By: Abby L. Clark, Christine Thompson, Matthew P. Purtill, and Kevin C. Nolan
Principal Investigators: Christine Thompson and Kevin C. Nolan
Reports of Investigation 98, Volume 1, Applied Anthropology Laboratories, Ball State University
PDF of Report, Redacted Version
Abstract
The Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL) at Ball State University conducted a data enhancement project for archaeological resources in Newton County, Indiana for a FY2016 Historic Preservation Fund Grant (Grant #18-16FFY-04). This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Newton County, Indiana with a focus on the two central townships, Beaver and Jackson, and under-represented ecological communities within Newton County based on FY2014 and FY2015 surveys. A total of 932.27 acres (377.27 hectares) of agricultural land were surveyed, which includes 5.63 acres of resurveyed area, and 110 new archaeological sites were recorded. The survey recovered 103 prehistoric artifacts and 4,063 historic artifacts from nine parcels of land within Newton County. No human remains were discovered as a result of this grant project. Cultural periods that are represented in the artifact assemblage include precontact era Middle Archaic, Middle-Late Archaic, Late Archaic, and Late Woodland components, in addition to Historic components. The average site density recorded for the project area for precontact sites was one site per 24.53 acres and for Historic sites was one site per 10.02 acres.