Archaeological Evaluation Sites 9Ht28, 9Ht29, and 9Ht36 Robins Air Force Base, Georgia

Archeological site 9Ht28 has a very low prehistoric and historic artifact density faintly clustered spatially and resting in a secondary, plowzone context. This result corresponds well with the observations of the area during the original survey by Blanton and Reed (1987); however, there is a question as to whether 9Ht28 is an actual archeological site or whether the area is simply a repository of a few artifacts displaced from the adjacent 9Ht27 site area by past farming activities. The present archeological investigation of the area suggests the latter rather than the former. Based on the results of the present investigation of 9Ht28, this cultural resource is not NRHP-eligible. It is recommended that 9Ht28 no longer be considered a valid prehistoric archeological site, that it be removed from the Robins AFB roster of cultural resources, and that steps are taken to remove the site from the Georgia Archaeological Site File. In summary, archeological site 9Ht29 is a small area measuring some 80 meters north-south and some 70 meters east-west containing three stratified components across two significantly different soils. The site area straddles both the upland ridge summit as well as a stabilized and buried Middle Holocene erosional feature at the ridge terminus. The three cultural components are probably Late Archaic, Early/early Middle Woodland, and late Middle/early Late Woodland, each represented by a low artifact density. A variety of biological resources would have been available from the adjacent wetland, dryer upland, and the droughty ridge terminus. Mineralogical resources available along the short scarp of the erosional surface include clay and stone in the form of large pebbles and small cobbles. The clay sources include, from the surface downward, the soil Bt horizon, the Sangamon geosol, and the underlying kaolin bedrock. Large pebbles, observed during the present testing of the site, were readily available. Also probably available were small to medium cobbles within the ancient Ocmulgee River channel lag deposits that were exposed by the Middle Holocene erosion of the ridge terminus. The lithic waste and the fractured quartz hammerstone indicate that a modest amount of lithic reduction as well as tool fabrication and maintenance were performed at the site. In addition, the burned earth and charcoal, the body sherd, and the small calcined bone fragment indicate the use of pyrotechnology for a variety of purposes such as making ceramics and cooking. This site appears to be similar, from both an environmental and a cultural perspective, to a number of other sites in the area. While the site could answer some research questions pertinent to the cultures potentially represented, the other similar sites in the area would probably serve the purpose better. Accordingly, based on the present investigations of archeological site 9Ht29, it is determined that archeological site 9Ht29 is not NRHPeligible; however, the site still has value as a teaching resource and, for that reason as well as its proximity to a wetland, it is recommended that the site be given reasonable protection from potential projects should they arise. The portion of archeological site 9Ht36 investigated revealed an extremely low prehistoric artifact density resting in a secondary, plowzone context. The original survey by Blanton and Reed (1987, p. 91) found a few prehistoric artifacts in a heavily disturbed surficial context but recovered only a single prehistoric artifact that "was found in the three positive shovel tests, in the shallow, sandy loam deposit above sterile subsoil." As with 9Ht28, there is a question as to whether 9Ht36 is an actual archeological site or whether the prehistoric artifacts were introduced during bulldozing/grading of the former "unimproved dirt roads" that crossed the area. The original and present archeological investigations of the area suggest that 9Ht36 is not a valid prehistoric archeological site. Based on the results of the present investigation of 9Ht36, this cultural resource is not NRHP-eligible. It is recommended that 9Ht36 no longer be considered a valid prehistoric archaeological site, that it be removed from Robins AFB roster of cultural resources, and that steps are taken to remove the site from the Georgia Archaeological Site File.