Prehistory of the Middle Chattahoochee River Valley: Findings of the 1989-1990 West Point Lake Archeological Survey and Site Testing Project

The West Point Lake Project involved a cultural resources survey of six tracts located on the Chattahoochee River bottom lands and an intensive evaluation of six archeological sites. The survey resulted in the discovery of eight archeological occurrences and six archeological sites, three of which are recommended for further evaluation. The site testing program focused on six previously recorded sites and involved controlled surface collection, systematically placed shovel test pits, and block stripping. On the sites exhibiting deep soil deposits, the excavation of 2 by 2 meter excavation units was substituted for block stripping. Overall, the field methods implemented for this project yielded 108 projectile points or point fragments, of which 40 were identifiable as to diagnostic type; 364 non-hafted bifaces; 31 unifaces and/or miscellaneous lithic tools; 92 cores or core fragments; 9,273 pieces of debitage; and over 13,750 pottery sherds. The information obtained from the lithic materials indicates that the occupational history of the Middle Chattahoochee Valley begins as early as 8,000 years ago and continues up to the present, with only brief periods of light use or abandonment. The overwhelming majority of the ceramics indicate that the most intensive use of the valley occurred during the Late Mississippian and Historic Creek Periods. Ceramics exhibiting plain smoothed or incised surface finishes and folded finger-pinched rim treatments dominate the collections. Although there is little doubt that these occupations are late in the cultural sequence, difficulties arise when attempting to place them within fine scale temporal sequences developed for other regions. The unique character of the Mississippian ceramic assemblages and the lack of comparative data derived from excavations greatly hinders sequence development for the Middle Chattahoochee Valley materials. Other important ceramics collected during the project included Late Archaic fiber tempered and Middle Woodland check stamped wares. While these ceramic types comprise a relatively small percentage of the total project collections, they nevertheless represent important discoveries within the valley. Fiber tempered ceramics, exhibiting attributes similar to the Gulf Coast Norwood wares, came from one site and are suggestive of an adaptation using an extensive land use system. Conversely, Middle Woodland check stamped ceramics were recovered on a number of project sites indicating a more intensive use of the area. Check stamped ceramics are found in both the inner coastal plain and Piedmont regions of the Chattahoochee River Basin, and are traditionally separated by the presence of specific minority wares in the respective assemblages. Several ceramic types typically identified as minority wares were recovered on the project sites, however, their association with the diagnostic check stamped pottery was not proven. At one of the Middle Woodland sites, the excavation of a large pit feature yielded substantial quantities of check stamped pottery and important new information concerning the subsistence practices used by the valley occupants during the later half of the first century A. D.