HAMILTON TOWNSHIP – Material remnants of the past have recently been recovered from the area Duke Energy plans to build its gas-powered energy plant – in an effort to preserve the past and prepare for the future.

Friday, August 10, 2001

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP – Material remnants of the past have recently been recovered from the area Duke Energy plans to build its gas-powered energy plant – in an effort to preserve the past and prepare for the future.

A team of archeologist, scientists who study the material remains of people in the past, from Gray & Pape Inc., are studying the land the energy company proposes to build its new site in Lawrence County. The archeologist’s work is required by federal law as a part of the permit process. During the excavation, the researchers have discovered clues to the life of the peoples indigenous to this area about 3,500 years ago, weaving another part of the puzzle into understanding the way people worked and lived in what is now Southern Ohio.

The team has spent several days in the heat and humidity digging into the earth seeking the artifacts. As the group finishes the final phase of three-part project, the researchers have gathered information that will aid other researchers in rebuilding the past of this part of Ohio.

The group has excavated several different areas, or features, where there is material evidence of early Native American activity.

Matthew Purtill, the site manager and principal investigator for Gray & Pape, said his team has found cooking pits left behind by the prehistoric residents.

These cooking pits were ovens dug into the ground and used to cook food – usually over a long period of time. Inside the underground ovens, Native Americans would line the bottom with what researchers call "fire cracked rocks," or FCR’s. These rocks were heated in a fire, warmed, then placed in the earth-oven.

The remains researchers are finding are discolorations in the soil from the charcoal and the FCR’s a little more than a foot below today’s surface. Carbon dating performed on some of the charcoal has estimated the site was used by prehistoric people in what scientist call the "Late Archaic" period, or about 3,500 years ago. Purtill said the findings are consistent with materials found at other sites that are from the same time period as this site.

Purtill, while surveying some of the FCR’s his team recovered and watching a train that rolled near the site close to U.S. Route 52, gave an example of how the site was used by the people long ago.

The plateau of land lies between the river and the hills and is well drained, the archeologist explained. He said the tribe of people were seasonal travelers, moving to areas were food was abundant during certain periods of the year. During the summer and fall this area probably provided a good situation to hunt animals and gathering fruits, nuts and other botanical foods – domestication of animals and agriculture hadn’t started here yet. He said multiple smaller groups probably traveled to the area to meet together and share technology, new ways to make spear points, share food and socialize. After the this meeting, the large group probably disbanded back into smaller family groups and moved to other areas where there would be less competition for food.

These people will continue this cycle until the environment and their society changes and then they will make lifestyle adaptations to adjust.

Researchers will continue to study the items found at the site, including some food remnants that survived the years, adding to the information about early people in this area.

The research conducted by Gray and Pape will be submitted with the plans the energy company must file in order to obtain the permit needed if a plant is to be built in Lawrence County.