The artifacts include fragments from arrowheads, spearheads and evidence of stone toolmaking, according to a report by Gray & Pape, the archeological firm SunCoke hired to complete excavation of the sites.
The items recovered date back to the Archaic and Woodland periods, between 8000 B.C. and 1200 A.D.
Field work has been completed, but the company still has to photograph and analyze the samples collected. Mike Striker of Gray & Pape said SunCoke has requested the firm have no comment on the discoveries at this time. The company did not want to release information until after its New Source Review air permit from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is issued. SunCoke has not returned requests for comment.
Site connections
While officials from the Ohio Historical Society have said SunCoke has indicated it will not seek National Historic Preservation registry status for its sites, the information collected from the find will serve as a valuable tool to learning more about the area’s American Indian history, said anthropologist Andrew Sawyer, site manager at SunWatch Indian Village and Archaeological Park in Dayton.
“The site helps complete what we know about settlements in Ohio. There are still many areas that have not been surveyed yet, especially in Butler County,” he said.
According to Sawyer and the Gray & Pape report, the site was likely a temporary one, used for a couple of seasons for tool maintenance while groups hunted for game. The artifacts’ dating indicated the people were probably hunters and gathers, living a mobile lifestyle following animal herds. There were no signs of a more permanent settlement or burial grounds.
“We haven’t found very many human remains from those time periods. It’s more of a few being found buried or cremated here or there,” Sawyer said.
Because of how far back the artifacts date, it is difficult to pinpoint site usage to a specific American Indian tribe. It’s possible because of the nomadic nature of people back then, the original site users may not have stayed in Ohio. It’s also possible they could have been related to the settlers of other regional sites, Sawyer said.
“You can’t really make direct links in these situations,” he said. “Over time we see the ebb and flow of population in areas and it’s only in the late prehistoric era that we see more dense populations. There were American Indians from Maine to California on almost every part of the landscape.”
What would help connect sites like those at SunCoke would be more reports of archeological discoveries. Even farmers finding arrowheads in a field can contribute by having their property studied and possibly designated on the national registry, Sawyer said.
What happens now
A memorandum of agreement from the Army Corp. of Engineers, which issued SunCoke’s Section 404 Clean Water Act permit Oct. 22, 2009 due to its activities near a waterway (Dick’s Creek), indicates “Native American Tribes” were contacted about the affected property and “raised no objection to the work proposed.” It also indicates no further field work is necessary unless other significant archaeological deposits are found.
Gray & Pape’s field work indicated there was a boundary to the archeological site, and likely no other artifacts to be recovered. However, the historical society does indicate in a letter it sent Dec. 28 to the Army Corp. of Engineers that more field work would be necessary if additional artifacts were found during construction.
While Sawyer said a company may be under no obligation to report other finds, Gray & Pape was “very professional” and SunCoke so far seemed to be “doing its due diligence.”
“There is a lot of apparent animosity about this (plant) in the community and I think (SunCoke wants) to do everything right so they don’t miss something and someone comes back and nails them on it,” he said.
The Ohio Historical Society said SunCoke has complied with all of the procedures of the preservation act.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.
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