Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Geosciences
Date of Award
8-2018
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Eileen G. Ernenwein
Committee Members
Jay Franklin, A. Gwynn Henderson, Ingrid Luffman, David Pollack
Abstract
Located on a ridgetop in central Kentucky, the Singer-Hieronymus Site Complex consists of at least four Native American villages. The Native Americans who lived there are called the “Fort Ancient” by archaeologists. This study examined relationships between these villages, both spatially and temporally, to build a more complete history of site occupation. To do this, aerial imagery analysis, geophysical survey, and archaeological investigations were conducted. This research determined there were differences among villages in terms of their size, however other characteristics—internal village organization, village shape, radiometric dates, and material culture—overlapped significantly. Additionally, landscape-scale geophysical survey identified at least three potentially new villages. It has been suggested that Fort Ancient groups abandoned villages every 10 to 30 years due to environmental degradation, but these results suggest that native peoples did not abandon villages at Singer-Hieronymus. Current thought surrounding Fort Ancient village abandonment and reoccupation must therefore be reconsidered.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Sea, Claiborne, "Native American Occupation of the Singer-Hieronymus Site Complex: Developing Site History by Integrating Remote Sensing and Archaeological Excavation" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3471. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3471
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Geographic Information Sciences Commons, Remote Sensing Commons