these have well developed terraces, but streams in the sandy dune areas in the western portions have smaller bottoms that are often sand-clogged. Loamy and clayey terraces are present in eastern Grant and Kay counties, although sandy soils are frequently present near the Salt Fork.

Stone suitable for prehistoric tool manufacture is not common in the Salt Fork basin. Sandstones and limestones that could be used for grinding implements outcrop in some upland setting, but often these settings are some distance from the river and major streams. Some cherts and quartzites suitable for chipped stone tool manufacture are found locally, occurring in the survey area within the Pliocene Ogallala gravel outwash from the Rocky Mountains. These Ogallala gravels were created as a result of the uplifting of the Rocky Mountains 60-65 million years ago, which formed the Pliocene-aged plains of southern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas from clays, silts, sands, and gravels sloping off and eroding out of the Rockies. Subsequent erosional episodes and formation of major river drainages have spread these gravels southeast across Oklahoma (Banks 1984). Many of the unidentified cherts found at archeological sites. no doubt, are derived from these transplanted gravels (Banks 1990). In the surveyed areas, these unidentified cherts and Ogallala quartzite gravels are not abundant. and. generally, the cobbles are small with most smaller than fist size. Sand dunes near the river and larger streams may cover Ogallala gravels, even on some higher ridges and high terraces. Soils Soils in the study area have developed primarily from weathered sandstones and shales. or sandy, clayey, and loamy alluviums. Soil associations reflect surface soils, subsurface soils, and the unconsolidated, or parent material, in which the soils formed. The Grant and Kay County soil surveys use different terminology, but the principal soil associations in the surveyed areas can be compared. The Grant County Soil Survey is
4

the more recent and terms will be used from this source and compared with the Kay County data. Primarily two soil associations. McLain-Dale-Hawley (roughly equivalent to Kaw-Brewer-Reinach-Lela in Kay County) and Pond Creek-Bethany-Grant (equivalent to Norge-Vanoss in Kay County), are represented in the survey areas. The KirklandTabler association (= Kirkland-TablerBethany in Kay County) is common in the uplands of the study area, but it is not included in many surveyed settings. Almost none of the sandy/loamy dune settings along the Salt Fork in western Grant County were included in the survey. These sandy soils are found on the north side of the Salt Fork and make up only about 10% of the soils in Grant County. The McLain-Dale-Hawley association and its equivalent represent about 16-17% of the Grant and Kay County soils (Culver 1967; Williams et al. 1985). These soils are found on the nearly level flood plain terraces of the Salt Fork and major streams in the study area. The soils have a loamy surface layer and clayey or loamy subsoils. Terraces occasionally flood, but these soils are highly productive for farming (generally wheat and sorghums) and as pastures. The majority of the areas surveyed consist of soils in this association. The Pond Creek-Bethany-Grant association consists of well drained loamy soils on level to gently sloping high terraces and gently to steeply sloping uplands. These soils are generally adjacent to the McLain-DaleHawley association, but they are usually higher above and farther from the streams. This association makes up 16% of the soils in Grant County, and its equivalent is about 13% of the soils in Kay County (Culver 1967;

Williams et al. 1985). These soils are productive for wheat cultivation in level areas and they make good grass pastures in gently sloping areas. The majority of upland settings examined during the survey are composed of soils from this association with a few areas including Kirkland-Tabler association soils. Soils of the latter association are found on much of the broad upland plains in Grant and western Kay counties. The association covers a large area of the former upland prairies in these counties, representing 33-38% of the soils in the counties. These soils have a loamy surface layer and clayey subsoils. Small, often intermittent, streams drain the KirklandTabler association, and much of this association is outside of surveyed areas. Climate The Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin lies between two climatic zones, the warm summer temperate continental climatic zone on the north and the subtropical humid climatic zone to the south (OWSB 1987:4). Mild winters and warm summers characterize the area, but temperatures can change rapidly. The average daily temperature in Grant County is 59.8E F with winter temperatures averaging 38E and 81E in the summer. Daily temperatures can vary significantly with the coldest recorded temperature of -9E in January and the hottest recorded temperature of 115E in July (Williams et al. 1985 :2). Summer temperatures exceeding 100E Fare common. The growing season is about 195210 days with the last freeze in spring around April 5 and the first freeze in fall around October 24. Prevailing winds are from the south with an average as much as 14 miles per hour in the spring (Williams et al. 1985:2). Annual precipitation is 30-32 inches (76.2-81.3 em),
5

but the amount can vary widely from year to year (records indicate a range of 22.3 to 37.2 inches [56.6-94.5 em] per year in Grant County). The majority (70%) of the precipitation falls during the growing season between April and September (Williams et al. 1985 :2). Thunderstorms (occasionally containing tornadoes) occur frequently during the summer, providing some locales significant moisture. Rainfall patterns can be spotty, however, and midsummer droughts are normal with some periods of longer droughts lasting several months. Evaporation is also a problem in the dry, hot, and windy summers. Snowfall averages 8 inches (20.3 em) and usually it does not remain on the ground longer than a few days. Flora and Fauna The native vegetation in the study area was once a mixture of mid and tall grass prairies with woodlands restricted to areas along the Salt Fork and its tributaries. Much of the area has been plowed or planted to pasture since Euro-American settlement in 1893. Williams et al. (1985: 51) estimates that 20% of Grant County is rangeland where native vegetation is used for grazing. Prairies are composed predominantly of bluestem, Indian grass, and switchgrass. Other common plants include sideoats and blue gram a, dropseed, panicum, leadplant, and sunflowers. A sand-sage grassland is found on the dunes in western Grant County. These dunes have a cover of sand sage and midgrasses such as little bluestem, sand bluestem, and hairy grama (Risser 1974). The river valleys once consisted of small mesic forests containing cottonwood, American elm, green ash, hackberry, black willow, blackjack oak, and red mulberry along with other trees, shrubs, and grasses.

The prairies and flood plain forests of Grant and Kay counties support an abundance of animals that can be hunted and used for food. The forested areas support white-tailed deer, wild turkey, cottontail rabbits, raccoons, opossums, foxes, squirrels, quail, doves, grouse, box turtles, and other animals. More aquatic settings may have animals such as otter, beaver, swamp rabbits, ducks, geese, cranes, and other birds. The major fauna of the grasslands would include bison before herds were eliminated in the late 1800s. It is likely that bison were also drawn to the bottomlands for winter shelter and dependable water. Open grasslands also offered grazing for deer and antelope, hunting for hawks, and grains for prairie chickens, quail, and doves. Jackrabbits, ground squirrels, box turtles, and a number of both poisonous and non-poisonous snakes can be obtained in the prairies. Fish, mussels, and various turtle can be found in the river and its tributaries. In general prehistoric people would have found an area adequate for sustaining a foraging, mobile lifestyle. The rich soils near the streams may also have supported later village dwellers who cultivated the sandy/loamy terraces along the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River and its tributaries. These areas are today cultivated for wheat and other crops, although the farmland now also extends onto the level to rolling uplands. Paleoenvironment There is very little paleoenvironmental information for the specific study area in north central Oklahoma. The most detailed information is to the east from the Cross Timbers settings near the Caney River (Artz and Reid 1984; Hall 1977a, b, & c; Vehik et al. 1979). Hall (1977 a, b, & c) and Vehik (l985c) provide summaries of general

paleocology over the past 2000 years. Mandel (1987, 1992, 1994) has also studied Holocene landscape formation in south central Kansas, providing environmental data and information on site stratigraphy and terrace formation in the Walnut River basin and other areas. These studies provide some evidence for changing climatic and erosional/depositional sequences in the area over the past 10,000 years. In general, there would have been a fluctuation in the location and composition of specific biotic communities in the Southern Plains related to changing conditions. The specifics for the study area are not known and the reader is referred to Vehik et al. 1979. Mandel 1987 and 1992, and Artz and Reid 1984 for general information on past conditions in the region, CULTURAL SETTING The north central area of the state contains evidence of prehistoric occupation over the past 10,000 years. from the Paleoindian through the Late Prehistoric periods. The earliest historic Wichita sites are also found in this region. Ferdinandina or Deer Creek and Bryson-Paddock were contacted by the French who established trading relationships in the 1740s. These Wichita groups moved south to the Red River in the late 1750s. Other groups such as the Osage continued to use this area. but it was not intensively occupied until the area became part of the Cherokee Outlet and was rented to cattle ranchers. The Ponca, Tonkawa, and Otoe/Missouri were settled west of the Arkansas River and the Outlet was purchased in 1892 and opened for settlement by a land run in 1893. Most of the Salt Fork basin has never been intensively surveyed for archeological sites.

Reported sites in the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin range from the historic 101 Ranch to Middle Archaic camps related to the Calf Creek culture (Table 1). Surface collections from 34GT6, in the study area, have revealed evidence of a Calf Creek camp, possibly dating back about SOOO years (Brooks 1995). Much of the archeological work, however, has been to the east in the Kaw Lake area of the Arkansas River basin (see Galm 1979; Hartley and Miller 1977; Rohrbaugh 1973, 1974; and Vehik and Flynn 1982). Sites in this area range from Archaic to Plains Village, but Woodland and Archaic period camps are the most common. Quarries for Florence-A chert are found just east and north of Kaw Lake. Farther east in the Salt Creek valley investigations have revealed some Late Archaic camps, many Woodland base camps and villages, and Late Prehistoric base camps (Vehik 1985b). To the north in Kansas there has been extensive work on the Walnut Creek area near its junction with the Arkansas River (see Hawley 1994). Most of this research has dealt with Late Prehistoric and protohistoric Wichita sites. Closer to the study area, there is some information on sites along Bluff Creek, a tributary of the Chikaskia River and ultimately the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River. The Bluff Creek complex is a Late Prehistoric complex, but it is currently poorly documented (Brown 1987c). To the west there has been little research in northern Oklahoma or southern Kansas. The Zimms complex, a Late Prehistoric manifestation, is reported in the northwest part of Oklahoma, but only one site (Hedding, 34 WDS) has been analyzed in this area (Drass 1989). The Wilmore complex is recorded in southwest Kansas and it has recently been reexamined and redefined to a

Late Prehistoric variant, the Plains Border variant (Bevitt 1999). Collections from two Late Prehistoric sites in Woods County, northwestern Oklahoma, have been examined but not attributed to an archeological complex (Drass 1999). Oklahoma Archeological Survey site forms indicate that many time periods are represented at sites in the Salt Fork of the Arkansas and Arkansas River basins. Isolated projectile points and bones of mammoth, mastodon, and extinct bison are evidence of human occupation at least 10,000 years ago. In addition, limited investigation of a few upland and bottomland sites has revealed dart points and early pottery that were used by groups dating from over SOOO B.C. to A.D. 1600. Thus, the Salt Fork River valley and surrounding uplands contain evidence of almost continual use by people over the past 10,000 to 12,000 years. Based on the limited information from excavations and surveys and with data from sites in the region, we can sketch a chronology and cultural-historic framework for the region. A brief review of the cultural historical sequence is discussed below. Paleoindian There is currently a debate among archeologists on the earliest inhabitants of the Americas and their route of entry onto this continent. The traditional view has been that the earliest occupants were the Clovis people who crossed over the land bridge from Asia by about 12,000 years ago. Sites such as the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania, however, have evidence of occupations dating from 12,000 to possibly over 14,000 years ago. The Monte Verde site in Chile has been dated to about 11,000 to 10,SOO B.C.

Table 1: Previously Reported Sites in the Salt Fork Study Area.

Site # Time Period Ponca City SE Archaic/Late Prehistoric KA22 Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA330 Historic KA333 Historic NB65 Ponca City (Salt Fork area only) Woodland/Late Prehistoric KA24 KA27 Woodland/Late Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric KA45 KA46 KA47 KAI35 KAI37 KA321 Woodland/Late Late Prehistoric Archaic?/Unid. Prehistoric Late Prehistoric Late Preh istoric/H istoric Prehistoric Site Type Village? Camp/Scatter Farmstead Farmstead Village? Village Camp Camp Camp Camp Village Village/Farmstead. Camp Camp Camp Camp Farmstead Village Camp Village? Camp Camp Camp? Camp Village Camp Camp? Camp/Scatter Farmstead Camp/House Camp/Scatter Camp Camp Village? Camp Town Vi llage/Scatter Recorder/Date Hiatt 12-13-60 Hughes-Jones 91 Briscoe 6-16-91 Briscoe 6-16-91 Slovacek 1-12-63 Slovacek 2-24-61 Slovacek 4-28-62 Slovacek 4-28-62, Vehik 1-12-90 Slovacek 4-28-62, Vehik 1-12-90 Hiatt 3-4-66 Wyckoff 2-11-67 Sudbury 10-21-89 Setting* T T T T UP UP T T T T T T T/FP T HT T T T T T HT T UP UP HT UP UP UP T UP UP T UP UP T T T Soil** V V N LU N-KD N-KD KD-RV Kaw Kaw BR KawBR V Kaw Kaw N V V N N R-KD N N-V V N-KD V KDKaw KD-T N N N N N-Kaw KD T N L V/N

KA322 Unid. Prehistoric KA323 Unid. Prehistoric KA324 Unid. Prehistoric KA331 Unid. Prehistoric KA332 Historic KA334 Late Prehistoric KA335 Late Prehistoric KA352 Late Prehistoric KA353 Late Prehistoric? Ponca City NW KA31 Late Archaic/Woodland KA34 Archaic/Late Preh istoric? KAI38 Late Archaic KAI39 Late Prehistoric KAI40 Unid. Prehistoric (Late Preh istoric?) KAI41 Late Prehistoric KA222 Late Archaic/Woodland KA223 Historic KA224 Late Prehistoric KA225 Un id. Preh istoric/H istoric KA226 Late Archaic/Woodland KA227 Unid. Prehistoric KA228 Late Preh istoric KA304 Unid. Prehistoric KA320 Historic KA325 Late Archaic/Late

Vehik 1-12-90 Vehik 1-12-90 Vehik 1-12-90 Hughes 2-23-91 Briscoe 4-23-91 Sullivan 9-15-91 Sullivan 11-23-91 Sullivan 5-16-91 Sullivan 5-17-91 Hiatt 9-8-61 Hiatt 9-8-61 Wyckoff 2-1 1-61 Sudbury 9-8-67 Sudbury 10-9-67 Sudbury 10-9-67 Wallis 3-12-80 Wallis 3-12-80 Wallis 3-12-80 Wallis 3-13-80 Wallis 3-13-80 Wallis 3-13-80 Wallis 3-13-80 Hughes 8-31-85 ? Sudbury, Sullivan

Time Period Site Type Prehistoric/H istoric KA375 Historic Farmstead KA376 Historic Farmstead KA377 Historic Farmstead Historic Farmstead KA378 KA379 Historic Farmstead KA393 Historic Dump Historic Farmstead KA397 Newkirk SW (Duck Creek & Bois D' Arc Creek) Woodland/Late Prehistoric Camp KA38 KAI46 Protoh istoric KA211 Unid. Prehistoric Historic KA212 Historic KA213 KA217 Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA219 Historic KA220 Early Archaic KA221 Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA229 Late Archaic/Woodland Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA230 KA231 Archaic/Woodland KA232 Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA380 Historic KA381 Historic KA382 Historic KA383 Historic KA384 Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA385 Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA386 Historic Peckham (Duck Creek) KA214 Unid. Prehistoric KA215 Unid. Prehistoric KA216 Unid. Prehistoric KA218 Historic KA233 Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA387 Un id. Preh istoric/H istoric KA388 Historic KA389 Historic KA390 Historic KA391 Unid. Prehistoric/Historic KA392 Historic KA394 Unid. Prehistoric KA395 Late Prehistoric/Protohistoric Braman Archaic-Late Prehistoric KA312 KA313 Woodland, Late Prehistoric Camp Camp House site House site House site Farmstead Camp Camp/Scatter Camp Camp/Dump Camp Camp/Farmstead Farmstead Farmstead Town Farmstead Farmstead Farmstead Farmstead Camp Camp Camp House site Camp/Scatter Farmstead Farmstead Farmstead Farmstead Camp/Farmstead Farmstead Camp Camp

Site #

Recorder/Date Briscoe 3-26-97 Briscoe 3-20-97 Briscoe 2-20-97 Briscoe 3-19-97 Briscoe 3-26-97 Briscoe 3-24-97 Northcutt 3-6-97 Hiatt 11-18-61, Wallis 3-14-80 Neal/Sudbury Wallis 2-19-80 Wallis 2-19-80 Wallis 2-20-80 Wallis 2-21-80 Wallis 3-11-80 Wallis 3-11-80 Wallis 3-11-80 Wallis 3-14-80 Wallis 3-14-80 Wallis 3-14-80 Wall is 3-14-80 Briscoe 3-19-97 Briscoe 3-19-97 Briscoe 3-20-97 Briscoe 3-20-97 Briscoe 3-20-97 Briscoe 3-20-97 Briscoe 3-20-97 Wallis 2-20-80 Wallis 2-20-80 Wallis 2-21-80 Wallis 2-20-80 Wallis 3-14-80 Briscoe 3-20-97 Briscoe 3-20-97 Briscoe 3-20-97 Briscoe 3-20-99 Briscoe 3-20-99 Briscoe 3-20-99 Briscoe 3-29-97 Briscoe 3-24-97

Setting* UP UP UP UP UP UP UP T UP UP UP UP UP UP UP T/UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP UP T UP T T/UP

Soil** N W B B K-R R V N KD KD R-KD N KD N KD-R N-Kaw KD-R KD-B N-Kaw N KD Kaw T B KD KD T KD-R N KD-R KD-R KD-R Kaw T KD KD R-KD R-KD KD 0

Camp? Camp?

Gettys 7-23-87 Gettys 7-23-87

T T

BR RE

Site # KA3\4 KA3l5 KA316 KA348 KA349 KA350 KA366 Blackwell KA6 KA326 KA341 KA342 KA343 KA344 KA345 KA36\ Blackwell KA336 KA337 KA338 KA339 KA340 KA358 GTI7 GT\8 GTI9 GT20 GT21 GT22 GT25 GT26 GT27 Kildare KAI KA26 KA28 KA43 KA44 KA48 KA66 KAI44 KAl45 KA351 Kremlin GF52

Time Period Woodland, Late Prehistoric Archaic-Late Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Late Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Archaic, Calf Creek? Archaic-Late Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric? Unid. Prehistoric/Historic Archaic Unid. Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Archaic Late Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric NW Late Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Woodland, Late Prehistoric Late Prehistoric Archaic, Late Prehistoric Late Preh istoric

Site Type Camp? Camp? Camp? Camp? Camp Camp Village/burials Camp? Camp/Farmstead Camp Camp Camp Camp Camp Camp Camp? Camp Village? Camp? Camp Camp? CampNillage CampNillage Camp Village? Camp Camp Camp Camp Camp Village? Camp Camp Camp? Camp Camp Camp Camp Camp Camp

Recorder/Date Gettys 7-23-87 Gettys 7-23-87 Gettys 7-23-87 Sullivan 3-1-92 Sullivan 3-\-92 Sullivan 2-27-92 Duncan 7-5-95 Bareis 3-2-53 Vehik 8-22-90 Sullivan 2-20-92 Sullivan 2-20-92 Sullivan 2-20-92 Sullivan 2-20-92 Sullivan 2-20-92 Vehik 12-2-92 Sullivan 11-23-91 Sullivan \\-23-91 Sullivan 1-3-92 Sullivan 1-9-92 Sullivan 1-23-92 Schermerhorn I I3-92 Sullivan 12-24-91 Sullivan 12-24-91 Sullivan 12-24-91 Sullivan 1-11-92 Sullivan 1-11-92 Sullivan 1-23-92 Sullivan 2-23-92 Sullivan 2-27-92 Sullivan 2-27-92 Bareis 2-15-55 Slovacek 3-1-61 Slovacek 3-6-61 Slovacek 3-14-61 Slovacek 10-1061 Slovacek 4-28-62 Hiatt 3-\8-64 Lopez 6-18-75 6-18-75 Sullivan 5-16-92

Setting* T T T T/UP T/UP T/UP T T? T T T T T T T T UP/T T T HT T T T T UP/HT HT UP/T HT T T T T T T T T T? T UP T

Soil** RE-BR BR BR N N N Kaw RE RE RE BR RE RE RE RE P P RE P BR KD-R P D H PC B KD B P D N Kaw Kaw Kaw Kaw KD-R-S Kaw N N-Kaw KawKD-R R

Late Prehistoric Late Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Archaic, Late Prehistoric Archaic, Late Archaic, Calf Creek Archaic, Calf Creek? Late Prehistoric Late Preh istoric (Bitter Creek) Unid. Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Woodland/Late Prehistoric Woodland/Late Prehistoric? Unid. Prehistoric Archaic? Unid. Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Late Prehistoric

(L. Preh.?)

Unid. Prehistoric

Camp

Briscoe 4-21-89

10

I ,

Site # Tonkawa KA8 KAI58 Eddy KAI59 KA160@ KA311 Marland KA25

Time Period Unid. Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Unid. Prehistoric Late? Archaic Late Prehistoric

Site Type Camp? Camp Camp Camp Camp Camp 101 Ranch Camp 101 Ranch Tripp Elephant Camp Camp Camp? Village Camp Camp?

Recorder/Date Bush 10-1-57 Lopez 5-23-73 Lopez 12-11-75 Lopez 12-11-75 Gettys 7-23-87 Hiatt 2-4-61, Kraft 10-4-97 Briscoe 3-27-97 Vehik 8-24-90 Briscoe 3-26-97 Wyckoff 8-2-85 Gettys 7-23-87 Gettys 7-23-87 Gettys 7-23-87 Patterson 12-6-75 Bartlett 4-14-97 Wyckoff 10-2884

Setting* T UP UP T T HT T T T T T T T UP T T

Soil** V N-KD 0 RE RE-P V

y y

KA318 Historic KA328 Unid. Prehistoric KA374 Historic Nardin (Deer Creek) KA303 10,000+ KA308 Late Archaic/Woodland? Unid. Prehistoric KA309 Woodland/Late Prehistoric KA310 GT7 Woodland/Late Prehistoric GT30 Unid. Prehistoric Deer Creek (Deer Creek) GTII Woodland/Late Prehistoric Lamont (Pond/Polecat Creeks) GTI Late Prehistoric GT2 Woodland/Late Prehistoric Wood land/Late Preh istoric GT3@ GT4@ Woodland/Late Prehistoric Lamont NW (Pond/Polecat Creeks) GT5@ Late Prehistoric GT6 Calf Creek/Late Archaic/Late Preh istoric Unid. Prehistoric GT8@ Pond Creek GT9@ GTI3 GTI4 GTI5 GTI6 Medford GTIO GTI2 Medford NE GT23 GT24 GT28 GT29

RE Kaw N N RE-P M N D

I
Village Village Village Village Village Camp/Village Camp Neal/Patterson 75 Neal/Patterson 75 Neal/Patterson 75 Neal 75 Neal/Patterson 75 Neal/Patterson 75, Brooks 1995 Patterson 10-1979 Rose 10-80, 5-81 Briscoe 4-21-89 Briscoe 4-21-89 Briscoe 4-21-89 Briscoe 3-1-91 Neel 12-4-80 Briscoe 4-18-84 Sullivan Sullivan Sullivan Sullivan 1-30-92 1-30-92 3-5-92 3-5-92 T T T T/UP T/UP UP HT PC D D D-PC N-PC PC N-PC

Woodland/Late Prehistoric Historic Historic Historic Historic Historic Unid. Prehistoric Late Prehistoric Late Prehistoric Late Archaic/Woodland Unid. Prehistoric

Village Chisholm Trail House site House site Cemetery/Ranch House site Camp Camp Camp Camp Camp

T FP FP T T UP T T T T UP

PC H RE
Y

H KD KD RE PC D G

II

* T = terrace, HT = high terrace, FP = floodplain, and UP = upland. ** Soil Series: B = Bethany; BR = Brewer; D =Dale; G = Grainola; H = Hawley; KD = Kirkland; L = Lela; LU =
Lucien; M = McLain; N = Norge; 0 = Owens; P = Port; PC = Pond Creek; R = Renfrow; RE = Reinach; S = Summit; T = Tabler; V = Vanoss; W = Waurika; Y = Yahola. @ indicates sites revisited during the Salt Fork Survey. Sites on creeks = Duck Creek (37); Chikaskia River (I); Bois D'Arc Creek (34); Deer Creek (8); Pond Creek (3); Polecat Creek (3) Total prehistoric sites = 121 (6 revisited during the survey) Total historic sites = 32 Plus I mammoth site 47 Unidentified Prehistoric@ (40.9%) 26 Late Prehistoric@ (22.6%) 13 Woodland/Late Prehistoric@ (I 1.3%) 8 Archaic/Late Prehistoric@ (7.0%) I Late Prehistoric/Protohistoric (0.9%) I Protohistoric (0.9%) 8 Late Archaic/Woodland@ (7.0%) 6 Archaic@ (5.2%) I Middle Archaic (Calf Creek)/Late Archaic/Late Prehistoric (0.9%) 3 Middle Archaic (Calf Creek) (2,6%) I Early Archaic (0.9%) Subtotal = I 15 sites (not including revisited sites)

indicating that groups had reached South America at a very early period. In the Southern Plains, there is evidence from the Burnham site in northwestern Oklahoma that people may have lived here as long ago as 26,000 years (Wyckoff 1989; Wyckoff and Carter 1994). This age is still in question and much more research remains before there is good documententation of occupations older than Clovis. At present, the earliest, welldocumented inhabitants of the Southern Plains are the early Paleoindian Clovis and Folsom groups who inhabited the area from about 11,500 to 10,000 years ago. Conditions were cooler and wetter during this period and nomadic bands hunted the large mammals of the Late Pleistocene. Mammoth and large, now extinct, forms of bison were hunted and butchered. The large lanceolate spear points used by these early hunters characterize sites

of this period. Kill sites predominate among the early Paleoindian sites found on the Southern Plains and tool assemblages reflect this with the recovery of primarily butchering tools and a few knapping or hide working implements. Clovis is the earliest complex in the region with major sites at Blackwater Draw in New Mexico, Lubbock Lake and Miami in Texas, and Domebo in Caddo County, Oklahoma (Sellards 1938; 1952; Wedel 1961; Leonhardy 1966; Holliday et al. 1983; Hester 1972). These sites represent primarily mammoth kill and/or processing locations. Fluted Clovis points are characteristic of this complex and are usually made of Alibates or Edwards chert in this area of the Southern Plains. Earlier people may have butchered a mammoth, the Cooperton mammoth, excavated in Kiowa

12

County but no chipped stone tools were recovered (Anderson 1975). No evidence of Clovis occupation has been documented in the study area although Hofman and Wyckoff (1991) report two Clovis points from the Arkansas River region in Osage County and eleven are known from farther east on the river in Tulsa County (Wyckoff and Rippey 1998: 15). A Clovis is also recorded from Cowley County, Kansas, just north of Kay County, Oklahoma (Brown and Brown 1987:9-17). The Folsom complex developed about 11,000 years ago at a time when drying conditions and possibly over hunting had eliminated the mammoth. Large, now extinct, bison were still common and Folsom people continued to roam the plains hunting these bison. The fluted Folsom point is distinctive of this period, and studies of Folsom points found in Oklahoma indicate a preference for the use of Edwards chert in their manufacture (Hofman 1993). Two Folsom sites have been excavated in northwestern Oklahoma. Both are in Harper County some distance from the study area. Bement (1999) has investigated a bison kill containing Folsom points at the Cooper site, and the Waugh site contains evidence of Folsom kill and camp locations (Hill and Hofman 1997). One Folsom point is reported from Grant County in the study area (Hofman 1993). Another Folsom is documented in Kay County from Kaw Lake east of the study area (George 1978), and one is reported from the Arkansas River in Tulsa County (Wyckoff and Rippey 1998: 17). About 10,000 to 8,500 years ago a variety of late Paleoindian complexes marked by distinctive unfluted, lanceolate point types developed on the Southern Plains. Plainview,
13

Plano, Milnesand, and Portales are some of the late Paleoindian complexes defined in this area (see Thurmond 1991; Wyckoff 1992), and Dalton groups occupied areas just to the east (Wyckoff and Rippey 1998). These people were hunters and gatherers, exploiting diverse plants and animals. Bison may have been the principal prey on the Southern Plains (Wyckoff 1992). Tool assemblages include grinding stones and a variety of knives and scrapers. The most distinctive projectile points include Plainview, Meserve, Milnesand, Golondrina, Angostura, Agate Basin, Hell Gap, Eden, Cody, and Scottsbluff on the Plains (see Thurmond 1990) and Dalton points in eastern Oklahoma and Kansas. Artifacts and sites attributed to this period are more numerous than during previous periods, probably signifying an increase in populations on the Southern Plains. No investigated sites in the study area are attributable to the late Paleoindian period, although a Plainview point is reported from a private collection. Just to the east in Tulsa County, Wyckoff and Rippey (1998: 17-28) report finding Dalton points and adzes, Agate Basin spear points, Plainview and Cody points, and other early projectile points from the Arkansas River. Archaic The Archaic period from roughly 6550 to 50 B.C. is associated with a time of drying and warming conditions. The changing conditions contributed to the extinction of the large Pleistocene animals and people became more dependent on hunting smaller game and gathering plants. The Archaic is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late periods associated with changes in technology and probably subsistence. Few Archaic sites have been investigated on the Southern Plains and assemblages are often inferred based on

contemporary finds found in diverse settings. Information is particularly scarce for the Early and Middle Archaic (about 6550 to 2050 B.c.) on the Southern Plains, and it has been suggested that warmer and dryer climatic conditions during the Altithermal or Hypsithermal may have resulted in the virtual abandonment of some areas for several millennia (Dillehay 1974; Stafford 1981; Hughes 1991). Bison were apparently scarce due to poor range conditions, and occupants of the area may have subsisted on small animals and plants. The best documented Early Archaic site in the region is Gore Pit (34CM131) in southwestern Oklahoma, and it is dated to about 4,050 B.c. (Hamrnatt 1976). This is an open camp with burned rock ovens, shell middens, hearths, and burials near Lawton, Oklahoma. Artifacts recovered here include side-notched and corner-notched dart points (Trinity, Ensor, Darl, Ellis, Frio, and Meserve), grinding basins, scrapers, Clear Fork gouges, and knives. Local Ogallala quartzites seem to dominate the lithic assemblage. The Stigenwalt site (14L T351) in southeast Kansas dates from 6190 to 7913 B.C. This is a repeatedly occupied camp consisting of burned rock features and a variety of lithic tools and debris. Lanceolate, basally notched, side-notched, and corner-notched dart points have been recovered (Thies 1990). Other tools include grinding basins and manos, drills, knives, flake scrapers, hammerstones, bone awls, and bird bone beads. Faunal remains indicated exploitation of small mammals, turtles, fish, frogs, and mussels. The groups exploited locallithics but also obtained some materials from the Flint Hills and the Ozark Mountains.
14

Several Middle Archaic (roughly 5050-2050 B.C.) complexes are known for southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. An important Middle Archaic complex is the Calf Creek horizon identified across all of Oklahoma and many areas of Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri (Wyckoff 1994; Neal and Drass 1998). This prehistoric manifestation is marked by the presence of distinctive chipped stone tools, principally projectile points. The deep, basally notched Calf Creek point is characteristic and may be accompanied by Cossatot River points, practice notched pieces. scrapers, knives, and other tools. Brooks (1995) has identified a Calf Creek camp, 34GT6, within the Salt Fork survey area, and Sullivan (1995) records two Grant County sites along Bluff Creek where Calf Creek points have been recovered. In addition, numerous Calf Creek points have been found at several sites in the Kaw Lake area just east of the Salt Fork project area (Wyckoff 1995). Excavations have been conducted at the Kubik site revealing hearths, a burned rock oven, bison and deer bone, Calf Creek points, and lots of chipped stone debris (Neal and Drass 1998). This repeatedly occupied camp has been radiocarbon dated to about 3360 to 3975 B.C. (calibrated ages). Camps seem to be small and situated on terraces or uplands overlooking rivers or smaller streams. The Calf Creek groups in north central Oklahoma appear to have relied heavily on Florence-A chert for use in manufacturing their chipped stone tools. Calf Creek points and sites are rare west of the study area and in Kansas, although Calf Creek materials are found at the Coffey site in northeastern Kansas (Wyckoff 1995:179). Other Middle Archaic complexes that occur near the study area include the McKean,

Tom's Brook, and Grove complexes, and the Chelsea phase. The McKean complex is represented by a few sites in northern Oklahoma that contain McKean, Duncan, and Hanna points. Only a few of these points have been found in Oklahoma, and there is very little information on assemblages and association of the finds with other Archaic complexes (see Neal and Drass 1998:52). One site with McKean complex points has been identified in Kay County east of the study area, but no dates are available for this component. The Tom's Brook and Grove complexes are found in the Ozark Mountains area of eastern Oklahoma, northwestern Arkansas, and southwestern Missouri (Neal and Drass 1998). These complexes are suggested to date roughly from about 8000 to 4000 years ago. They include small open camps along stream terraces and rockshelters. Hearths and rock features have been discovered at some camps. Mixed deposits at many of these Archaic sites have hindered definition of assemblages and components. Variations in projectile point morphology have been used to identifying temporal changes during this period (Neal and Drass 1998; Wyckoff 1984). Lanceolate and lobed dart points such as Searcy, Rice Lobed, and Jakie Stemmed are considered evidence of early occupations dating some 7000-8000 years ago. These are followed by side-notched points such as Big Sandy and straightstemmed points such as Johnson that were used from about 6000-7000 years ago. Calf Creek and McKean/Duncan/Hanna points follow from 3000 or 4000 B.C. to about 1000 B.C. Other than the Calf Creek and McKean complex points, the sequence has not been defined west of the Ozarks in the study area. Almost no information is available on Middle
15

Archaic sites west of the study area. In southern Kansas, work on the EI Dorado Reservoir resulted in definition of the Chelsea phase, an Archaic manifestation that has been dated to about 2050-2850 B.C. (Brown 1987b; Grosser 1973). Base camps and small hunting camps with large rock hearths or roasting pits have been identified; many of these sites were repeatedly occupied. These people hunted a variety of game including bison, deer, small mammals, birds, and fish. Grinding slabs and manos indicate the processing of seeds or nuts at these camps. Tool assemblages include biface knives, scrapers, and predominantly corner-notched dart points that resemble Williams and Marcos types (Neal and Drass 1998:54). This phase is currently restricted to the Walnut River Valley in the southern Flint Hills area, but similar points are found throughout northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Reid (1984: 193) suggests that the Lovelace site (34WN105) in the Copan Reservoir area, northeastern Oklahoma, is related to the Chelsea phase. Sites and artifacts related to the period from about 2050 to 50 B.C., the Late Archaic, are better represented throughout the area although information on complexes is not much better than for the Middle Archaic period. The climate appears to have become moister some time after 2550 B.C. and hunters and gathers may have moved back into the prairies to hunt bison, which appear to become more abundant. Temporary base camps situated on stream or river terraces have been reported from the Kaw Lake area and the nearby Salt Creek drainage (Vehik 1985b). Corner-notched, weakly barbed dart points (Marcos or Ellis, Palmillas or Williams, and Ensor) and contracting stem darts, primarily

Gary points, are found at many small camps in Oklahoma. Other tools include grinding stones, knives, scrapers, and a few bone tools, primarily awls and flakers. Bison kill sites dated between about 20 B.c. and A.D. 970 are found in western Oklahoma, but are not, as yet, documented in north central Oklahoma (Bement and Buehler 1994; Hughes 1991; Lintz et aI. 1991). To the east is the Lawrence phase found in the Cherokee Prairie and Ozark settings of northeast Oklahoma, southwest Missouri, and western Arkansas (Wyckoff 1984). The Lawrence site (34NW6) is a semipermanent base camp and other large base camps are found along major stream terraces (Neal and Drass 1998:54). Many sites have evidence of repeated occupation. Rock-lined hearths and possible ovens have been identified, as well as shallow pits and burials. Corner-notched points such as Williams, Afton, Marshall, Ellis-like, and Table Rock are characteristic at these camps. Small comer-notched points may indicate the use of the bow and arrow at some of these sites. Diverse tool kits are common and include drills, scrapers, knives, flake tools, grinding basin, manos, abraders, gorgets, bone awls and flakers, and pendants. Subsistence involved the hunting of deer and a variety of small mammals, birds, fish, and turtles. The grinding implements suggest plant processing. Some domesticated crops have been reported from rockshelters sites in southwestern Missouri that were occupied at this time (Fritz 1997). The EI Dorado phase, initially defined for the Walnut Creek area in the southern Flint Hills in Kansas, is now extended to other areas in eastern Kansas (Brown 1987b:XII-13). The phase is dated from about 1350-2050 B.C. and is found in tall and mixed grass prairie

settings. Sites are predominantly large base camps on river terraces. Features include burned rock concentrations, hearths, shallow pits, and structures indicated by the presence of daub and post molds. Burials have also been found. Dustin/Lamoka side-notched points are characteristic at these sites, but Table Rock and lanceolate points (Sedalia) are also present. Other tools include bifacial knives, drills, choppers, abraders, hammerstones, celts, and grinding stones. Faunal remains indicate exploitation of a variety of animals including bison, deer, antelope, small mammals, turtles, and shellfish. The Walnut phase appears to represent a terminal Late Archaic occupation in southern and eastern Kansas. The phase was originally defined from the Snyder site in the southern Flint Hills (Grosser 1970). Walnut phase is dated from about 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1. Investigated sites are seasonal camps. probably hunting camps. Small cornernotched points (Walnut Valley Comer Notched) may represent early arrow points (Brown 1987b). No pottery has been found, but knives, bifaces, choppers, and large points occur. Several sites in the Copan Reservoir area, east of the current survey zone, have been attributed to the EI Dorado phase (Reid 1984: 193). Most of these appear to be temporary camps. Similar temporary camps with comer-notched dart points are attributed to the Late Archaic period in the Kaw Lake area just east of the study area (Rohrbaugh 1974). Similar sites are also present along Salt Creek and one, 340S245, has been tested and dated to about 160-430 B.C. (Buehler 1985). This site has small pits and burned rock

16

features with contracting stem dart points and ground stone. The site is not currently associated with an identified complex. Many of the Late Archaic sites in north central and northeastern Oklahoma are found buried on terraces near streams. Some of these are over a meter below the current surface (see Beuhler 1985; Reid 1984). To the west of the study area there is very little information on Late Archaic sites, although site forms report comer-notched dart points and other materials that may indicate camps related to this period. Plains Woodland or Early Ceramic The Woodland period on the Southern Plains is poorly documented and it is often difficult to distinguish these sites from Late Archaic sites. In western Oklahoma, sites dating between about A.D. 1 and 900 are defined as Plains Woodland. This period is marked by the introduction of the bow and arrow and pottery. Late Archaic tools such as cornernotched and contracting stem dart points, knives, and grinding basins continue to be used by Woodland groups, but corner-notched arrow points (Scallorn and others) along with small amounts of pottery appear in assemblages. The climate becomes wetter at this time and populations on the plains may have increased. After about A.D. 500, bison hunting may have become less important and Woodland groups hunted deer and smaller game. Horticulture may have also been adopted during this period, but evidence far this adaptation is not presently documented in this area. Sites representing the Plains Woodland period are more common near the study area than are sites from earlier occupations. Research in the Kaw Lake area of the Arkansas River basin has provided many dated Woodland period
17

sites (see Vehik 1984). Work farther east in the Cross Timbers of Osage and Washington counties has also provided information on sites of this period (Henry 1977, 1980; Reid 1984). Very little is known of sites to the west, but several Woodland period complexes have been defined in southern Kansas (see Brown and Simmons 1987). Three Woodland complexes have been identified in southeastern Kansas and all of these overlap in distribution. There is some question as to whether these are all distinct entities (Hofman and Brooks 1989; Thies 1990), but each is briefly summarized here. The Butler phase is found in the Walnut River area of the southern Flint Hills region in Kansas, and it may represent the closest complex to the study area. It has been dated from about 1150-1450 years ago (Brown and Simmons 1987). Sites are small hamlets or homesteads containing one or two houses. These were repeatedly occupied sites situated along streams. Houses are small, oval-shaped, made from bent poles and grass/twigs, and about 5-6 meters in diameter (Brown and Simmons 1987:XII-20). Shallow basin pits are also present. Subsistence is based on hunting bison, deer, antelope, and small game and the gathering of wild plants. Scallorn-like serrated arrow points and unnotched arrow points are characteristic of this complex. Other tools include bifacial knives, scrapers, modified flakes, celts, manos, and bird bone beads. Ceramics are present and typically include two types. Vertically cordmarked jars tempered with grit (caliche, sand, clay, limestone, and feldspar) represent a local Woodland style (Hofman and Brooks 1989:64). These vessels have straight rims, flat lips, and conical bases. The second pottery type has straight, tapered rims decorated with

diagonal, zoned dentate stamping. This type is tempered with feldspar and grog. The second ware is similar to Middle Woodland, Hopewell-derived ceramics from the Kansas City area and is considered evidence of Hopewellian influence on local Woodland groups (Grosser 1973; Hofman and Brooks 1989). The second Kansas Woodland complex is the Greenwood phase dating from 950 to 1550 years ago. Greenwood phase sites have been identified from the southern Flint Hills east through much of southeastern Kansas (Brown and Simmons 1987:XIII-21). Sites include large villages on terraces or floodplains of rivers and small camps on smaller streams. Villages contain long oval houses up to 19 m long and 10m wide with a central hearth (Blakeslee and Rohn 1982). Other features include hearths, burned rock concentrations, and shallow basin pits. Subsistence consists principally of hunting deer, bison, and small animals and gathering wild plants, although some corn has been recovered from one site. A variety of corner-notched, expanding stem, and contracting stem dart points are found at sites as are Scallorn arrow points. Other tools resemble those found at Butler phase sites. Ceramics include the Verdigris and Greenwood pottery types (Brown and Simmons 1987). Verdigris pots are conicalbased, thick-walled jars with vertical cordmarks and are tempered with crushed limestone. The vessels include two forms, one with straight walls and one with slight shoulders. The Greenwood type includes cordmarked globular jars with straight or slightly recurved rims and conical bases (Brown and Simmons 1987:XIII-16). This pottery is tempered with clay or shale. The Greenwood phase may have developed into

the Late Prehistoric Pomona complex in eastern Kansas (Brown and Simmons 1987:XIII-16). Slightly farther east in southeastern Kansas is the Cuesta phase, dating from about A.D. 7001000. This culture is characterized by a variety of stamped, punctated, cordmarked, and plain pottery types that strongly resemble ceramics from Kansas City Hopewell occupations to the northeast and Cooper focus materials to the south in Oklahoma (Hofman and Brooks 1989:64). The Cuesta phase is considered to represent either Hopewellian influence on a local Middle Woodland group or migration of a Hopewellian culture into southeastern Kansas (Brown and Simmons 1987:XIII-I0). Other artifacts from these sites include expanding stem dart points. Gary points, Scallorn arrow points. bifacial knives. drills, scrapers, manos, grinding basins, celts, gorgets, atlatl weights. and bone pins. awls. fleshers, and beads. Settlements are either large villages near major streams or homesteads and small hamlets along small streams. Houses are oval to circular measuring 11-15 m long and 8-12 m wide (Brown and Simmons 1987:XIII-9). Basin-shaped pits. hearths, and burials have been found at villages. Subsistence is based on hunting (deer and small game) and gathering. but corn and sunflower indicate use of some cultivated plants (Hofman and Brooks 1989:64). There are three Woodland complexes identified for northeastern Oklahoma. Vehik (1984: 177) defines the Delaware A, Cooper. and Delaware B foci in Neosho River area of the Ozarks. These complexes are considerably east of the study area, and they are not reviewed here. However, it may be significant that the Cooper focus is defined by

18

Hopewellian ceramics similar to Cuesta phase materials in southeastern Kansas. Many other artifacts appear to be similar in both the Cooper focus and Cuesta phase assemblages. Vehik (1984: 183) suggests that Cooper may be a Hopewellian intrusion into northeastern Oklahoma. In north central Oklahoma there has been considerable research at Woodland sites in the tall grass prairie and Cross Timbers of Kay and Osage counties. There are no defined complexes, but Vehik (1984) has suggested three groups or components for Woodland sites. In the Arkansas River basin within the Kaw Reservoir area there are numerous sites that date from about 950 to 1850 years ago. Other sites of this period have been recorded from the Bird Creek drainage in eastern Osage County. The earliest Woodland sites in these areas are suggested to date between about A.D. 100 to 300. (Vehik 1984). Sites in the Kaw Reservoir area include small amounts of Hopewellian-type pottery (Ozark Zoned, Cowskin Dentate, and Cooper Zoned sherds). Most other pottery is smooth surfaced but cordmarked vessels are also represented. Contracting stem (Gary type) dart points predominate in the assemblages, but cornernotched dart points and arrow points (Scallorn) are also present (Hofman and Brooks 1989:67). Sites include lithic workshops, hunting camps (at open sites and rock shelters in Osage County), and semipermanent camps marked by the presence of daub, scattered post molds, and storage pits. Burned rock mounds are also recorded in the Caney River area of the Cross Timbers. Vehik (1984: 188) suggests that these mounds were in use through the Woodland period and may be associated with hunting and kill processing activities.
19

Around A.D. 300 to 800 pottery becomes more frequent at Woodland sites, and it is mostly smooth surfaced and tempered with sand, limestone, or clay (Vehik 1984: 187). This second Woodland component also has predominantly comer-notched arrow points (Scallorns) and Gary dart points. Knives, drills, a variety of scrapers (thumbnail and snub-nosed varieties increase in abundance at this time), gravers, double-bitted axes, manos, abraders, and stone beads occur at these sites. Most sites appear to be hunting and/or plant processing locales. Rockshelters occur in the Cross Timbers, whereas in the Kaw Lake area, open camps are found along tributaries of the Arkansas River. There is no evidence for extensive external contact with distant groups. The third set of Woodland sites dates from about A.D. 800-1100. Hofman and Brooks (1989:67) suggest that some of these sites represent transitional Plains Village components. Projectile points are predominantly arrow points such as Scallorn, Washita, and Fresno. Pottery is variable but most is smoothed and some has shell temper. Other tools are beveled knives, snub-nosed and thumbnail scrapers, gravers, hoes, manos and grinding basins, abraders, and nutting stones. Settlements include rockshelters and burned rock mounds in the Cross Timbers that were probably used as hunting camps and processing locations. Open sites occur along small streams and the Arkansas River valley, but there is no evidence for permanent occupations (Vehik 1984: 192). A burial mound (340S99) is recorded for the Cross Timbers area in Osage County and other burned rock mounds appear to have been used for some processing activity at this time. Subsistence evidence is minimal, but hunting deer, rabbits, and other small game, collection

of mussels, fishing, and gathering plants seem to be the major activities. In general, the Woodland central Oklahoma adaptation in north

include cordmarked

and plain globular

pots,

side- and unnotched arrow points. beveled knives, numerous scrapers (particularly snubnosed end scrapers), bison bone horticultural tools, and trade items from the Southwest Caddoan areas. In general, more Plains Village sites have Plains than or

indicates the establishment

of base camps and semi-permanent villages along the Arkansas River and other major streams early in the Woodland period (Vehik 1984: J 97). These settlements exhibit some influence from Hopewell groups 111 northeastern Kansas or similar groups such as Cooper focus or Cuesta phase people in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas. The settlement pattern may have changed toward a more mobile hunting and gathering pattern during the late part of the Woodland period, but more research is needed to determine if late base camps/villages may exist along river terraces or in other settings. Subsistence during the period seems to have emphasized the hunting of deer and a variety of small game, fishing, and the gathering of wild plant foods. Evidence of cultivated plants is generally lacking during this period in north central Oklahoma. Woodland sites in the mixed grass prairies are not defined west of the study area. but this probably reflects the lack of archeological research rather than an absence of Woodland occupation.

been investigated

in the Southern

sites representing most other periods. Several archeological complexes have been defined for the prairies of south central and southwestern Kansas, but Plains Village sites in northern Oklahoma have usually not been assigned to complexes (Figure 3). Several Oklahoma sites dating to this period have been investigated and provide some information on the people who Iived here. The Kansas complexes are often based on incomplete data and some of these are also poorly defined. The Pomona variant containing four phases is defined for a large area of eastern Kansas (Brown 1987d:XIII-3442). The variant is found in the prairies northeast of the study area. Pomona dates from about 500-900 years ago. Sites consist of one to three oval houses on stream terraces. House shape is irregular with interior and exterior bell-shaped, cylindrical, or basin pits. Ceramics include smoothed and cord marked bowls and globular jars that have flared or excurvate rims (Brown 1987b:XIII-38). Some rims are also collared and decorations are restricted to rims and lips. Unnotched. sidenotched, and basally notched arrow points. side and end scrapers, gravers. dri lis. abraders. celts, pipes, manos, and grinding basins are common on these sites (Brown 1987b:XIII38). Bone digging implements are rare. Subsistence includes cultivation of maize. squash, beans, and sunflowers, gathering wild plants, and hunting deer, bison, elk, and a

Late Prehistoric or Middle Ceramic

The Late Prehistoric period from about 500 to 1050 years ago is marked by significant changes in technology. settlement, and subsistence. Many Southern Plains villagers appear to have developed from local Woodland people. Changes that are evident by about A.D. J 000 include intensification of horticulture. the widespread use of subsurface storage pits, expanded artifact inventories, and the use of permanent houses and larger settlements. Typical Late Prehistoric artifacts

20

 .....- ".~.~Jltelope

'-"'-

Creek Phase

'_<: .::
IPaoli/Washita
River Phases

Figure 3: Plains Village sites and complexes. variety of small animals. The Bluff Creek complex is defined directly north of the current study area. Bluff Creek sites occur in Harper and Sumner counties, Kansas with the type-sites found along Bluff Creek, which flows south into Oklahoma eventually emptying into the Chikaskia River. The complex was originally dated to around AD. 1050 (Witty 1978), but more recent dates indicate occupation extends to at least AD. 1250 (Huhnke 2000). Sites are small villages encompassing a variety of house forms, oval, square, and rectangular structures that were made of wood posts plastered with daub. Many of the houses have no interior hearths, but cylindrical storage pits occur inside and outside of structures. Chipped stone tools resemble those found at most Plains Village sites and include diamond-beveled knives, end and side scrapers, drills, and retouched flake tools. Arrow points are typically side-notched and basally notched, but some Fresnos are also found. Florence-A chert is the
21

predominant material used for chipped stone tools. Bone tools include a variety of bison implements such as tibia digging stick tips and scapula hoes and cleavers. Pots are either cordmarked or smoothed globular jars. The pots are predominantly tempered with sand and occasionally bone. Some cordmarked vessels have collared rims similar to pottery found at Central Plains villages. Decorations are limited to tool-impressed lips (Thies 1989). Some shell tempered plain vessels occur and are considered trade wares from the south (Witty 1978:63). Subsistence is based upon cultivation of maize and other plants and hunting of, principally, bison. The complex may have developed into the Great Bend aspect. The Pratt complex is northwest of the Bluff Creek sites and it may have developed from the Bluff Creek complex. Brown and Simmons (1987:XVI-3) suggest that the Pratt complex dates to around AD. 1400-1500, but radiocarbon dates from one Pratt site extend

the age of this complex to as early as A.D. 1275 (Ranney 1994:85). Large villages are found on ridge tops overlooking streams. Houses are circular to oval grass structures measuring 10 to more than 16 feet in diameter. Central hearths are present and storage pits may be present within or outside of houses. Artifacts are similar to Bluff Creek materials, but trade items such as Olivella shell beads, Gulf marine shell, southwestern pottery, turquoise, and obsidian are more common at the Pratt sites. Lithic material use also varies from Bluff Creek with Alibates dominating chipped stone at one Pratt site (Ranney 1994). Ceramics consist of cordmarked jars with sand and/or bone tempering. Vessels have straight to outwardflaring rims and round or flat bottoms. Subsistence is based on hunting bison and deer, gathering wild plants, and small-scale cultivation of maize (Brown and Simmons 1987:XVI-3). The Pratt complex is considered ancestral to protohistoric Wichita complexes in the Arkansas River basin of central and south central Kansas Farther west in Kansas is the Wilmore complex found along tributaries of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River and the Cimarron River in the southwest part of the state. The three excavated sites used to define this complex have considerable variability and the complex has recently been combined with sites and complexes in northwestern Oklahoma to define a Plains Border variant (Bevitt 1999). The variant is characterized by small villages or hamlets containing houses that are square to rectangular or oval and have semi-subterranean floors. The principal artifact characteristic is the pottery. Small to medium jars typically have sand or bone temper and have decorated rims on
22

cordmarked vessels (Bevitt 1999: 183). The Wilmore complex sites vary in characteristics but each has semi-subterranean structures. Possible arbors or drying racks, pits, and hearths are also present at these sites. An oval pit structure was recorded at the Lundeen site at the western extent of this complex, but shallow, square structures are recorded for the eastern sites (Bevitt 1999). Wilmore complex ceramics are primarily cord marked jars although some pots have been smoothed. The jars usually have constricted necks with outflaring rims, and rounded bases. Rims are commonly decorated with pinched nodes. fingernail punctations, or tool impressions. Lips may also be incised or impressed with lines or punctuations. There is a great deal of variation in ceramics between the Wilmore sites and Bevitt (J 999) suggests this reflects temporal and functional variation in the assemblages. Sand and bone are the most common tempering agents. Chipped stone tools resemble those from other Plains Village sites. Raw material use varies between sites. Flint Hills cherts. Smoky Hill jasper. Edwards chert, and Alibates chert are represented to varying degrees at the different sites. The eastern, Comanche County. sites seem to prefer to use Flint Hills cherts such as Florence-A (Bevitt 1999: 177). Bison are present in large amounts at all of the sites and there is evidence that corn and other crops were important. In general, the three Wilmore complex sites seem to actually represent different manifestations either different spatial entities or variations from different periods of occupation. In northern Oklahoma, there have been investigations at several Plains Village sites. but research has not been extensive enough to define complexes. Vehik (1985b:321-324)

reports 29 Late Prehistoric sites along Salt Creek and Beaver and Little Beaver creeks in eastern Kay and western Osage counties. Most of these represent short-term occupations, although sites near the Florence-A quarries may be villages or base camps used to exploit the chert for trade (Vehik 1990:133-137). The initial work at Kaw Lake along the Arkansas River did not reveal much evidence of Late Prehistoric occupation before about A.D. 1450. However, lake erosion has since exposed evidence of early Plains Village sites on high terraces (Galm 1979; Vehik and Flynn 1982). The Uncas site (34KA 172) is the best documented Plains Village occupation in the area. The site represents a small hamlet or village on a terrace above the Arkansas River. Dates range from A.D. 1100-1400 but occupation most likely occurred around A.D. 1325 (Vehik and Flynn 1982:7). Pottery and house form distinguish this site from other Plains Village sites to the north in Kansas and to the south in Oklahoma. Houses are semisubterranean and square with rounded comers. They have four center posts, a central hearth, and some contain bell-shaped storage pits. Pottery consists of globular vessels with constricted necks, loop handles, and rounded bottoms. These are predominantly plain (Uncas Plain) or decorated (Coon Creek Incised) vessels, although some cordmarked sherds are present. Tempering is variable with sand, bone, grit, or shell used in various pots. Decorations consist of parallel, incised lines. Vehik (1994) suggests some similarity with ceramic types from the Central Plains tradition, the Smoky Hill variant, and the Lower Walnut focus of the Great Bend aspect. Other artifacts resemble typical Plains Village assemblages with side-notched arrow points predominating in the assemblage (Galm 1979). Chipped stone debris is dominated by

Florence-A with occasional pieces of Alibates and other materials. These people hunted bison, deer, and small game, but there is no direct evidence of plant cultivation. To the west of the study area there is, again, a dearth of information on Late Prehistoric sites. In the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles many villages related to the Upper Canark variant have been identified and excavated (see Drass 1998). These include the Zimms complex found in northwestern Oklahoma, with the Hedding site (34 WD2) occurring in eastern Woodward County. There is, however, some debate as to whether Hedding should be included with Zimms or separated into another complex (Bevitt 1999; Brosowske 1998). Hedding has an Antelope Creek phase house with extended entryway and central channel. Its pottery includes sand tempered Borger Cord marked vessels and a plain ware, Wolf Creek Plain. A few pieces are decorated with incised lips or chevron designs on rims that resemble Buried City complex pottery to the west in the Texas Panhandle. Local, Day Creek materials dominate Hedding lithics, but about 10% of the chipped stone is made from Florence-A. Other Late Prehistoric sites 111 Woodward County include the Loomis burial mound (34 WD 12) and the Traders Creek camp (34 WD5). Very little is known about the Loomis site because few artifacts were recovered. Two grit tempered cordmarked sherds and a Fresno point suggest a Late Prehistoric burial locale. The Traders Creek site has had more extensive work, but there is little published information. This appears to be a base camp with pits and hearths present (Buehler 1991). The assemblage includes cordmarked pottery with sand and, rarely,
23

bone temper. Decorations are limited to loop(?) handles, pinched rims, and tool impressed lips or rims. Lithics appear to be dominated by local, Day Creek chert, but some Florence-A and Alibates are reported (Buehler 1991). Radiocarbon dates indicate occupation of Traders Creek around A.D. 1450. Finally, two small hamlets or base camps, Wilson (34WOI0) and Nelson (34W057), are reported in eastern Woods County along Eagle Chief Creek (Drass 1999). These Late Prehistoric sites have assemblages consisting of side-notched and unnotched arrow points, end and side scrapers, and thin, cordmarked or smoothed pottery. The ceramics are tempered with bone and sand and contain a few rims and lips decorated with fingernail punctuations. Local materials dominate chipped stone assemblages, but Flint Hills cherts (Florence-A and Wreford) represent 2627% of the Late Prehistoric material (Drass 1999: 154). There is evidence of a house at the Wilson site, but only test excavations have been conducted. Protohistoric or Late Ceramic Around 500 years ago there are dramatic changes in the cultures of the Southern Plains, and these cultures continued to develop and change after initial European contact in 1541. Full historic documentation in this area occurs after about A.D. 1750. Most of the Plains Village complexes in the western half of Oklahoma are considered ancestral to the Wichita or other Plains Caddoan groups, whereas southeastern Oklahoma is tied to the Caddo. Apachean groups, also, migrated into parts of western Oklahoma and Texas sometime before A.D. 1550 (Wilcox 1981), but Wichita and Caddo groups continued to

occupy central and eastern Oklahoma at the time of historic contact. There are few early historic accounts of native cultures in Oklahoma, and the relationship between many of the Late Prehistoric groups and the later protohistoric and historic people is often unclear. However, a number of archeological complexes have been identified in the Southern Plains for the period from about A.D. 1450-1700. The Wheeler phase (Drass and Baugh 1997) is the primary proto historic manifestation in western Oklahoma. There are fewer protohistoric sites known in central Oklahoma and none attributed to this complex in northern Oklahoma. Wheeler phase groups. however, had important contact with protohistoric Wichita groups in north central Oklahoma. Many of the western Oklahoma sites have significant amounts of Florence-A chert that were traded or brought out to the area from sources in eastern Kay County or southern Kansas. The major Wheeler phase sites include Edwards I (34BK2), Taylor (34GR8), Little Deer (34CUI0), Duncan (34 WA2), and Goodwin-Baker (34RMI4) In western Oklahoma. The Wheeler phase, in generaL includes villages with houses and arbors and large encampments with fortifications (34BK2 and 34WA2). The fortified sites may have served as seasonal rendezvous for communal bison hunts and trade fairs. The fortifications consist of large, circular ditches enclosing an area about 50 meters in diameter. Earthen ramparts were probably once present but are not preserved at the Oklahoma sites. The ditches are about 1 meter wide and 1 meter deep. A similar fortification has been documented at the Longest site (34JF 1), an

24

early historic Wichita site on the Red River (Bell and Bastian 1967). Wheeler phase subsistence patterns emphasize bison hunting. Corn cultivation is suggested by the presence of corn at some western sites, but its importance in the economy has not been established. Trade with Southwestern and Caddo groups appears to have increased during this period with many nonlocal pottery, lithics, and shell items represented at Wheeler phase sites. Radiocarbon, archeornagnetic, and obsidian hydration dates place occupation between about A.D. 1450 and 1650 or 1700 (Baugh 1986). Artifacts characteristic of Wheeler phase sites include a predominance of unnotched (Fresno) points, some side-notched (Washita and Harrell) points, and small amounts of a basally notched point identified as Garza points. A thin, black sandy pottery (Edwards Plain) dominates the ceramic assemblages. These are small vessels with round bases, constricted necks. and everted or straight rims (Hofman 1984). Decorations are not common but notched rims, fingernail punctates, incised lines, and applique designs may be present. A plain, clay, or grog tempered pottery (Little Deer Plain) and small amounts of Southwestern and Caddoan pottery are also represented in these assemblages. Other characteristic tools include diamond-beveled knives, expanding base drills, ensiform pipe reamers, and many, often large, end and side scrapers. Lithic materials used in the manufacture of the stone tools vary depending upon location of the site, but usually include large amounts of nonlocal cherts such as Alibates, Florence-A, or Edwards. Bone and shell artifacts are not abundant, but they comprise a variety of decorative items as well as tools such as bone awls and a few bison

bone digging stick tips or hoes. Protohistoric sites in central and south central Kansas are associated with the Great Bend aspect that represents Wichita ancestors. The Great Bend aspect has been divided into two foci, the Little River and Lower Walnut foci. The Little River focus is found in central Kansas and the Lower Walnut division occurs along the Walnut and Arkansas rivers in south central Kansas. These groups may have developed out of local groups such as the Pratt or Bluff Creek complexes, or they may represent other groups that moved north from Oklahoma. The aspect dates roughly from A.D. 1450 to the historic period in the early 18th century in this area. Both foci are at least partly contemporaneous (Wedel 1959:586), and sites were occupied when Coronado and Ofiate traversed the area in 1541 and 1601. These groups may have been moving south at the time of Spanish contact and the Lower Walnut focus may have persisted later than the Little River focus (Hawley 1994:30). Two sites (Deer Creek, 34KA46, and BrysonPaddock, 34KA 70) farther south along the Arkansas River in Kay County, Oklahoma are early 18th century Wichita sites that were contacted by French traders (Wedel 1981). Wichita groups subsequently moved south to the Red River in south central Oklahoma and northern Texas. Great Bend aspect settlements consist of large villages scattered along terraces and hillsides near major streams. These were agricultural groups with gardens of corn, beans, and squash extending around the houses. Houses are oval grass-covered structures with central hearths (Brown 1987a). They are pole and grass-thatch structures, which sometimes are semi-subterranean. Arbors are also reported
25

(Lees et al. 1989). Bell-shaped pits are common and may be very large. Some sites have "council circles" consisting of shallow ditches and low mounds (Wedel 1959). Refuse mounds are common at many of the sites. Artifacts from some of the Great Bend sites include Euro-American items such as iron axes and awls, copper, brass, or glass beads, chain mail, and, later, gun flints. Great Bend sites are also characterized by native long distance trade items such as Southwestern pottery, obsidian, turquoise, and pipestone pipes. Ceramics include Geneseo Plain, Simple Stamped and Red Filmed associated with Little River focus sites, and Cowley Plain found at Lower Walnut focus sites (Brown 1987a). The Geneseo wares are typically sand tempered, but the Cowley pottery is shell tempered. Vessels are bowls or flat-bottomed jars with direct or flaring rims and loop handles. Projectile points are predominantly unnotched (Fresnos). Beveled knives and end scrapers are common. Bison bone tools are common and include scapula hoes, squash knives, beamers, and fleshers. Bone and shell beads and other ornaments are also found. Other than gardening, bison hunting was an important subsistence activity. Special hunting parties are recorded for historic Wichita groups from the fall to early spring and these likely were important for the protohistoric groups (Brown 1987a). A variety of other game was also hunted and plant collection was probably important. Historic The earliest accounts documenting indigenous peoples in North America come from Spanish records. In 1601, Ofiate traveled through what is now western Oklahoma along the Canadian River valley and northward into central Kansas. Ofiate stopped at a Wichita village in
26

Kansas. By 1760, many of the Wichita relocated to sites in south central Oklahoma along the Red River as well as at a few archaeologically recorded villages further west and south. The move back south and west was partially in response to Osage aggression in the north. In 1803, the United States purchased a great tract of land west of the Mississippi in the Louisiana Purchase. The purchase ended the threat of Spanish reprisal for trespassing and opened the Oklahoma area to a flood of trappers and traders who capitalized on the fur trade, which had already been established further east and north by the French. Major waterways connecting to the Arkansas River and eventually to the Mississippi provided easy access to the fur-rich resources of Oklahoma, to trading tribes of the Plains. and to the Santa Fe trade center. Increasing settlement by Euro-Americans east of the Mississippi River brought a demand for the native residents of those areas to be relocated so that settlers might have access to their lands and by removal insure safety from hostilities for European settlers. The Osage ceded what is today northern Oklahoma to the United States in 1825. In the 1828 Congress created Indian Territory. an area set aside for the relocation of various native groups from the southeastern states. Cherokee started moving into northeastern Oklahoma in 1828. The Treaty of New Echota created the Cherokee Outlet as an access to western hunting areas (Morris et al. 1976). The study area is within this Cherokee Outlet. but the area was never occupied by the Cherokee. A treaty in 1866 sold parts of the Outlet to the Osage, Pawnee, Ponca, Kaws, Otos and Missouris, and Nez Perces. The Nez Perces

moved back to Idaho in 1885 and their lands were occupied by the Tonkawas (Morris et al. 1976). The Salt Fork of the Arkansas River near its junction with the Arkansas River includes part of the Ponca and Tonkawa reservations. Areas farther west were unoccupied by native groups. The same treaty forbid permanent settlement of the Outlet by Cherokees. In the mid to late 1800s cattle from Texas were driven north to Kansas for shipment east. These trails crossed the Cherokee Outlet and cattlemen often left their stock to graze in the rich prairies in this area. Two trails crossed the Salt Fork during this period. Before the Civil War, the West Shawnee Trail was used to bring cattle to Baxter Springs, Kansas. This trail crossed the Salt Fork just west of its junction with the Arkansas River. After the Civil War, cattle were taken along the Chisholm Trail, which crossed the Salt Fork near Pond Creek in central Grant County. Cattle became an important industry in the Cherokee Outlet area in the 1870s. Ranchers from Kansas and other areas began to use the range illegally in the 1870s. The Cherokee eventually began charging a grazing tax. In 1883, the Cherokee Strip Live Stock Association consisting of a group of cattlemen leased the Outlet for cattle grazing. The cattlemen established large ranches along the Salt Fork and in other areas until 1892 when the Outlet was purchased by the government. The Cherokee Outlet was opened for settlement by land run on September 16, 1893 (Morris et al. 1976). Each homesteader could claim a quarter section of land. The project area was incorporated in Oklahoma Territory and became Kay and Grant counties at statehood in 1907.

27

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This investigation involves the intensive survey of select portions of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin in Grant and Kay counties to identify prehistoric sites. Previous research has involved very little survey of the Salt Fork River basin. One survey has included a small part in far western Grant County and portions of the river valley in Alfalfa County (Ferring et al. 1976). This survey, however, recorded no prehistoric sites and only one historic dugout. Some small surveys have been conducted along tributaries in Kay County. Wallis (1980) investigated Lost and Duck creeks, tributaries of the Chikaskia River, finding evidence of prehistoric occupation from the Middle Archaic period to the Late Prehistoric, plus some late historic farmsteads. Most of the prehistoric sites, however, are considered to be Late Archaic or Woodland camps. In addition, avocational archeologists have reported a variety of sites along Bois d'Arc Creek, the Chikaskia River, and the Arkansas River near its junction with the Salt Fork (see Table 1). These sites include Middle to Late Archaic camps, Woodland camps and villages, and some Late Prehistoric villages. Other research includes extensive survey and excavation in Kaw Lake northeast of the study area and surveys and tests along Salt Creek in western Osage County near the Florence-A sources. The current project is part of the Oklahoma Historic Preservation survey and planning process. Thus, one objective of the survey is to record and assess archeological resources for future land management and preservation planning. Given the relatively high density of sites recorded in the eastern end of the Salt Fork basin and in nearby areas just east of the basin, we chose to concentrate the efforts of this project on the middle portion of the Salt Fork basin in western Kay County and the eastern half of Grant County. There are only 24 sites recorded in this portion of the Salt Fork basin. These range from the historic 101 Ranch to Middle Archaic camps related to the Calf Creek culture. There has been limited investigation of 34GT9, a Woodland or Late Prehistoric camp, but there is no published data on this site. The survey, thus, should permit preliminary evaluation of prehistoric and historic site distributions west of the Arkansas River, and it may provide evidence to determine if different types of occupations occurred on the western prairies. The survey should also provide some information on the extent of use of Florence-A chert in the prairies west of the source area and quarries. In general, the survey is designed to provide information on the distribution and types of prehistoric sites in the middle portion of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River basin. In terms of site distribution, previous research in north central Oklahoma has provided some comparative data on settlements in the area just east of our project. Research from the Kaw Lake and Salt Creek projects indicates occupation of that area from at least the Middle Archaic period through the historic period. Reported sites related to the Archaic are typically small limited activity camps scattered along terrace settings, or upland lithic extraction locales. Archaic occupations are not

28