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Introduction
Site 18FR611 is located in Frederick County, Maryland on the west bank of
Catoctin Creek. Cultural occupations
include Late Archaic and Middle Woodland period short-term resource procurement
camps overlain with a 20th-century artifact scatter.
Archaeological Investigations
The site was discovered during a Phase I archaeological survey of the
Stanley-Summers property in 1987.
Phase II investigations by Hardlines Design Company revealed deeply buried
prehistoric deposits that have apparently been protected from modern disturbance
by a thick layer of alluvium and colluvium deposited over the last few
centuries. The northeastern portion of
the site seems especially intact, with a well-developed paleosol that contains
prehistoric cultural material. The
presence of charcoal flecking in this paleosol suggests that features such as
hearths may be present. The site has
yielded diagnostic material related to occupations by Late Archaic, Transitional
Archaic, and Middle Woodland period groups.
This includes grit-tempered pottery, which is rarely found in open
settings in the Middletown Valley. The
site exhibits distinct artifact clustering, which should allow for possible
temporal and cultural segregation of deposits, if each cluster reflects a
different occupation.
Archeobotancial Studies
Annette Ericksen analyzed two soil samples from Unit 4; a total of 15 liters of
soil produced 1.67 grams of carbonized plant macro-remains. A seven-liter sample was taken from
the 2B2b horizon, which produced three pieces of hardwood charcoal, and an
eight-liter sample was taken from the 3Ab horizon, which produced 143 pieces of
wood charcoal and a single carbonized seed of smartweed (Polygonum pennsylvanicum).
The majority of the wood charcoal
fragments were too small for taxonomic identification, but a single specimen of
hickory (Carya sp.) is associated with
the 3Ab horizon sample. The limited
variety/high density of the paleobotanical assemblage supports the
interpretation of the 3Ab stratum as a well-developed paleosol.
Furthermore, the presence of a carbonized
seed indicates that seasonality could possibly be determined for any features
located within the paleosol that might contain other seeds.
References
| Ericksen, Annette G. |
| 2006 |
Archaeological Analysis of Soil Samples from Two
Archaeological Properties (18FR611 and 18FR612) in
Frederick
County, Maryland. In Report of Phase II Archaeological Assessment
of 18FR611 and 18FR612,
Staley-Summers Parcel Excess Property, Frederick County, Maryland. Hardlines Design
Company
for the Maryland State Highway Administration. |
| |
| Sewell, Andrew R. |
| 2006 |
Report of Phase II Archaeological Assessment
of 18FR611 and 18FR612, Staley-Summers Parcel
Excess
Property, Frederick County, Maryland. Hardlines Design Company
for the Maryland State
Highway
Administration. |
|