Phase III Archaeological Data Recovery Investigations at the Town Creek Site (9BL129)

From February 13-24, 2006, Brockington and Associates, Inc., conducted Phase III archaeological data recovery investigations at the Town Creek Site (9BL129) in Baldwin County, Georgia. The portion of the site mitigated as part of the Fall Line Freeway project is located between Stations 15+300 and 15+400 to the north of State Route (SR) 24. While the site extends south of SR 24 for an undetermined length, that portion of the site was omitted from investigation at the request of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) as it will not be impacted during bridge replacement and highway widening activities associated with the overall undertaking. The archaeological data recovery was conducted under contract with Greenhorne & O'Mara, Inc. Data recovery was completed in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended through 2004 (16 USC 470). The level of effort consisted of the completion of the previous Phase I shovel test grid (excavation of five shovel tests) and the hand excavation of ten 2-by-2-meter test units. Placement of the units was at the discretion of the principal investigator. Overall, excavations revealed a rich archaeological deposit including materials dating from the Early Archaic (Kirk hafted bifaces) through the Late Mississippian (Lamar Bold Incised ceramics) periods. The bulk of the archaeological deposits, however, occur within the undifferentiated plowzone stratum, where early and late materials were found commingled. Moreover, no cultural features were identified, and little to no intact vertical or horizontal patterning of the archaeological deposits is retained. Nonetheless, Phase III excavations at the site have provided information regarding generalized past lithic procurement at the site and possible inferences regarding past occupations over time. The primary use of 9BL129 appears to be lithic reduction, as 90 percent of the material recovered was related to lithic tool manufacturing and maintenance. The majority of the lithic debitage brought to the site exhibits signs of late-stage tool manufacturing, indicating that raw material was brought to 9BL129 in smaller and partially reduced packages. Both local and extralocal materials and shifts can be seen in raw material selection over time. Local orthoquartzite was extracted from a nearby quarry, initially reduced at a nearby early-stage lithic workshop, and brought to 9BL129 in smaller packages for late-stage and final reduction. Analysis of use-wear patterns reflected on recovered hafted bifaces suggests that perhaps a wide array of activities such as butchering, food processing, and hunting occurred over time at 9BL129. Evidence of deer processing and hide scraping was identified on a Late Archaic tool, and occupation during that period likely occurred sometime during the fall to early spring. Mississippian hafted bifaces contained impact fractures likely formed during hunting. However, the absence of features that would indicate the use of a hearth and the trace recovery of firecracked rock and faunal remains do not firmly support these activities. The location of the site along a high bluff above the floodplain of Town Creek suggests that riverine aquatic resources may have been available for exploitation at 9BL129. Artifacts are clustered toward the eastern edge of the site, where the bluff edge overlooks the divergence of the flood channel and Town Creek. It is possible that fishing activities occurred below along the floodplain and on the small island formed by the divergence of the flood channel, yet this is only speculation on site use.