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The Northeastern Indiana Paleoindian Project

North America was first intensively occupied around 11,000-8,000 B.C. by nomadic peoples we call Paleoindians. The most distinctive artifacts of the Paleoindian cultures are well-crafted, “fluted” spear points such as Clovis, Folsom, and Cumberland/Barnes. Paleoindian artifacts are found across most of North America. The Paleoindians were the founders of the Native American cultures that flourished in our area for the following 10,000 years.

Northern Indiana is at the edges of the distributions of a number of Paleoindian point types, including varieties centered in the Great Lakes (such as Gainey, Barnes, Holcombe, and Hi-Lo), Southeast (such as Cumberland and Dalton), and Plains (such as Folsom and Agate Basin). Early studies of Paleoindian artifacts in Indiana suggested that Paleoindian materials were most concentrated in counties along the Ohio River. Many of the more detailed studies that followed focused on the southern portion of the state. As a result, there have been few synthetic treatments of Paleoindian data in the northeastern Indiana area. Likewise, there have been no substantive studies of Paleoindian chronology comparable to those in nearby areas of Michigan, Ontario, and Ohio.

The IPFW-AS received a grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, to study the distribution and dynamics of Paleoindian cultures in northeastern Indiana. Work on this first grant in 2004-2005 included:

• assembling a GIS database of known Paleoindian site locations in Allen, Whitley, and Kosciusko counties
• collecting as much information as possible on undocumented Paleoindian sites and artifacts in northeastern Indiana
• conducting field survey to collect data about the general prehistoric sequence in our area
• conducting intensive surveys of several known Paleoindian sites
• conducting an analysis of all collected information to generate statements about Paleoindian chronology and culture in our area
• giving public presentations to share the knowledge gained about Paleoindians in our area
• reporting results of the work and analysis (IPFW-AS ROI 501)
  

The IPFW-AS has received grant funds to continue work in 2005-2006.  Activities planned for 2005-2006 include:

• expanding the GIS database of Paleoindian sites to Adams, Huntington, and Wells counties
• assembling a GIS database of all sites in Allen County
• excavations on two sites (12-Al-2062 and 12-Ko-492) with Paleoindian components
  
• collecting as much information as possible on undocumented Paleoindian sites and artifacts in northeastern Indiana through examination of private collections
  
• conducting on several previously reported Paleoindian sites
• conducting an analysis of all collected information to test hypotheses generated during the 2004-2005 work (see IPFW-AS ROI 501)
• giving public presentations to share the knowledge gained about Paleoindians in our area

Contrary to the general view that these earliest recognized cultures did not intensively occupy northeastern Indiana, Paleoindian materials appear to be relatively common in local collections. By no means, however, are Paleoindian materials plentiful relative to those of other prehistoric periods – they are always rare, and each artifact has a high information value. One of the primary goals of the grant work is to document as much Paleoindian material from the region as possible. This can only be accomplished through cooperation with the public. The best way to find and document Paleoindian sites and materials is to talk to people who already know about them. If you have a prehistoric artifact collection from the Allen, Whitley, and Kosciusko county area (or any of the counties in northern Indiana), you may have valuable information.

A quick guide to common Paleoindian point forms is provided here as a .pdf file that can be downloaded and printed.  This pamphlet offers a shorter version.  Please look through your collection! If you have Paleoindian artifacts from the area or think you may have Paleoindian artifacts, please contact Andy White at the IPFW Archaeological Survey: (260) 481-4183; email: whitea@ipfw.edu. Site location information will remain confidential. I will be in and out of the office during the spring and summer – please be patient.

The success of this work will depend on public participation!

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