By: Joseph R. Miller, Victoria Keifer, and Kristin Kjeldsen
Edited by Christine Keller
Principal Investigators: Christine Keller and Mark A. Hill
Reports of Investigation 79 Volume 1 and 2, Applied Archaeology Laboratories, Ball State University
PDF of Report, Redacted Version
An Archaeological Survey of Blackford County: Enhancement of a Data Deficient Region (PowerPoint)
Abstract
The Applied Archaeology Laboratories (AAL) at Ball State University conducted a data enhancement project for archaeological resources in Blackford County, Indiana, for an FY2011 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #31921-4). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Blackford County, Indiana with a focus on the Salamonie River Valley and the northern half of the county. Approximately 915 acres (370.3 hectares) of agricultural land were surveyed and 179 new archaeological sites were recorded. The survey recovered 256 prehistoric artifacts and 1,3369 historic artifacts from 16 parcels of land within Blackford County. Cultural periods that are represented in the artifact assemblage include Early Archaic, Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, Early Woodland, Middle Woodland and Late Woodland/ Prehistoric components that were documented from the pre-contact era. The average site density recorded for the project area for pre-contact sites was one site per 6.58 acres.