INVESTIGATIONS AT TWO ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES NEAR 

AKERS FERRY, OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAYS, 

SHANNON COUNTY, MISSOURI 

BY 

James E. Price 

Midwest Archeological Center 

Technical Report No. 37 

United States Department of the Interior 

National Park Service 

Midwest Archeological Center 

Lincoln. Nebraska 

ABSTRACT 

Archeological investigations were carried out at two multicomponent archeological sites 

in the vicinity of Akers Feny in Shannon County, Missouri, in September 1991. This work was 

conducted under a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and the University 

of Missouri-Columbia and consisted of subsurface testing of previously recorded archeological 

sites in areas where planned developments in Ozark National Scenic Riverways would adversely 

impact their archeological integrity if there were significant cultural deposits present on them. 

The investigations reported herein were conducted at two sites. 

The first, the Akers Pass site (23SH22), was determined to consist of a multicomponent 

prehistoric site yielding cultural materials from the Late Archaic substage to the Emergent 

Mississippi substage. Also discovered on the site were the significant remains of a circa 1830- 

1860 Euroamerican habitation which yielded abundant archeological materials. 

The second site, the Dances with Grasshoppers site (23SH177), consisted of widely 

scattered remains of prehistoric occupations on a series of undulating landforms in Gladden Creek 

valley. It was a multicomponent site with evidence of habitation from the Early Archaic substage 

to the Emergent Mississippi substage. Subsurface testing revealed that prehistoric features exist 

below the plow zone. 

Analysis of data and cultural materials from the two sites indicates that both are 

significant and have the potential to yield information on lifeways associated with past 

occupations of the Current River valley. It is recommended that if the sites cannot be avoided 

during planned construction activities, sufficient excavations be conducted on them to mitigate, 

through data recovery, any adverse impacts that might result from subsurface disturbance. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

This investigator wishes to thank Dr. F.A. Calabrese of the Midwest Archeological Center, 

National Park Service, Lincoln, Nebraska, for making this project possible. Gratitude is also 

extended to Dr. Mark Lynott of Midwest Archeological Center who served as co-principal 

investigator on this project and whose suggestions and insights are always welcome during field 

research. 

Mr. Art Sullivan, Superintendent of Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and his staff are 

acknowledged for extending hospitality and assistance during our fieldwork along the Current 

River. 

The work could not have been accomplished without the effort of the field crew consisting 

of Dennis Naglich, Edge Wade, Ann Pruitt, Jarrod Woolard, Lavearl Johnson, Julie Schablitsky, 

Rebecca Wallace, Todd Butler, and Todd Ahlman. Their conscientious endeavors are 

acknowledged. 
CONTENTS 

Abstract .......................................................... i 

. . Acknowledgments ................................................... 11 

... Table of Contents .................................................. 111 

List of Tables ..................................................... iv 

List of Figures ...................................................... v 

Introduction ....................................................... 1 

Project Location and Description ....................................... 2 

Environmental Setting .............................................. 2 

Previous Research at the Akers Ferry Locale .............................. 3 

The Akers Pass Site .................................................. 5 

Description of Excavations .......................................... 5 

ShovelTests ................................................... 5 

Testunits .................................................... 6 

Observations Concerning the Site Subsurface ............................ 7 

Archeological Materials from the Akers Pass Site ............................. 9 

Prehistoric Materials ............................................... 9 

Bifacial Tools .................................................. 9 

Debitage .................................................... 11 

Ground- and Pecked-Stone Tools ................................... 12 

Miscellaneous Materials .......................................... 12 

Composition of the Prehistoric Assemblage .............................. 12 

Historic Materials ................................................ 13 

Domestic Utilitarian Artifacts: Ceramics .............................. 13 

Domestic Utilitarian Artifacts: Glass ................................ 15 

Small Personal and Utilitarian Artifacts ............................... 15 

Miscellaneous Metal Artifacts ...................................... 16 

Architectural Artifacts ........................................... 17 

Faunal and Food Remains ........................................ 18 

Dating the Historic Component of the Akers Pass Site ....................... 18 

Identity of the Euroarnerican Occupants ................................ 19 
The Dances with Grasshoppers Site ...................................... 2 1 

Description of Excavations ......................................... 21 

Shovel Tests .................................................. 22 

Testunits ................................................... 22 

Features 1 and 2 ............................................... 23 

Observations Concerning the Site Subsurface ........................... 24 

Archeological Materials from the Dances with Grasshoppers Site ................. 25 

Prehistoric Materials .............................................. 25 

Bifacial Tools ................................................. 25 

Unifacial Tools ................................................ 26 

Debitage .................................................... 26 

Ground- and Pecked-Stone Tools ................................... 27 

Miscellaneous Materials .......................................... 27 

Composition of the Prehistoric Assemblage .............................. 27 

Summary and Conclusions ............................................ 29 

Recommendations .................................................. 31 

References Cited ................................................... 33 

Tables .......................................................... 35 

Figures .......................................................... 39 

Appendix A . Inventory of Prehistoric Materials from the Akers Pass Site ........... 49 

Appendix B . Inventory of Historic Materials from the Akers Pass Site ............. 53 

Appendix C . Inventory of Prehistoric Materials from the Dances with Grasshoppers Site . 61 

Appendix D . An Archeological Evaluation of Site 23SH230. by Mark J . Lynott ...... 71 
TABLES 

1 . Prehistoric lithic artifact counts and distributions. Akers Pass site ............. 35 

2 . Historic sherd counts and distributions. Akers Pass site .................... 36 

3 . Historic artifact and faunal counts and distributions. Akers Pass site ........... 37 

4 . Distribution of selected prehistoric lithic artifacts. Dances With Grasshoppers site . . 38 

Dl . Prehistoric artifacts collected from test units. 23SH230 .................... 78 

FIGURES 

1 . Map of the project area. the locations of the Akers Pass site and the Dances 

with Grasshoppers site .......................................... 39 

2 . Map of the Akers Pass site with shovel tests and excavation units ............. 40 

3 . Profile of the east wall of Test Unit 30.31W. 48-50s ...................... 41 

4 . Prehistoric artifacts from the Akers Pass site ............................ 42 

5 . Historic cultural materials from the Akers Pass site. 23SH22 ................ 43 

6 . Map of the northern part of the Dances with Grasshoppers site ............... 44 

7 . Map of the southern part of the Dances with Grasshoppers site ............... 45 

8 . Plan views and cross sections of Features 1 and 2. Dances with Grasshoppers site . 46 

9 . Prehistoric bifacial artifacts from the Dances with Grasshoppers site ........... 47 

10 . Prehistoric artifacts from the Dances with Grasshoppers site ................. 48 

Dl . Topographic map of shovel tests and test units. 23SH230 .................. 79 

INTRODUCTION 

The field investigations that generated the data for this report were conducted under a 

cooperative agreement between the University of Missouri-Columbia and the National Park 

Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska. The University of Missouri, 

American Archaeology Division, has long maintained an active research interest in the 

southeastern Ozarks. The author, an archeologist at the University of Missouri and co-principal 

investigator on the project, has 30 years experience in archeological research in the region and 

a professional career which has focused on long-term research goals in southeastern Missouri. 

It is in the interest of both the National Park Service, whose charge is the protection and 

enhancement of cultural resources under its stewardship, and the University of Missouri, whose 

personnel have a dedicated and active research interest in the region, to accomplish these 

investigations jointly and add significant new information to a growing database for Ozark 

National Scenic Riverways. 

The research reported herein involved subsurface testing of two archeological sites in the 

vicinity of Akers Ferry on the upper Current River in Shannon County, Missouri. Although the 

project was site-specific in nature, the research strategies that guided it were based on a long-term 

regional commitment to understanding both the prehistoric and historic past in that region of the 

southeastern Ozark Highland of Missouri drained by the Current River and its major tributary, 

the Jacks Fork. 

During the past twelve years, considerable effort has been devoted to inventorying the large 

number of cultural resources within the boundaries of Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Test 

excavations have been conducted at numerous sites in the region in order to determine the 

cultural sequence in the past. These excavations have been done on sites ranging from early 

prehistoric sites to historic sites of the nineteenth century that were occupied when the region was 

first settled by Euroamerican peoples. All research has been directed toward an explanation of 

man's changing use of the natural environment of the southeastern Ozark Highland throughout 

the human experience there. Work has been directed toward studies of the natural environment 

that focus on geomorphology and stream dynamics, zooarcheology, ethnobotany, and palynology, 

so that a reconstruction of the natural environment and its resources can be accomplished for 

various periods in the past. Archeological research has focused on determination of settlement 

patterns and settlement systems that help explain how human populations selectively occupied 

the environment and how they optimized the capture of energy through the use of various 

foodstuffs and materials from the rugged environment of the Current River and Jacks Fork 

drainages. 

The project at Akers Ferry was another opportunity to document various past occupations, the 

material culture of these peoples, and the landforms they selected for various activities. A single 

such project as part of a long-term regional research design adds significant new information to 

a growing database that in time, through analysis, will lead to a better understanding of past 

lifeways in the Ozarks. 
Project Location and Description 

The project area lies in the southwest 114 of Section 13 and in the southeast 114 of Section 

14, Township 31 North, Range 6W. The landscape is quite rugged in this region in the upper 

Current River valley where there is as much as 365 feet in relief between valley floors and ridge 

crests. The project area is associated with a rather unique landform in the region, a ridge 

remnant that is surrounded almost totally by a stream valley except for a small saddle which 

connected it to another ridge (Figure 1). Over vast periods of time Gladden Creek, which drains 

southward from Dent County, has downcut in a massive westward bend and thereby created steep 

bluffs on the west and south and a remnant ridge within the bow of its course. The Akers Pass 

site, 23SH22, lies on the saddle that connects this ridge with the more massive ridges to the east. 

Archeological materials on this site are rather sparse on the saddle crest but more densely 

concentrated on the southern slope of the saddle. Soils on the saddle crest are residual clays 

containing angular fragments of angular chert. The Dances with Grasshoppers site, 23SH177, 

lies on a series of undulating landforms south of the ridge and between it and Gladden Creek. 

The landform on which the site lies appears to be a dissected ancient terrace of Gladden Creek, 

since it has a southern scarp. The northern portion of the site lies on rocky soils that apparently 

washed down from the southern face of the ridge. 

The archeological investigations on both sites consisted of subsurface testing, first by the 

placement of shovel tests along a grid to generate samples of archeological cultural materials and 

to determine site limits as well as where potential concentrations of archeological deposits and 

possible activity areas might exist. Analysis of materials yielded by shovel tests was then done 

in the field to determine where more extensive test excavations would be placed to potentially 

yield the most information about past use of the sites. 

Environmental Setting 

The study area is situated in the eastern Ozark Highland, a region characterized by rugged 

topography that includes both areas of narrow valleys and areas of rolling hills. Clear streams, 

including the Current River and its major tributary, the Jacks Fork, are typical of major tributaries 

in the area. 

The region was formerly covered with a variety of vegetational communities, some dominated 

by oak-hickory forests on ridge slopes and lower ridgetops, some by mixed oak-pine or pure pine 

stands on higher elevations, and some by oak or scrub oak barrens and possibly prairies on some 

ridgetop locales. Valleys were dominated principally by floodplain, hardwood forests. Mast and 

other wild plant food resources were locally available, as was a variety of large and small game 

animals, fish, and mussels. Fertile, easily tilled soils are limited to the terraces, levees, and 

floodplains of the larger stream valleys. Local lithic raw material resources include cherts, 

quartzite, sandstone, limestone, dolomite, galena, and hematite. The climate is continental, with 

a mean annual growing season of about 190 days and an annual precipitation of between 45 and 

50 inches. Because of the extensive subsurface drainage in the region, permanent sources of 
water are largely confined to the major stream valleys, although some springs and sinkholes 

provided water sources in uplands away from such valleys. The region is characterized by 

seasonal and zonal variability of resources. However, most resources present would have been 

available to human populations within a range of a few miles. Perhaps those resources presenting 

the greatest influence over settlement would be sources of fresh water and agriculturally suitable 

soils, both occurring principally in the larger valleys. 

Thus the major river valleys have long been the focus of human populations occupying the 

region. The rivers were probably fairly stable from the beginning of the Holocene until the 

coming of Euroamerican populations to exploit the timber resources in the late nineteenth 

century, with the exception of a drier period during the hypsithermal when streams were 

somewhat smaller. For detailed information on geomorphic history of the Current River as well 

as its dynamics the reader should consult Saucier (1982, 1983). 

Previous Research at the Akers Ferry Locale 

Archeological research has been conducted sporadically in the vicinity of Akers Ferry for 

several decades. Even before 1965 when the tract came under the ownership of the Department 

of the Interior, National Park Service, the tract had been a popular area for people seeking access 

to the Current River. Arable soils in the vicinity were plowed for agricultural crops, exposing 

archeological materials which were then collected by various individuals. Thus, it has long been 

common knowledge that the area was relatively rich in archeological resources. Sites at Akers 

Ferry were reported to the Archaeological Survey of Missouri by Dr. B.L. Ray of Salem, 

Missouri. The area was visited by Richard A Marshall of the University of Missouri in 1955 and 

by Marvin Tong in 1960 (Lynott 1989a:6). In 1975 Robert K. Nickel of the National Park 

Service conducted a preconstruction survey on site 23SH23 (Nickel 1975). 

No additional work was done at Akers Ferry until 1979 when additional survey and some test 

excavating were conducted on 23SH23 (Lynott 1981). In the course of this research it was 

discovered that stratified archeological deposits were present. Subsequent testing was conducted 

in 1980 and 1987 under the direction of Mark Lynott. Between these dates - in 1985 - 

Cynthia R. Price conducted a survey and monitored backhoe soil tests in various areas in the 

vicinity of Akers Ferry (C. Price 1985). With the exception of Lynott's 1987 excavations at 

23SH23 (Lynott 1989a), the present project represents the most extensive archeological research 

yet conducted in the Akers vicinity. To date, work on sites in this area has demonstrated past 

human occupation from the Early Archaic stage, represented by Dalton materials, to early 

nineteenth century Euroamerican habitation. Thus, the area offers a wide variety of archeological 

resources spanning approximately 10,000 years. 

THE AKERS PASS SITE 

Although the existence of the Akers Pass site (23SH22) has been known for many decades, 

no thorough definition of the site through subsurface excavations had been attempted there prior 

to the current project. The site lies on the crest and on the southern slope of a low swale across 

a major ridge. As presently defined, the site is bounded on the east by Highway KK, on the 

south by a small spring branch that flows into Gladden Creek, on the west by the edge of the 

presently cleared field, and on the north by the ridge scarp which steeply descends into Gladden 

Creek valley (Figure 2). It is quite possible that the site extends eastward across Highway KK 

into a Euroamerican cemetery. Exact boundaries on the west have not been fully delineated, but 

it probably does not extend a great distance in that direction, since the ridge slope becomes rather 

rugged with outcropping bedrock in that area. Prehistoric archeological materials on the site are 

rather sparse on the ridge crest in the swale but become more numerous down the slope in the 

central part of the site above the spring branch. The historic component, circa 1830-1860, is 

much more concentrated and can be fully defined. It occupies the southern slope of the ridge 

and is concentrated in an area where a dwelling of that period apparently stood. This area is 

approximately 55 meters east-west by 30 meters north-south. 

The extreme eastern portion of the historic component may have been truncated by the scarp 

resulting from the construction of Highway KK. Other adverse impacts to both the prehistoric 

and historic components have resulted from the use of the ridge as the locus for a commercial 

structure with subsurface foundations, the excavation of a sewer drain line down the slope 

associated with that structure, the installation of concrete parking barriers that were secured in 

place by iron rods driven into the ground, and use of the area on the ridge crest as a parking lot. 

Both prehistoric and historic peoples were probably attracted to this location by the presence 

of a spring which issues from the base of the ridge. Soils on the site vary considerably, from 

clay filled with angular residual chert fragments on the ridge crest to fine loams with only 

moderate amounts of naturally occurring stones down the southern ridge slope. It is this 

relatively small patch of loam soils that received the most occupation in both prehistoric and 

historic times. A wide variety of natural resources were available to occupants of this site during 

both prehistoric and historic times, since it is situated at the margin of the Current River 

floodplain, yet above flood level. 

Description of Excavations 

Shovel Tests 

The research strategy on the Akers Pass site consisted first of extensive shovel testing on a 

grid across the site. A total of 38 such shovel tests were excavated at 10-meter intervals (Figure 

2). Each test measured approximately 30 x 30 x 30 centimeters. Soil removed from each shovel 

test was screened through 114-inch mesh. All observed cultural material was collected and placed 
The archeological materials recovered from each shovel test unit were initially analyzed in the 

field to guide the placement of larger test units and optimize the amount of data that could be 

generated by the fieldwork. This preliminary analysis indicated where the prehistoric occupation 

was concentrated and detected and defined the early nineteenth century historic Euroamerican 

component. 

Test Units 

A total of six 1-x-2-meter subsurface test units were excavated on the site (Figure 2). These 

were placed in the area where prior shovel testing had indicated that prehistoric and historic 

materials were concentrated. These are described in the following sections. 

Test Unit 19-20W, 48-50s. This was the easternmost test unit excavated. It was located only 

approximately two meters from the edge of the scarp created by construction of Highway KK. 

This unit was excavated to a depth of 32 cm (at its deepest point) below surface. The top 25 cm 

of this unit consisted of a light brown silty loam. This probably represents an old plow zone, 

since it is likely that the area was once cultivated. Below this stratum the soil immediately 

turned to a red-brown sandy silt, an apparently undisturbed subsoil. The unit produced both 

prehistoric and historic cultural materials. 

Test Unit 30-31W, 40-42s. This unit was located in the central portion of the historic 

component. Soil in this excavation was a rocky, dense loam. It was excavated to a depth of 29 

centimeters below surface. At this depth a lighter subsoil was encountered. In the southwestern 

corner of the unit a disturbance caused by late historic drainfield construction was noted. The 

disturbance consisted of a red clay which had come from a deeper excavation. This unit 

produced more prehistoric materials than any of the units excavated. Also, a variety of historic 

materials were recovered from this unit. 

Test Unit 30-31 W, 48-50s. This unit was down the slope from the above-described unit. It 

was excavated to a depth of 25 cm below surface. The old plow zone consisted of a brown 

compact loam with some gravel content. Below this, the subsoil turned a much lighter brown 

in color. It yielded prehistoric materials, but in lesser quantities than the unit upslope from it. 

A large quantity of window glass and square cut nails were recovered from this unit, which 

indicates the early nineteenth century historic structure must have stood on or very near to this 

spot. 

Test Unit 34-35W, 48-50s. This unit was low on the hillslope and 10 meters west of the 

above-described unit. The plow zone was only 20 cm deep in this unit and was a brown silty 

loam. At this 20-cm depth a light brown compact subsoil was encountered and the excavation 

was discontinued. The unit produced the base of a prehistoric projectile point and other lithic 

materials. The historic component was also well represented in this unit. 

Test Unit 40-41W, 40-42s. This unit, located in the northwestern portion of the historic 

component, was excavated to a depth of 23 cm below surface. This stratum was a tan silty loam 
which gave way to an even lighter soil at its base. A variety of prehistoric materials came from 

this unit, but it did not contain nearly as many historic specimens as the other units. No nails 

came from this locus, so apparently it was outside the area where the structure stood. 

Test Unit 40-41W, 48-50s. This unit was the southwesternmost unit excavated on the site. 

Excavation ceased on this unit at a depth of 30 centimeters below surface. This stratum consisted 

of a light brown silt with some clay content and is heavily laden with gravel and natural angular 

chert fragments. Soil at the base of this stratum was a light reddish brown sandy silt. The unit 

yielded both prehistoric artifacts, which included two projectile point bases, and a variety of 

historic cultural materials. 

Observations Concerning the Site Subsurface 

The stratigraphy on the site proved to be quite simple in all test units. The top stratum is 

apparently an old plow zone that varies in depth from 20-30 cm and overlies an undisturbed 

subsoil which is lighter in color but much the same soil type. Rock and gravel inclusions in the 

soil are more abundant up the slope and to the west. Both prehistoric and historic artifacts are 

intermixed in the plow zone. A representative soil profile, from Test Unit 30-31W, 48-50S, is 

illustrated in Figure 3. 

ARCHEOLOGICAL MATERIALS FROM 

THE AKERS PASS SITE 

Prehistoric Materials 

A complete inventory of all prehistoric archeological materials recovered from both the shovel 

tests and the test excavation units on the Akers Pass site is presented in Appendix A. These were 

itemized by number of specimens in each analytical category on a special form designed for 

archeological investigations in the southeastern Ozark Highland. All archeological specimens 

recovered from the site are lithic; no faunal remains or ceramics were recovered, and no wood 

charcoal or other floral materials were noted. The assemblage of prehistoric artifacts and 

debitage represents a rather long span of time, indicating that the site had been intermittently 

occupied by various cultural groups over several millennia, undoubtedly attracted to the area by 

the adjacent spring. 

Unlike the historic assemblage recovered from the site, elements of the prehistoric assemblage 

do not appear to cluster in any definitive manner. There seems to be a scatter of prehistoric 

cultural materials dispersed on the hillslope, and all test units excavated were within the apparent 

limits of the site, since none failed to produce a quantity of prehistoric cultural materials. 

Bifacial Tools 

Archeological specimens recovered from shovel tests contained few diagnostic bifacial 

specimens, and those that were recovered were mostly fragmentary. Results of the shovel tests 

did effectively indicate the area of the site in which prehistoric materials are concentrated. Test 

units produced a sufficient number of diagnostic specimens to determine at least some of the 

prehistoric cultural groups that occupied the site. 

Projectile Points or Hafted Cutting Tools. Twenty-one bifacially flaked specimens have some 

physical provision for hafting onto a shaft or handle. Presumably they were used to tip atlatl 

darts and arrowshafts. Some probably served as knives, saws, and scrapers. All specimens of 

this tool type recovered from the site are fragmentary (Figure 4a-d). This factor makes it 

virtually impossible to assign them to specific cultural stages in the prehistoric past. One 

fragment (Figure 4a) is from a well-made projectile point or knife that has the shape and some 

of the attributes of Hardin Barbed points (Chapman 1975:249). These occur in Early Archaic 

contexts in the subject region. This specimen lacks any evidence of basal grinding and may date 

from the Middle or Late Archaic substages. Most projectile point knives recovered from the site, 

based on the fragments, are corner-notched. Two such specimens are illustrated in Figure 4b, 

c. These are generally associated with the Late Archaic and Early Woodland substages. One 

small arrowpoint (Figure 4d) was recovered from Test Unit 40-41W, 48-50s. This specimen is 

fully diagnostic of the Emergent Mississippi substage in the southeastern Ozark drainages. It is 

bifacially flaked, unlike the earliest arrowpoints in the region, and probably dates after A.D. 

1000. Arrowpoints such as this specimen have been excavated in the primary context of a 
burned structure and refuse pits on the Shawnee Creek site, 23SHl1, on the Current River (J. Price 

1986a:36; Lynott and Price 1989:22). Such points have been recovered from caves and 

rockshelters in the region (J. Price 1986b) and represent the last major occupation of the 

southeastern Ozark Highland before it was virtually abandoned sometime in the twelfth century 

A.D. Local amateur archeologists' collections contain many such specimens of arrowpoints 

(Banks 1978:26-27), testifying to the overwhelming past presence of Emergent Mississippian 

peoples in the Current and Jacks Fork drainages. Distribution of the twenty projectile point or 

knife specimens of this category that were recovered from the test units on the Akers Pass site 

is shown in Table 1 and Appendix A. 

Biface Tips. Such specimens are thinned, bifacially-flaked distal fragments of tools. Most 

of them exhibit marginal retouch flaking and are probably the tips of projectile pointslknives 

which were broken in use and discarded. Only one specimen of this category was recovered 

from the site (Table 1, Appendix A). 

Thin Bifaces. These seven specimens appear to be bifaces that were nearly finished in 

preparation for final marginal retouch and notching to produce projectile points or knives. An 

exemplary specimen is illustrated in Figure 4e. Most of them are broken, probably gaining that 

status through final percussion flaking. Like the thick bifaces, they probably entered the 

archeological context by discard. Four of the six excavation units yielded thin bifaces (Table 1, 

Appendix A). 

Thick Bifaces. These twenty-two thick bifacially-flaked specimens appear to be aborted 

preforms. An example of this type of artifact is illustrated in Figure 4f. Several of them exhibit 

step fractures and other problems that were encountered in an attempt to produce a thin biface 

by percussion flaking. Many of them are quite crude and probably entered the archeological 

context as rejected preforms for thinned bifacial tools. Thick bifaces occurred in all but one 

excavation unit (Table 1, Appendix A). 

Steeply Retouched Unifaces. These examples of steeply retouched unifaces (Table 1, 

Appendix A) undoubtedly served as scrapers. A specimen, one of the two recovered, of this type 

of tool is illustrated in Figure 4g. Most are made from large elongated flakes which were 

subjected to pressure flaking on the end opposite the bulb of percussion to produce a scraping 

tool that presumably was used on animal skins and wood. None of the specimens exhibit the 

sophistication in scraper production associated with the Dalton inhabitants of the region in the 

late Paleoindian substage. 

Cores. Cores are exhausted sources of flakes which entered the archeological context through 

discard. Eleven specimens were recovered. They are rather numerous on the site, indicating that 

flake production was important to the prehistoric occupants. Most of these specimens exhibit 

battering and step fracturing resulting from futile attempts to remove flakes. Four of the six 

excavation units produced cores (Table 1, Appendix A). 
Debitage 

Decortication Flakes. These flakes are easily defined, since one surface of each specimen 

exhibits residual cortex of the parent cobble or nodule from which it was struck. This surface 

is often a thin rind - a darker oxidized, weatherworn, or waterworn exterior. The parent 

materials are chert and quartzite in the form of cobbles or natural angular fragments. Four 

hundred and forty-nine of these specimens were recovered. The abundance of decortication 

flakes at the site indicates that primary cobble reduction took place there. Natural local chert and 

quartizite cobbles were presumably extracted from gravel bars of the Current River or from 

outcrops on ridges, brought to the site, and reduced through percussion and pressure flaking to 

bifacial tools. The distribution of those flakes recovered from the test units is presented in 

Table 1 and Appendix A. 

Non-decortication Flakes. These are flakes or flake fragments (removed in the manufacture 

of flaked stone tools) that exhibit no residual cortex from the parent chert or quartzite pebble or 

nodule. The number of them recovered from both the shovel tests and test units is 1,752. They 

represent secondary stages in the manufacturing or maintenance flaking of stone tools. The test 

unit distribution of such flakes is presented in Table 1 and Appendix A. 

Biface Thinning Flakes. These are chert and quartzite flakes that were removed by percussion 

flaking techniques that retain at the bulb of percussion the remnant margin of the bifacial artifact 

from which it was removed. Often this margin exhibits grinding in preparation of a striking 

platform to prevent shattering of the edge when struck with a hammerstone or baton. Thirtyeight specimens were recovered from the site. The presence of biface thinning flakes on the 

Akers Pass site indicates that bifacial tools were made and/or rejuvenated there. There was a 

rather random distribution of biface thinning flakes in the test units (Table 1, Appendix A). 

Modified Angular Fragments. In any substantial assemblage of prehistoric archeological 

materials from the Ozark Highland there is a substantial quantity of angular fragments of chert 

and quartizite that can not be classified as flakes since they lack a bulb of percussion. They are 

pieces of shattered silicious stone apparently fragmented by human action. Modified angular 

fragments are those that exhibit the crushing effect of a hammerstone or other evidence that they 

were produced by man. Since so much natural chert occurs on the site, quantification of this 

category of materials is virtually impossible; so the numbers provided in Appendix A are perhaps 

not accurate. 

Unmodified Angular Fragments. These are angular fragments of chert or quartzite that merely 

hint at having been fragmented by human action. On a site such as the Akers Pass site where 

natural angular chert fragments occur in the soil, it is most difficult if not impossible to 

determine if they resulted from nature or man. 

Burned and Fire-Cracked Rocks. These are pieces of sandstone and chert which have been 

subjected to heat and subsequently fragmented. One-hundred sixty-three specimens were 

recovered from the site. They may have been used in stone boiling or as heat retainers in fireless 
baking. Some probably resulted simply from stones placed around campfires. The distribution 

of this class of archeological materials recovered from the test units is presented in Table 1 and 

Appendix A. 

Ground- and Pecked-Stone Tools 

Pitted Cobble. A single pitted cobble was recovered from the site. It is a natural creek or 

river cobble which has a slight depression in the center of one side. The depression is smoother 

than if it had resulted from the cobble having been used as an anvil stone. It was probably used 

to grind some substance. The stone does not exhibit the additional battering or grinding which 

often occurs on pitted cobbles. 

Miscellaneous Materials 

Sandstone. Sandstone does not occur naturally on the site, so these specimens were apparently 

introduced there by man. None of the specimens exhibit any grinding, pitting, burning, or other 

modification. No period is indicated by this material. 

Cotton Rock or Tripoli. One specimen of this material was recovered. It results from decay 

of one form of chert in the region. It occurs on both prehistoric and historic sites and was 

sometimes made into such things as full-grooved axes. 

Stalactite or Stalagmite. A small cave formation was recovered. It was removed from one 

of the many caves in the region and brought to the site by man in either the prehistoric or 

historic past. 

Composition of the Prehistoric Assemblage 

When the presence and relative frequencies of the various categories of prehistoric 

archeological specimens are considered as a unit compared with assemblages on other sites in 

the region, the function of the site in the prehistoric past can be ascertained to a great extent. 

The site compares to many other sites of similar composition in the Current River and Jacks Fork 

drainages. 

Only a limited number of tool and debitage classes are demonstrated to be present on the site. 

The assemblage of prehistoric cultural materials recovered from the Akers Pass site is rather 

limited in the amount of certain archeological materials that occur more frequently on more 

permanently occupied base camps in the region. Although they are considered as miscellaneous 

materials in this report, it should be kept in mind that they often occur in more significant 

frequencies. The most common lithic artifacts on the site are chert and quartzite flakes resulting 

from the manufacture or maintenance of bifacial tools. Since there is a considerable quantity of 

decortication flakes in the assemblage, it can be stated that primary cobble reduction took place 

on the site. Non-decortication (or interior) flakes, as well as biface-thinning flakes, that were 
removed by both percussion and pressure techniques, demonstrate that biface preparation and 

thinning took place there. Resultant thick and thin preforms also are testimony that tool 

manufacturing occurred on the site. The presence of cores is verification that flakes were also 

generated on the site, probably to serve as knives. Oddly, given the number of flakes, preforms, 

finished bifacial artifacts, and cores on the site, one would anticipate the recovery of attendant 

harnrnerstones employed in flake removal. Yet the excavations failed to yield a single such 

specimen. 

Also absent from the assemblage are carefully prepared endscrapers, spokeshaves, and 

perforators. Lacking too are gravers, adzes, anvil stones, ground cobbles, shaped cobbles, 

mortars, grooved axes, and other artifacts that are associated with more permanently occupied 

base camps, such as the Akers site in the nearby campground. 

Noticeably lacking in the assemblage recovered from the site are prehistoric ceramics. 

Although Late Woodland or Emergent Mississippian peoples apparently utilized this locus, based 

on the small arrowpoint discovered, the occupation must have been quite ephemeral and lacked 

the employment of pottery vessels. 

Based on the composition of the prehistoric assemblage, it can be unequivocally stated that 

the site was occupied intermittently over several millennia and that only a limited number of 

activities were performed there. 

Historic Materials 

Immediately after shovel testing was initiated on the site, it became evident that the site had 

a major historic component dating prior to the Civil War. English ceramics, glass flask sherds, 

and square nails were the first diagnostic specimens recovered that indicated the presence of this 

significant component. While the prehistoric component on the site was deemed significant, 

placement of the test units was effected based on the distribution of historic materials recovered 

from shovel tests as well as the nature and frequency of artifacts recovered from the first units 

excavated. A complete inventory of all historic materials recovered from both the shovel tests 

as well as from the test unit excavations is presented in Appendix B. 

Domestic Utilitarian Artifacts: Ceramics 

Decorated Whiteware. A summary of all the decorated whiteware recovered from the Akers 

Gap site is presented in Appendix B. This class of artifacts contains those sherds of imported 

English whiteware, a soft paste, glazed earthenware that exfoliates easily, that exhibit some form 

of surface decoration. The decorated whiteware assemblage from the site appears to be rather 

typical of that reported on other sites of the region dating to the first half of the nineteenth 

century. Blue shell-edge (C. Price 1982: 17) plate and platter sherds are well represented on the 

site. Spongeware (C. Price 1982: 19) sherds from cups and saucers in yellow and blue also occur. 

Transfer-decorated (C. Price 1982: 19) sherds were recovered in a variety of colors including light 
blue, black dendritic, black, and red. These came primarily from plates, cups, and saucers with 

light blue transfer being the most common. Flow blue (C. Price 1982:21) ceramics are well 

represented on the site. All sherds of this type that were identifiable as to vessel shape came 

from plates. Handpainted polychrome floral (C. Price 1982:20) sherds exhibiting the brighter 

colors rather than muted earthen colors are also well represented. Most came from cups and 

saucers. A minority of this type from the site is executed in fine "sprig" decorations. Red stickstamped (C. Price 1982:20) sherds, mostly from saucers, are commonly represented on the site. 

Several sherds from mocha (C. Price 1982:18) mugs were recovered. These exhibit the 

characteristic dendritic or frond motif. The decorated whiteware assemblage represents plates, 

platters, cups, and saucers typical of other assemblages from sites of the same period in Ozark 

National Scenic Riverways and the Ozark Border region of Missouri (C. Price 1982:40). 

Decorated whiteware sherds occurred in their greatest frequency in the area where the historic 

structure once stood. Distribution of decorated whiteware sherds in the six test units excavated 

is presented in Table 2 and Appendix B. 

Undecorated Whiteware. This category of historic artifact recovered from the site consists 

of sherds of whiteware vessels that exhibit no evidence of decoration. Most of them probably 

came from vessels such as plates, cups, and saucers that were only decorated in selected areas 

such as the central portion of a plate or on the rims of vessels. As one might anticipate, the 

distribution of these ceramics within the excavations parallels closely the distribution of the 

decorated whiteware sherds. The distribution of undecorated sherds is presented in Table 2 and 

Appendix B. 

White Ironstone. White ironstone sherds are. not numerous in the ceramic assemblage 

recovered from the site. These sherds tend to be thicker than the whiteware sherds, and they 

exhibit no exfoliation due to a harder, vitrified paste. Most of the sherds identifiable by form 

came from plates and cups. The distribution of white ironstone sherds is presented in Table 2 

and Appendix B. 

Coarse Earthenware. This category of ceramics is represented by sherds of domestic, rather 

than imported, vessels of strictly utilitarian function. Most appear to have come from jugs and 

crocks. Brown-glazed redware sherds are well represented, as are gray salt-glazed sherds. One 

class of these sherds, all from the same vessel, are quite unique to the region and have never 

been observed in an archeological ceramic assemblage. They came from a glazed green- paneled 

pitcher which was well made and exhibits a very hard paste. The distribution of coarse 

earthenware ceramics is presented in Table 2 and Appendix B. 

Domestic Utilitarian Artifacts: Glass 

Plain and Pressed Glass. Plain, clear-glass water tumbler sherds are represented on the site, 

apparently from several different vessels (Appendix B). Only three sherds of clear pressed glass 

were recovered. They apparently came from salt cellars or sugar bowls. The distribution of 

these clear tumbler and pressed glass sherds is presented in Table 2 and Appendix B. 
Bottle and Flask Glass. A relatively large quantity of glass bottle and flask sherds was 

generated by the excavations (Table 2, Appendix B). The bottle glass occurs in clear, light 

green, and dark green colors. The clear and light green sherds appear to have come from smaller 

corked bottles and probably contained medicinal compounds. The dark green sherds came from 

larger spirits bottles. The sherds from flasks are light green in color and quite thin compared to 

the bottle glass. These sherds came from whiskey flasks that had ribbed and swirled motifs. 

Flask sherds such as these are commonly found on archeological sites dating to the first half of 

the nineteenth century in the southeastern Missouri Ozarks. 

Small Personal and Utilitarian Artifacts 

Gunflint, Rifle Balls, and Buckshot. These artifacts are firearm-related specimens. A single 

gunflint was recovered from the site, which indicates that at least one flintlock firearm was used 

by the occupants of the site. It is a prismatic, dark honey-colored flint typical of those imported 

from England (Figure 5a). The lead rifle balls (Figure 5b,c) recovered are somewhat flattened, 

but judging by their size and weight they are between 35 and 40 caliber projectiles. Flattening 

appears to have come from the balls having been fired. They were probably removed from wild 

game or a range hog and discarded on the site. The lead buckshot appears to have never been 

fired since it still remains quite globular and bears no evidence of dents or flattening. 

Buttons and Comb Tooth. Three "rough-back" porcelain buttons, each bearing four holes, 

were recovered. The roughness of the back resulted from a parting compound that was used 

when they were fired to keep them from sticking to kiln furniture. An example is illustrated in 

Figure 5d) They are typical of such buttons found on sites of the first half of the nineteenth 

century in the region. Noteworthy is that no brass "coin" buttons that have a eyelet attached with 

solder were discovered. These are commonly found on such sites. A single tooth from a black 

hard-rubber hair comb (Figure 5e) was also found. Distribution of buttons and the comb tooth 

is presented in Table 3 and Appendix B. 

Slate and Slate Pencil. Occupants of the site were in possession of a small slate and an 

accompanying slate pencil (Table 3 and Appendix B). A single fragment of the slate (Figure 5f) 

was discovered, and the basal portion of a slate pencil (Figure 5g) also came from the 

excavations. The latter has a groove around its circumference, presumably for attachment of a 

string to secure it to the slate. 

Short-Stemmed Clay Pipes. Five sherds from short-stemmed clay pipes were recovered. 

These are typical of other specimens found in the region that originated in pipe kilns in southern 

Ohio. When such pipes were in use, they were fitted with a hollow cane or reed stem. Two of 

these fragments are illustrated in Figure 5h,i) One of the specimens is anthropomorphic, bearing 

an effigy of a human face (Figure 5j). Distribution of pipe bowl sherds is presented in Table 3 

and Appendix B. 

Tack. A single ferrous tack came from the excavations (Table 3, Appendix B). It probably 

came from a piece of upholstered furniture or a leather-covered trunk. 
Miscellaneous Metal Artifacts 

Nearly two hundred metal items were recovered; most of these were square cut nails. Only 

a few metal items have been selected for description and illustration in this section. The items 

discussed below, as well as a hinge, an iron buckle, and four sheet iron fragments, are 

summarized in Table 3 and Appendix B. Complete lists by test unit of these items and the other 

metal artifacts from the site are presented in Appendix B. 

Horseshoe Nail. A single used horseshoe nail was recovered from Test Unit 40-41 W, 40-42s. 

Chain Link. A broken link from a wrought-iron chain was also recovered from the abovereferenced unit. It probably came from horse harness. 

Iron Buckle. An iron buckle minus its toggle (Figure 5k) was recovered. It, too, probably 

served as part of harness (Test Unit 19-20W, 48-50s). 

Mill Crank Fragment. This artifact is a small portion of the handle of a cast-iron hand mill 

(Figure 51) in which coffee was probably ground. The fragment discovered is the portion that 

fits on the central shaft on top of the mill above the burrs (Test Unit 40-41W, 40-42s). 

Barrel Band Fragments. Two fragments of iron strap were recovered, pieces of bands which 

surrounded and captured the staves of a coopered barrel or bucket. 

Iron Strap. A single fragment of a crude iron strap was recovered from Test Unit 30-31W, 

40-42s. It has four holes in it which appear to have been punched. From its appearance it.must 

have served as a fastener for wood or as a plate made to repair a wood object. 

Iron Wire. A single piece of bent iron wire was recovered. It may be a fragment of a light 

bucket bail. (Test Unit 34-35W, 48-50s). 

Sheet Brass. Two pieces of sheet brass were recovered, one from Test Unit 34-35W, 48-50s 

and the other from Test Unit 30-31W, 48-50s. One of these is illustrated in Figure 5m. These 

appear to be waste cut from sections of brass buckets or other sheet-brass vessels. 

Woodscrew. One blunt-tipped woodscrew was recovered (Test Unit 30-31W, 48-50s). It is 

of a type that is commonly found on sites of the first half of the nineteenth century, and which 

predates pointed screws. It probably came from a piece of furniture or household accessory. 

Rosehead Nail. A large hand-forged rosehead nail came from the excavations, Test Unit 19- 

20W, 48-50s. It bears the typical head facets associated with hand-forged wrought-iron nails. 

It probably came from a large piece of furniture such as a cupboard or something similar. 
Cast-Iron Vessel Sherds. Only one cast-iron vessel sherd was recovered from the site (30- 

31W, 40-42s). It is too small to determine the kind of vessel from which it originated. Sherds 

of globular kettles, spiders, and Dutch ovens are rather common on sites of this period. 

Knife Handle. The proximal end of a table knife handle was also recovered (Figure 5n). It 

retains the rivets which held two bone or wood plates to either side. Such knives were imported 

from Sheffield and Birmingham, England, and are rather common on archeological sites of this 

period. See Test Unit 30-31W, 48-50s summary in Appendix B. 

Architectural Artifacts 

Window Glass. Sherds of pale green window glass- were found in abundance on the site. 

Some are quite thin and probably date earlier than thicker specimens found in the same context. 

The occurrence of window glass on the site is somewhat anomalous compared to other nuclear 

family farmstead habitation sites excavated in the region that date from the first half of the 

nineteenth century. Window glass is seldom found on sites of this period, with the exception of 

the courthouse excavated at the town of Old Eminence. It was a public building, where such 

windows might be expected to occur. Presence of window glass on the Akers Pass site may 

indicate a higher socio-economic class for its occupants than those who occupied other nuclear 

family farmstead sites in the region. The distribution of window glass on the Akers Pass site is 

certainly nonrandom (Table 3, Appendix B). A majority of the sherds recovered came from the 

two southern central excavations, providing evidence that this is on or very near where the 

structure once stood during site occupation. 

Square Cut Nails. The distribution of square cut nails on the site is essentially the same as 

that noted above for window glass, providing additional evidence for the location of the structure 

(Table 3, Appendix B). These nails are machine-made square cut nails typical of those recovered 

from other sites in the southeastern Ozarks dating prior to circa 1880. Some of the nails are 

burned, bearing evidence of a heat scale. 

Cast-Iron Hinge Fragment. Part of one leaf of a cast-iron hinge was recovered (Table 3, 

Appendix B, Figure 50). It has two countersunk holes in it to accommodate screws, and a 

portion of one of the pins remains in it. 

Faunal and Food Remains 

Hog Teeth. Eleven hog teeth were recovered (Table 3, Appendix B). Four of these specimens 

are the large tusks from feral hogs. A hog incisor and several other fragments of apparent hog 

teeth were recovered. In the Ozark Highland, hogs were allowed to run on open range feeding 

off the mast and were hunted like wild animals, a very efficient strategy for storing protein on 

the hoof until needed. 
Bone Fragments. Although bone preservation is rather good on the site, only a few specimens 

were found (Table 3, Appendix B). Most of those recovered are small splinters, unidentifiable 

as to species. It is likely that most of this fragmentary unidentifiable bone came from hogs. 

Mussel Shell Fragments. Other faunal remains recovered from the site are portions of the 

valves of river mussels (Table 3, Appendix B). It is unlikely that these bivalves were eaten, 

since they are not part of the traditional foodway of the region. 

Dating the Historic Component of the Akers Pass Site 

Certain archeological materials recovered from the Akers Pass site are chronologically 

sensitive indicators that provide evidence concerning when the site was occupied. The most 

sensitive indicators are sherds of refined earthenware. 

The non-ironstone, refined earthenware sherds recovered from the site are all whiteware. This 

provides significant evidence concerning when the site was initially inhabited by Euroamericans. 

Since the site yielded no pearlware sherds it was probably first occupied by these people after 

the mid to late 1820s. Another site, the Fanchier site in the middle Current River valley near 

Owls Bend, provides a data set (C. Price 1986:27) against which refined ceramic sherds from the 

Akers Pass site can be compared. It produced a quantity of pearlware sherds and was assessed 

by Cynthia R. Price as having been occupied circa 1810-1820s. Since no pearlware sherds came 

from the subject site, it must date later than sometime in the 1820s when pearlware ceramics 

were replaced by whiteware. 

Decorated whiteware ceramics provide important clues to dating the occupation span of the 

historic component of the Akers Pass site. The variety of colors represented by the transferprinted wares occurs in the region after circa 1830 and generally before the Civil War. 

Spongewares also share a similar timespan in the region, as do the Mocha sherds. Since no 

pearlware ceramics were recovered and very little plain ironstone, markers of the early and late 

nineteenth century respectively, the assemblage appears to be one that dates circa 1830 to the 

early or mid 1860s. It is highly likely that the site was abandoned during the Civil War. Had 

it been occupied into the 1870s, considerably more ironstone ceramics would have entered the 

archeological context on the site. 

Identity of the Euroamerican Occupants 

A major attempt was made to specifically determine who lived on the site and created the 

historic assemblage that was discovered there. Nineteenth-century General Land Office survey 

plats were examined, but no evidence was found of an improvement at the locus of the site. 

Local legend recorded in the files of Ozark National Scenic Riverways headquarters indicates the 

land was long owned by a family with the surname of Smith. Of the original settlers by that 

name in the region, the most likely occupant of the site during the first half of the nineteenth 
century might be Charles H. Smith who was born in 1829 in Overton County, Tennessee. He 

and his wife Tamar came to the region in 1846 and settled near Gladden (MacDonald 1986: 191). 

The creek that flows near the site is Gladden Creek and this may be where the Smiths settled, 

but that cannot be confirmed at the present time. It is highly likely that the cemetery located 

across KK Highway to the east was started by the original occupants of the site, since many early 

sites in the region have family burial plots associated with them (C. Price 1987:91). 

THE DANCES WITH GRASSHOPPERS SITE 

The Dances with Grasshoppers site, 23SH177, is located on a slope and undulating stream 

terrace remnants in the Gladden Creek valley (Figures 6 and 7). A series of swales and knolls 

make up the area on which there is evidence of prehistoric human occupation. It had been known 

for several years that the site existed, but until the inception of the present project its content and 

depth of deposits were unknown. At the time of the investigation, the site was covered in the 

dense fescue grass that is harvested annually as a hay crop. Ground-surface visibility was very 

low, with only dispersed small patches of exposed surface between clumps of grass. Limits of 

the entire site were not determined, since the site is extremely large and extends well beyond the 

project area where potentially adverse impacts related to the proposed sewage treatment facility 

installation would occur. It was traced westward to an old fence row, to the northeast to the base 

of the ridge, and to the south to the base of the scarp which defines the old dissected terrace on 

which the site lies. Although prehistoric cultural materials are scattered over a rather large area, 

within this scatter are areas of concentration of artifacts. No middens or dark organic stains 

resulting from prehistoric occupation are present on the area of the site investigated. 

Soils on the site are quite varied. Those near the base of the ridge to the north are extremely 

rocky and have a high clay content. These soils originated on the ridge and were subsequently 

eroded and deposited on the valley floor at the base of the ridge. This area contains rocks 

ranging from cobbles down to small fragments of angular chert. The composition of the soils 

along the edge of the old terrace and northward toward the ridge are alluvial in nature and consist 

of fine silty and sandy loams which contain some small waterworn gravels. The terrace was 

formed in the ancient past by down-valley deposits of materials carried by the stream which 

created the valley. The stream then entrenched or cut downward, creating a scarp in these 

deposits that forms the southern limits of the site today. 

The setting of this site is repeated hundreds of times in the Current River and Jacks Fork 

drainages. In the primary valleys as well as secondary and tertiary valleys of these drainages 

terraces were formed, and in almost all instances they exhibit evidence of prehistoric human 

occupation. Such locales apparently served well the optimal habitation requirements of hunter 

and gatherer societies. Most are above the levels of average floods, yet close to water and its 

associated aquatic fauna. Such terraces lack large rocks and are composed of reasonably well 

drained soils. Terrace locales long served as focal points of various subsistence-habitation 

activities and continue to be favored today as optimal locations for recreational campgrounds 

associated with tourism. 

Description of Excavations 

Investigatory strategy employed on the site involved two kinds of subsurface testing. The first 

tests were shovel tests, excavated over a wide area of the landform in order to generate data for 

primary assessment of site limits and differential artifact density. Then, based on the findings 
of this part of the project, 1-x-2-m test units were excavated to sterile subsoil to determine the 

stratigraphy and search for the presence of subsurface features. 

Shovel Tests 

Archeological research conducted on the site consisted of systematically shovel testing at tenmeter intervals an area 140 meters in extent on an east-west axis and 180 meters on a north-south 

axis. This was the principal part of an investigative strategy directed toward establishing the 

boundaries of the site as well as sampling its subsurface cultural content over a large district. 

A total of 150 shovel tests were excavated in the tract defined by the direct impact zone of the 

proposed construction project (Figures 6 and 7). Each shovel test was approximately 30 cm on 

each side and 30 cm in depth. All soil removed from each shovel test was passed through a 

sifter with 114-inch mesh. Cultural materials observed were collected and containerized in 

specimen bags labeled with the number of the shovel test from which they were derived. This 

strategy revealed a concentration of prehistoric cultural materials on a knoll in the west-central 

portion of the tract. Shovel tests were placed at five-meter intervals in the center of this 

concentration to better define it and to recover a larger sample of artifacts. 

Test Units 

Based on the findings of the shovel testing program on the site, six 1-x-2-m and one 1- x-1-m 

excavation units were placed in the area on the knoll where cultural materials appeared to be 

concentrated (Figures 6 and 7). Each unit was excavated by hand using shovels and trowels, and 

all soil removed was passed through a screen with 114-inch mesh. The plow zone, that zone 

below the surface and above soil undisturbed by historical agricultural activity, was considered 

as one level, and all cultural materials recovered from this zone were containerized in 

appropriately labeled bags as a single collective and analytical unit. Excavations that penetrated 

the subsoil below the plow zone were excavated in 10-cm levels; although most units were not 

excavated below the base of the plow zone, since they did not yield any evidence of undisturbed 

subsurface deposits. Two features, described below, were discovered in one unit, and these were 

cross-sectioned and the cultural materials recovered from their fill were containerized by segment. 

The seven test excavation units are described in the following sections. 

Test Unit 30-31S, 78-80W. Soil in this unit was extremely dry at the time the field 

investigations were conducted. It was excavated to depths that varied from 20 to 30 cm below 

surface, since the plow zone was not of a uniform thickness in this area of the site. Soil in the 

unit was a light brown silty loam which contained prehistoric cultural materials. Cleaning of the 

horizontal profile at the base of this unit failed to reveal any evidence of prehistoric features. 

Test Unit 30-32S, 54-55W. This unit was excavated to a depth of 20 cm below surface. It 

was noted in the field that the unit produced a large quantity of debitage and a side-notched 

Middle Archaic projectile pointknife base. Soil in the unit was a compact tan loam with small 

chert gravel inclusions. 
Test Unit 30-32S, 60-61 W. Excavation ceased on this unit at a depth of 24 cm below surface. 

It was excavated on or very near the highest point on the knoll. The sandy loam soil removed 

from the unit yielded bifaces, abundant flakes, and other cultural materials. 

Test Unit 40-41S, 68-70W. A depth of 20 cm below surface was reached in this unit. It was 

excavated in an area where shovel tests had indicated the presence of a concentration of 

prehistoric cultural materials. Soil in the unit was a sandy, silty loam. Red clay was encountered 

at the base of the plow zone. Abundant prehistoric cultural materials were recovered from this 

unit, including a perforator, a projectile pointknife base, cores, and flakes. 

Test Unit 50-525: 59-60W and 49-503, 59-60W. This excavation unit totalling 3 m2 consisted 

of two adjacent units excavated to better define subsurface features encountered at the base of 

the plow zone. The plow zone consisted of a silty, sandy loam which contained a moderate to 

large quantity of lithic cultural materials. At the base of the plow zone in the north-central 

portion of Test Unit 50-52S159-60W, charcoal flecks, suspected to represent a feature, were 

noted in a defined area. Upon excavation below the base of the plow zone, additional charcoal, 

darker soil, and stones were discovered in the northwestern corner of the unit. This was 

designated as Feature 1. The initially discovered area of charcoal became much better defined 

and was determined to be a subsurface pit. It was designated as Feature 2. Descriptions of these 

features are provided below. 

Test Unit 59-60S, 68-70W. The plow zone was only a few centimeters thick in this unit. It 

contained abundant flakes and other cultural materials. This unit was in one of the heaviest used 

areas of the site. Soils in the unit were a reddish brown silty, sandy loam. Cultural materials 

occurred below the plow zone in an undisturbed context in this unit; so another 10-cm level was 

excavated. Excavation of this level witnessed a major decrease in the frequency of cultural 

materials. Several larger non-cultural rocks were found in this level, at the base of which a 

yellow-tan silty clay was encountered. 

Features 1 and 2 

As noted above, two prehistoric subsurface archeological features were discovered in the 

course of the excavations. Both were in the northern end of Test Unit 59-60W, 50-52s and the 

southern end of 59-60W, 49-50s (Figure 8). These features, both discovered at the base of the 

plow zone or slightly below this level, were subjected to systematic excavation with hand tools. 

Soil color differences and location of stones were carefully noted. Each feature was excavated 

in such a manner as to yield a vertical cross-section profile. Discovery of these features on the 

site is significant, since they demonstrate that intact archeological materials exist below the plow 

zone in a context undisturbed by past historic agricultural activities. Additional excavations 

conducted on the site are likely to discover numerous subsurface features on the knoll where 

archeological materials are most concentrated. 

Feature 1. This feature was discovered in the north-central portion of the excavation unit 

(Figure 8). Soil within the feature fill was much darker than the surrounding undisturbed subsoil 
matrix in which it had been excavated by prehistoric peoples. Charcoal flecks occurred 

throughout the fill, and numerous smooth creek cobbles and rough slabs of sandstone were 

uncovered and mapped in place. The bottom of the feature revealed a thin stratum of dark sand 

which must have been in place before the balance of the fill of a slightly lighter color was 

introduced to the pit. 

The function of thls feature is unknown. It apparently did not serve as a primary fire basin, 

since no fire-reddened earth was present. Also since only a portion of it was uncovered and 

excavated, the size and configuration of the complete pit is unknown. Although it contained 

considerable quantities of debitage, it probably cannot be considered to have originally served 

as a refuse pit. Future excavations on the site should be directed toward further definition of this 

feature and its contents. 

Feature 2. Soil in this feature was not as dark as that in Feature 1, but its fill differed 

sufficiently from the surrounding matrix to easily define and excavate its contents. It contained 

numerous charcoal flecks and debitage but little else. In cross section it exhibited much steeper 

basin sides than did Feature 1 (Figure 8). Function of the feature is unknown. Like Feature 1, 

although it contained wood charcoal there was no evidence of fire having been in contact with 

the soil. 

Observations Concerning the Site Subsurface 

Both shovel testing and the systematic excavation of 1-x-2-m units yielded information on site 

depth and the presence of subsurface cultural features. Based on these investigations it can be 

stated that the site is quite shallow, with the bulk of the cultural material limited to the plow 

zone. Tests yielded evidence that at least two subsurface features are present on the site, and it 

can be predicted that several others exist in unexcavated areas. 
ARCHEOLOGICAL MATERIALS 

FROM THE DANCES WITH GRASSHOPPERS SITE 

Prehistoric Materials 

Various kinds of tools and waste materials resulting from prehistoric occupation of the site 

were recovered. These are succinctly described below by taxonomic category. Quantification 

of each taxon is presented in a comprehensive inventory of prehistoric cultural materials from 

the site in Appendix C. 

Bifacial Tools 

Projectile PointsLHafted Cutting Tools. A total of thirteen specimens of this type of tool were 

recovered from the Dances with Grasshoppers site. Most of these are quite fragmentary and 

cannot be assigned to other than very general prehistoric cultural stages. Those that are 

considered diagnostic are illustrated in Figure 9a-e. The earliest such specimen recovered from 

the site is a Graham Cave Side-notched point (Figure 9a; Chapman 1975:248), which is well 

made and exhibits basal grinding. Such points are generally associated with the Early Archaic 

substage. Another point (Figure 9b) is a corner-notched specimen which evidences extensive 

resharpening on the blade. It is extremely well executed and may date from the Middle Archaic 

substage. A large square-stemmed projectile point or knife (Figure 9c) was recovered from the 

site. Points of this type are Late Archaic in origin. A Late Archaic or Early Woodland cornernotched projectile point or knife (Figure 9d) was recovered. Although fragmentary, a sufficient 

amount of it remains to demonstrate its original configuration. Like the Akers Pass site described 

above, the Dances with Grasshoppers site (23SH177) produced a single small arrowpoint (Figure 

9e) indicating that Emergent Mississippian peoples used the site, albeit on a limited basis. In the 

discussion above relative to the specimen recovered from the Akers Pass site, the ubiquity of 

such specimens in the region was noted. Few excavations are conducted in Ozark National 

Scenic Riverways which do not produce one or more of such Emergent Mississippian 

arrowpoints. Two Emergent Mississippian village sites, Owls Bend and Gooseneck, both of 

which have received rather extensive subsurface investigations, demonstrate the full range of tool 

types associated with this cultural substage (Lynott 1989b). Distribution of projectile 

pointslknives from test units on 23SH177 is presented in Table 4 and Appendix C. 

Thick Bifaces. A total of four thick bifaces or aborted preforms were recovered from this site. 

Examples are illustrated in Figure 10c,d. Their distribution in the test units is presented in Table 

4. These, in addition to the debitage recovered, are indicative of flaked-stone tool manufacture 

on the site. 

Thin Bifaces. Thirteen thin bifaces were retrieved from the shovel tests and test units. Two 

specimens are illustrated in Figure 10e,f. Distribution of the specimens recovered from test units 

is presented in Table 4 and Appendix C. 
Perforator. A tip of a bifacially-flaked drill or perforator was recovered (Figure 9f). It shows 

evidence of use modification on its lateral edges resulting from abrasion in use. 

Cores. The site yielded three cores. Three came from test units (Table 4), while one came 

from Shovel Test 30s 50W (Appendix C). These specimens represent what remains after a piece 

of chert raw material has been exhausted as a result of flake removal. One specimen, Figure lob, 

appears have resulted from Emergent Mississippian occupation of the site, since its configuration 

has been demonstrated to be affiliated with that substage. 

Unifacial Tools 

Steeply Retouched Unifaces. A single, steeply retouched uniface was recovered from the site 

(Table 4, Appendix C). It probably served as a scraping tool. Since its configuration is so 

general in nature, it cannot be assigned to any particular prehistoric stage. 

Debitage 

Decortication Flakes. The site produced a total of 341 decoration flakes which resulted from 

removal of the cortex from chert nodules and stream cobbles in the manufacture of flaked stone 

tools. Distribution in the test units of this class of debitage is presented in Table 4 and Appendix 

C. 

Nun-decortication Flakes. A total of 1,890 non-decortication flakes was recovered from the 

site. Such specimens represent flakes removed in the reduction of bifaces during the manufacture 

of tools. They far outnumber the quantity of decortication flakes on the site, which probably 

indicates that preforms were brought to the site, and additional flalung was done on them to 

shape them into bifacial tools. The distribution of non-decortication flakes in the test units is 

presented in Table 4 and Appendix C. 

Biface Thinning Flakes. Sixty-five biface thinning flakes were recovered (Appendix C), 32 

of which are from test units (Table 4, Appendix C). These retain the edge of a bifacial tool on 

the striking platform and represent shaping or resharpening of bifacial tools. 

Utilized Flakes. Only three utilized flakes were recovered from the site. One of the 

specimens is illustrated in Figure 10a. 

Modified Angular Fragments. Even though some of this type of specimens were sorted, it was 

impossible to quantify them accurately since there was so much naturally occurring angular chert 

in the site. 

Unmodified Angular Fragments. This category was essentially impossible to quantify due to 

the preponderance of natural angular chert in the soil of the site. 
Burned and Fire-Cracked Rock. A total of 184 fragments of burned and fire-cracked rock 

were recovered. Their distribution in the test units is presented in Table 4 and Appendix C. 

Unlike many sites in the region where large quantities of burned sandstone andor rhyolite occurs, 

this site produced mostly small pieces of burned and fire-cracked chert. These probably resulted 

from prehistoric inhabitants throwing pieces of chert in fires or building fires on chert gravels 

or cobbles. 

Ground- and Pecked-Stone Tools 

Pitted Cobbles. Two pitted cobbles came from the site. These appear not to be anvil stones 

resulting from bipolar percussion but rather flat cobbles with small depressions pecked into one 

surface. 

Miscellaneous Materials 

Sandstone. Fifteen pieces of sandstone were recovered. These do not exhibit any past contact 

with fire but appear to have been transported to the site by its prehistoric inhabitants. 

Composition of the Prehistoric Assemblage 

The assemblage of prehistoric materials recovered from the Dances with Grasshoppers site 

provides important evidence concerning the nature of activities carried out on that locus by its 

past occupants. First, it is evident that the site is multicomponent, since diagnostic artifacts from 

the Early Archaic to the Emergent Mississippi substages are represented there. This particular 

landform and its associated resources attracted human populations for a period of over five 

millennia. Also evident from the distribution of the assemblage across the landform is that 

different parts of the landform were probably used by various prehistoric groups. Intensity of 

use varied considerably on the site. The most extensively occupied locus on the site, based on 

data generated by this investigation, appears to have been in the vicinity of Test Unit 30-32S, 54- 

55W. Examination of the maps, presented above, exhibiting distribution of various classes of 

prehistoric cultural materials reveals that this area yielded the greatest quantity of specimens per 

unit volume of soil excavated and sifted. 

Examination of the inventory of prehistoric cultural materials from 23SH177 presented in 

Appendix C reveals that there is a rather limited range of artifact types on the site. Most of the 

materials recovered appear to have resulted from tool exhaustion and discard, the limited 

manufacture of bifacially-flaked chert tools from preforms which were probably shaped 

elsewhere, and maintenance of bifacial tools resulting in biface-thinning flakes. 

Not only are the classes of artifacts present on the site significant in understanding past 

activities there, classes of artifacts not recovered from the site are also significant. No groundstone tools such as axes, manos, or mortars were found. No hammerstones or anvilstones were 

recovered. 
Based on the presence of certain classes of materials and the absence of other classes, a 

general image of past activities that took place there emerges. The site appears to have 

functioned as a limited-activity site occupied over a long span of time by relatively small groups 

of people who performed only a few of the total range of tasks normally a part of the seasonal 

routines of the groups. It is likely that various areas of the site were only occupied for short 

durations of time, which resulted in a pattern of dispersed cultural material across the landform. 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 

Archeological investigations were conducted on two sites in the Akers Ferry locale in the 

upper Current River drainage in Shannon County. The first locus investigated, the Akers Pass 

site, 23SH22, was subjected to both shovel testing and excavation of test units. These yielded 

evidence of both prehistoric and historic components. Prehistoric cultural materials generated 

by the excavations indicate the site was occupied intermittently over several millennia by peoples 

from perhaps as early as the Middle Archaic substage to as late as the Late Woodland or 

Emergent Mississippi substage, with the most evidence from the Late Archaic substage. 

Prehistoric cultural materials appear to be limited to the plow zone on the site; no prehistoric 

subsurface features were encountered. 

The historic component on the Akers Pass site yielded a large quantity of domestic nuclear 

family household artifacts. The assemblage dates from circa 1830 to 1860. The historic 

Euroamerican occupation on the site may have been truncated by the Civil War. Distributions 

of artifacts plotted on a map by test unit provenience made it possible to determine where the 

dwelling once stood. 

The second locus investigated in the Akers Ferry locale, the Dances with Grasshoppers site, 

23SH177, was also subjected to subsurface exploration through shovel testing and the excavation 

of test units. The site was determined to be dispersed over a series of undulating landforms in 

the Gladden Creek valley with the most evidence for dense occupation on a high knoll. Most 

prehistoric materials from the site were recovered from the plow zone. Two subsurface 

prehistoric .features were encountered. These contained dark soil and rocks, but no diagnostic 

artifacts were recovered from them. 

Prehistoric cultural materials recovered from the site indicate the site was occupied at least 

as early as the Early Archaic substage and as late as the Late Woodland or Emergent Mississippi 

substage. 

Although archeological investigations carried out on these sites were conducted for compliance 

of legal mandates for the protection of cultural resources, the work was also guided by long-term 

regional research goals directed toward a better understanding of past man's use of the landscape 

and the natural resources offered by the region. Research on the two sites yielded significant 

new information on the use of landforms both above a secondary stream valley and on low 

terraces in the valley. The sites appear to have been occupied intermittently over long periods 

of time. It is highly likely that neither served as a major prehistoric base camp but rather as 

campsites and specialized activity areas. Both sites have contributed significant new data on the 

nature of both prehistoric and historic settlement strategies in that area of the Ozark Highland 

now encompassed by Ozark National Scenic Riverways. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Both the Akers Pass site and the Dances with Grasshoppers site should be considered 

potentially eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Test excavations 

on these sites documented when they were occupied and the general nature of the occupations. 

Both sites have the potential to produce significant new data and should receive the protection 

they warrant as property of the National Park Service. Any anticipated projects which might 

adversely impact these resources should be carefully planned to avoid them if possible. If they 

cannot be avoided, adverse impacts should be mitigated through full-scale excavation by 

professional archeologists employing currently accepted field and laboratory methods. . . . . 

REFERENCES CITED 

Banks, Alan 

1978 Indians of the Upper Current River. Eminence, Missouri. 

Lynott, Mark J. 

1981 Archeological Survey of Development Areas, Ozark National Scenic Riverways. On 

file, National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln. 

1989a Archeological Investigation at the Akers Ferry Site, 23SH23, Ozark National Scenic 

Riverways, Southeast Missouri. On file, National Park Service, Midwest Archeological 

Center, Lincoln. 

1989b An Archeological Evaluation of the Gooseneck and Owls Bend Sites, Ozark National 

Scenic Riverways, Southeast Missouri. Occasional Studies in Anthropology No. 23. 

National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln. 

Lynott, Mark J., and James E. Price 

1989 Shawnee Creek, An Eleventh Century Emergent Mississippian Occupation in the Upper 

Current River Valley, Southeast Missouri. On file, National Park Service, Midwest 

Archeological Center, Lincoln. 

MacDonald, Bob 

1986 History of Shannon County, Missouri. Published by the Shannon County 

Libraries, Eminence, Missouri. Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas. 

Nickel, Robert K. 

1975 Construction-Related Monitoring at Akers Ferry Development, Ozark National Scenic 

Riverways, Missouri. Manuscript on file, National Park Service, Midwest Archeological 

Center, Lincoln. 

Price, Cynthia R. 

1982 Nineteenth Century Ceramics in the Eastern Ozark Border Region. 2nd ed. 

Monograph Series No. 1. Center for Archeological Research, Southwest Missouri State 

University, Springfield. (First Edition 1979) 

1985 Report on Construction Monitoring at Akers Ferry Development, Ozark 

National Scenic Riverways. Manuscript on file, National Park Service, Midwest 

Archeological Center, Lincoln. 
Price, Cynthia R. (continued) 

1986 Excavations at the Fanchier Site, 23SH157. In Archeological Investigations in the 

Ozark National Scenic Riverways, 1984-1985, by James E. Price, Cynthia E. Price, and 

Roger Saucier, pp. 12-34. Center for Archeological Research, Southwest Missouri State 

University, Springfield. Project No. CAR-640. 

1987 Historic Period Archeology. In Archeological Investigations in the Ozark National 

Scenic Riverways, 1984-1985, by James E. Price, Cynthia R. Price, and Roger Saucier. 

Center for Archeological Research, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield. 

Report No. CAR-675. 

Price, James E. 

1986a Test Excavations at the Shawnee Creek Site, 23SHll. In Archeological 

Investigations in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, 1984-1 985, by James E. Price, 

Cynthia R. Price, and Roger Saucier, pp. 36-62. Center for Archeological Research, 

Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield. Project No. CAR-640. 

1986b Test Excavations at Granite Quarry Cave, 23CT36. In Archeological 

Investigations in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, 1984-1985, by James E. Price, 

Cynthia R. Price, and Roger Saucier, pp. 63-100. Center for Archeological Research, 

Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield. Project No. CAR-640. 

Saucier, Roger 

1982 Geomorphological Studies in the Ozark National Scenic Riveways. Paper r resented 

at the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Archeological Conference, Memphis, Tennessee. 

1983 Historic Changes in Current River Meander Regime. Proceedings of the 

Conference, Rivers '83, Waterway Port, Coastal and Ocean Division, U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, New Orleans. 
Table 1. Prehistoric lithic artifact counts and distributions, Akers Pass site. 

Artifact 40-41 W 30-31 W 40-41 W 34-35W 30-31 W 19-20W 

Category 40-428 40-428 48-508 48-508 48-505 48-508 Total 

Flaked StoneTools 

Cores 1 

Thick Bifaces 1 

Thin Bifaces 

Projectile Points 

Biface Tips 

Steeply Retouched Uniface 1 

Decortication Flakes 74 

Non-decortication Flakes 246 

Biface Thinning Flakes 5 

Fire-cracked Rock 47 

Total 375 405 239 31 0 455 299 2087 
Table 2. Historic sherd counts and distributions, Akers Pass site. 

Artifact 40-41 W 

Category 40-428 

30-31 W 

40-42s 

40-41 W 

48-508 

34-35W 

48-50s 

30-31 W 

48-509 

19-20W 

48-50s 

Total 

Decorated Softpaste 

Earthenware 

Blue Shelledge 1 

Spongeware 1 

Light Blue Transfer 

Mocha 

Stickstamped 

Handpainted Polychrome Floral - Flow Blue 

Black Dendridic Transfer 

Red Transfer 

Undecorated Softpaste 

Earthenware 3 30 7 25 45 44 154 

White Ironstone 7 1 6 14 

Coarse Earthenware 2 5 3 6 16 

Tumbler Sherds 4 9 4 4 2 1 

Pressed Glass Sherds 2 1 3 

Glass BottleIFlask Sherds 5 3 18 38 16 80 

Total 7 47 17 84 110 99 364 
Table 3. Historic artifact and faunal counts and distributions, Akers Pass site. 

Artifact 

Category 

40-41 W 

40-42s 

30-31 W 

40-42s 

40-41 W 

48-508 

34-35W 

48-50s 

30-31 W 

48-50s 

19-20W 

48-50s 

Total 

Miscellaneous Small 

Gunflint 

Porcelain Button 

Clay Pipe Fragment 

Slate Fragment 

Tack 

Slate Pencil 

Comb Tooth 

Rifle Ball 

Buckshot 

Miscellaneous Metal" 

Window Glass 

Square Cut Nails 

Faunal Materials 

Hog Tooth 

Unidentified Bone Fragment 

Mussell Shell Fragment 

Total 14 37 8 64 109 67 299 

* See Appendix B for descriptions and counts of specific items. 
Table 4. Distribution of selected prehistoric lithic artifacts, Dances With Grasshoppers site (plow zone levels only). 

Artifact 

Category 

30-31 S 

78-8OW 

30-328 

60-61 W 

30-32s 

54-55W 

40-41 S 

68-70W 

49-508 

59-60W 

50-52s 

59-60W 

59-60s 

68-70W 

Total 

Cores 

Thick Bifaces 1 

Thin Bifaces 2 

Projectile Points - 

Steeply Retouched 

Uniface 

Decortication 52 

Flakes 

Non-decortication 

Flakes 273 

Biface Thinning 

Flakes 6 

Fire-cracked Rock 31 

Total 365 408 739 228 94 204 430 2468 
w 

\0 

Figure I. Map of the Project Area illustrating the locations of the Akers Pass site, 23 SH22, and the Dances with Grasshoppers site, 23SD 177. 
Figure 2. Map of the Akers Pass site, 23SH22, with locations of shovel tests and excavation units. 

40 

aD 70 6D 50 40 

AKERS FERRY PROJECT 

AKERS PASS SITE, 23SH22 

10 

CR 

l!.ST 

/ :EDGE OF CLEARING 

SLOPE 

~ . 

lO 

WOOD II 

Hmouc _ _ _ _ ___ _ 

COMPONRNT -f..wliabiel.DCaliDII oi7Cabm -

" " J • I I ·- .... I 

""'-:::!..~ ·--.• ' I fT'i"j I 

~ ""·"·"'"··A 

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KE'l: 

I lXUt:EKCAVATION UNITS 

• SHOVEL TEST'S 

10 D Effl 10 

s~~·-

"" ROAD BANK Sc.ARJI R I N{l 13 RANcH 

~~ 

lO 30 

MAG. H. 

SCALE 

-10 ll. 

HJSTORIC 

CEMETERY 

MAPPED BY J. PRICE & U. L1'NOIT !1,111,191 

50 
Figure 3. Profile of the east wall of Test Unit 30-31W, 48-508, Akers Pass site. 

AKERS PASS SITE, 23SH22 

EAST WALL PROFILE, TEST UNIT 30-31 WEST! 48-50 SOUM 

KEY 

PLO WZONE 

u

SCALE 

20 CM. 

UNDISTURBED SUBSOIL 

UNEXCAVATED 
20mm 

Figure 4. Prehistoric artifacts from the Akers Pass site: (a) expanding-stem projectile point or 

knife of white chert, Test Unit 34-35W, 48-50S, Plowzone; (b) comer-notched projectile point or 

knife of white chert, Test Unit 30-31W, 48-50S, Plow zone; (c) corner-notched projectile point or 

knife of gray, pink, and white banded chert, Test Unit 40-41W, 48-50S, Plowzone; (d) small 

arrowpoint of white chert, Test Unit 40-41W, 48-50S, Plowzone; (e) thin biface of white chert, 

Test Unit 30-31 W, 40-42S, Plowzone; (f) thick biface of tan chert, Test Unit 19-20W, 48-50S, 

Plowzone; (g) steeply retouched uniface of white chert, Test Unit 40-41W, 40-42S, Plowzone. 

42 

I 

a b 

e 

c 

f 

\ 

I 

} 

,, 

I \ 

r 

t \ 

J. 

d 

g 

Scale 

lo!iJ d : :! 
Figure 5. Historic cultural materials from the Akers Pass site: (a) black English gunflint, Test 

Unit 30-31W, 40-42S, Plowzone; (b) flattened lead rife ball, Test Unit 30-31W, 48-SOS, Plowzone; (c) flattened lead rife ball, Test Unit 40-41W, 48-SOS, Plowzone; (d) rough-back four-hole 

porcelain button, Test Unit 30-31 W, 40-42S, Plow zone; (e) black hard rubber comb tooth, Test 

Unit 30-31W, 48-SOS, Plowwne; (f) Fragment of slate, Test Unit 34-35W, 48-SOS, Plowzone; (g) 

slate pencil fragment, Test Unit 30-31W, 48-SOS, Plowzone; (h) White kaolin clay pipe bowl fragment, Test Unit 30-31 W, 48-SOS, Plowzone; (i) brown-glazed clay pipe bowl fragment, Test Unit 

30-31 W, 48-SOS, Plowzone; G) brown anthropomorphic clay pipe bowl fragment, Test Unit 34-

35W, 48-SOW, Plowzone; (k) iron buckle, Test Unit 19-20W, 48-SOS, Plowzone; (I) cast iron 

coffee mill handle fragment, Test Unit 40-4\W, 40-42S, Plowzone; (m) piece of cut-and-folded 

sheet brass, Test Unit 34-35W, 48-SOS, Plowzone; (n) steel table knife handle, Test Unit 30-31W, 

48-SOS, Plowzone; (o) cast-iron hinge fragment, Test Unit 19-20W, 48-50S, Plowzone. 

43 

a 

f 

k 

0 

:'!IT 

. 

. 

. . '

g 

b 

1 

c 

h 

m 

Scale 

I! il r:! 1 

20mm 

r:iii\ 

~ 

d 

J 

n 

r .. . . 

e 
+::-

+::-

Figure 6. Map of the northern part of the Dances with Grasshoppers site. 

il 44) 3 110 EAST 

DANCES WITH GRASSHOPPERS SITE ""' 

l3SID77 

SHKJ:T ~ SOUTHJ:JlN PORTION OJ' 5lTE 

* • • • • ' ST ·60 

AREAO! CONCENTRATION Ol CULTURAL MATERJALS W O 

K 

& 

p • 70 ot + * • • j_ 0 H 

IL 

• + ... • "'" ... ... ~ • L • 80 • -....... s 

""'-._ L 

0 -90 -......... • * + * * + ... + * * !I' lll<o p ......, II J: 

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j 

\ 

\ • * * + .. ;I; * ri;~ ·110 

LOW ARJ:.A \ LOW RISE 

SCALE MAGN. 

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sourH 

1[) M. \ \. * lj4 + "' * * ot ot 

"'-, 

KEY: " * ... + I[< .....__ ;I; 

* : SHOVEL Ti.ft -~ 

DRA.WN BY JAMES E. PRJCJ: 
Ul 

~ 

Figure 7. Map of the southern part of the Dances with Grasshoppers site. 

w 

NORTH * .. "\. ·30 

DANCES \VITB GRASSHOPPERS SITE 

* * 'l.t:'.t1-.~- I mm77 I .lo 

OLD n.NCJ:. ROWY ~-r...... . l SHEET 1, NORTHERN PORTION O]j' SITE ) '- • + + ~ ~ s . 10 

BASE LINE --=:::::;:._,__ T - .0 

• " • + • J' I '\"!>, P ~ - l 0 

* * * ~ p II \ 'l---7-- ' -- • w MAG. N. 

I * + * \: L ·30 

HIGHEST POlNT ON XNQLL L 

* • + SCALE ~ 40 

!!liiiiil!!!!li 

+ ;I; + .'Ql.~ I 10 :M. • 50 

lm:11tinn nf f~lltur~s 1 & 2 

AlmAO!' 

* •• 

CONCENTRATION 

* * 

01!' CULTURAL MATUUALS 

' KEY: .~ * lfJI * * ;to *: SHOVEL TEST • ?O rJ-

- ~ !::XCAVA.TlON UNIT *. * *. * * * ... * ~ .so 

.. • * .. + * :1: * * * :1: "' ' • 90 . ' ' DRAWN BY J. PRICE 
Figure 8. Plan views and cross sections of Features 1 and 2, Dances with Grasshoppers site. 

46 

D 

a 

w 

n 

b 

y 

J. 

p 

c 

e 

92 

.. , ·. ·. 

... .,. . : ": : . , . . . . · .. :. : .... ·.· .. 

..... -

. · ....... . :·:·: · .. .. . . . ~: ~ ... 

... ·. 

.. · .. ·.' 

·. ·:·: . . : "' .. : .. . . ...~ 

·=· Mag. N. ·: ~::: · .. _,.._-

: .· .. ,: . 

. . . ... ·. · .. ·~··. ·:: . ."·. · .. 

· . 

KEY 
Figure 9. Prehistoric bifacial artifacts from the Dances with Grasshoppers site: 

(a) Graham Cave side-notched projectile point or knife of coarse pink chert, Test 

Unit 30-32S, 54-55W, Plowzone; (b) comer-notched steeply retouched projectile 

point or knife of banded pink and gray chert, Shovel Test 140S 60E, Plowzone; 

(c) stemmed projectile point or knife of gray and tan chert, Test Unit 40-41S, 68-

70W, Plowzone; (d) comer-notched projectile point or knife of white chert, Test 

Unit 30-32S, 54-55W, Plowzone; (e) small bifacially-flaked arrowpoint of red 

chert, Shovel Test 30S SOW, Plowzone; (f) perforator tip of pink chert, Test Unit 

40-4lS, 68-70W, Plowzone. 

47 

a 

c 

e 

Scale 

I! il .... I 

20mm 

b 

d 

:4 

f 

I 

I 

\ 
Figure 10. Prehistoric artifacts from the Dances with Grasshoppers site: (a) utilized 

flake of tan and gray chert, Test Unit 30-32S, 60-61W, Plowzone; (b) core of white 

chert, Test Unit 30-32S, 54-55W, Plowzone; (c) thick biface or aborted preform of 

brown and tan granular chert, Test Unit 50-52S, 59-60W, Plowzone; (d) thick biface 

or aborted preform of pink chert, badly fragmented by kettle fractures from heat, 

Shovel Test 30S SOW, Plowzone; (e) thin biface of banded tan and gray chert, 

Shovel Test 60S SOW; (f) thin biface of pink chert, Shovel Test 90S 20E, Plowzone. 

48 

a b 

c d 

' 

e f 

Scale ~ ;J ,.., I 

20mm 
Figure Dl. Topographic map of shovel tests and test units, 23SH230. 

79 

-··---t--·---1 0 J ... ~·~ 13!!.'fJJ 

IZII "" 

200 0 200 400 

SCALE OF FEET 

~ Location of Dalton point reported 

by C. Price ( 1985) 

• Shovel test 

c Test unit 

0 Historic foundation 

REPORT CERTIFICATION 

Icertify that I I Investigations at Two Archeological Sites Near Akers Ferry, 

Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri" by James E. Price, 

Technical Report No. 37. 

has been reviewed against the criteria contained in 43CFR Part 7 (a)(l) and upon recommendation of the Regional Archeologist has been classified as 

Available 

12-6-95 

Regional Director Date 

Classification Key Words: 

"Available"-Making the report available to the public meets the criteria of 43CFR 7.18 (a) (1). 

"Available (deletions)"-Making the report available with selected information on site locations 

and/or site characteristics deleted meets the criteria of 43CFR 7.18 (a)(l). A list of pages, 

maps, paragraphs, etc. that must be deleted for each report in this category is attached. 

"Not Available9'-Making the report available does not meet the criteria of 43CFR (a)(l). 

APPENDIX A 

Inventory of Prehistoric Materials from the Akers Pass Site 
23SH22 

Tested 

Cobbles 

Dec. 

Flake 

Nondec. 

Flake 

Biface 

Thinning 

Flake Cores 

Th.bi 

& ab. 

pre. 

Thin 

Bifaces 

Pp/hct 

and 

Frags. 

Biface 

Tips 

Other 

Steep 

ret.uni. 

Pitted 

Cobbles 

Mod. 

an g. 

Frags. 

Unmod. 

ang. 

Frags. 

Burned 

and fc. 

Rock 

Sandstone 

Other 

Test Units 

30-31W 

48-50S 52 358 4 4 2 3 4 27 3 1* 

19-20W 

48-50S 39 230 9 5 2 5 8 

30-31W 

40-42S 69 286 7 6 5 31 

40-41W 

48-50S 38 182 7 4 2 8 

34-35W 

48-50S 40 226 6 4 32 

t U

0 

40-41W 

40-42S 74 246 5 47 

Test Unit Subtotals 312 1528 38 7 19 7 20 2 153 4 

Shovel Tests 

70W-10S 3 5 

70W-20S 9 2 

70W-30S 8 7 4 

70W-40S 3 3 

60W-10S 2 2 

60W-20S 2 

60W-30S 7 4 

60W-40S 

60W-50S 

6 13 

6 

2 
23SH22 Non- Biface Th.bi Pp/hct Other Mod. Unmod. Burned 

Tested Dec. dec. Thinning & ab. Thin and Biface Steep Pitted an g. an g. and fc. Sand- Other 

Cobbles Flake Flake Flake Cores pre. Bifaces Frags. Tips ret.uni. Cobbles Frags. Frags. Rock stone 

Shovel Tests 

50W-10S 5 

50W-20S 3 

50W-30S 

50W-40S 2 5 

40W-10S 5 9 

40W-20S 6 

40W-30S 2 4 

40W-40S 3 7 

40W-50S 3 27 5 

30W-OS 3 7 2 2 

30W-10S 23 3 

30W-20S 

30W-30S 10 2 

30W-40S 4 6 

20W-10S 17 1t 

20W-20S 5 

20W-30S 6 

20W-40S 17 

20W-50S 20 

ON-10W 2 15 

VI 

-
23SH22 

Tested 

Cobbles 

Dec. 

Flake 

Nondec. 

Flake 

Biface 

Thinning 

Flake Cores 

Th.bi 

&ab. 

pre. 

Thin 

Bifaces 

Pp/hct 

and 

Frags. 

Biface 

Tips 

Other 

Steep 

ret.uni. 

Pitted 

Cobbles 

Mod. 

an g. 

Frags. 

Unmod. 

an g. 

Frags. 

Burned 

and fc. 

Rock 

Sandstone 

Other 

Shovel Tests 

10W-10S 2 5 

10W-20S 4 

10W-30S 9 

10W-40S 4 12 

10W-40S 4 12 

OE-10N 17 

OE-10S 11 

OW-20S 

OW-30S 8 2 

10EIOS 

Shovel Test 

Unit Subtotals 10 288 4 3 8 23 10 4 

Grand Total 

All Units 10 600 1752 38 11 22 7 21 2 8 23 163 8 2 

Abbreviations used in column headings: Dec. Flake = Decortication Flake; Non-dec. Flake = Non-decortication Flakes; Th.bi. & ab. pre. = Thick Bifaces and Aborted Preforms; 

Pp/hct and Frags = Projectile Points, Hafted Cutting Tools, and Fragments; Other steep. ret.uni. = Ot Steeply Retouched Unifaces; Mod. ang. Frags. = Modified Angular Fragments; 

Unmod. ang. Frags. = Unmodified Angular Fragments; Burned and fc rock= Burned and Fire-cracked Rock 

VI 

N 
APPENDIX B 

INVENTORY OF HISTORIC MATERIALS 

FROM THE AKERS PASS SITE 

Test Unit 40-41 W, 40-42s 

Refined Earthenware 

1 blue shell-edge plate rimsherd 

1 yellow spongeware bodysherd 

1 plain white plate flange sherd 

3 plain white bodysherds 

Glass 

5 thin window glass sherds 

3 pieces of melted green glass 

Metal 

1 horseshoe nail 

1 end of coffee mill crank 

1 piece of lap weld from chain 

Fauna 

1 hog molar 

2 hog teeth fragments 

1 piece unidentified animal bone 

Test Unit 40-41 W, 48-50s 

Refined Earthenware 

1 light blue transfer plate rimsherd 

1 light blue transfer bodysherd 

1 plain white plate flange sherd 

7 plain white bodysherds 
Coarse Earthenware 

1 brown glazed redware basal sherd 

1 gray salt-glazed bodysherd 

Glass 

1 clear glass bottle bodysherd 

1 light green glass bottle bodysherd 

1 green glass flask bodysherd 

2 thin window glass sherds 

Metal 

1 rusty square cut nail 

Test Unit 30-31 W, 40-42s 

Refined Earthenware 

1 blue shell-edge plate rimsherd 

1 light blue transfer bodysherd 

1 black dendritic transfer rimsherd 

1 flow blue bodysherd 

1 flow blue plate foot ring sherd 

2 blue spongeware rimsherds 

1 handpainted polychrome floral sprig saucer bodysherd 

1 green mocha mug rimsherd 

1 plain white saucer rimsherd 

2 plain white plate rimsherds 

3 plain white plate foot ring sherds 

24 plain white body sherds, mostly from plates 

Coarse Earthenware 

1 brown-glazed redware bodysherd 

3 gray salt-glazed bodysherds 

1 green-glazed pitcher bodysherd 

Miscellaneous Small Artifacts 

1 rough-back white porcelain button with four holes 

1 dark honey-colored translucent gunflint 
Glass 

1 light green bottle bodysherd 

1 light green flask bodysherd 

1 cobalt blue flask bodysherd 

2 dark green bottle bodysherds 

2 thin window glass sherds 

1 thick, flat purpled glass sherd 

4 clear tumbler bodysherds 

Metal 

18 rusty square cut nails 

3 burned square cut nails with heat scale 

2 fragments of iron barrel bands 

1 cast iron vessel sherd 

1 piece of thin sheet iron 

1 wrought-iron strap with four holes and overlapped end 

Mortar 

1 sample of burned lime and sand mortar 

Fauna 

1 hog molar 

1 hog incisor 

2 fragments of hog tusks 

1 mammalian rib bone fragment 

4 unidentified bone fragments 

Flora 

1 charcoal sample 

Test Unit 34-35W, 48-50s 

Refined Earthenware 

6 blue shell-edge plate rimsherds 

1 red transfer bodysherd 

1 light blue transfer plate rimsherd 

1 light blue transfer plate flange sherd 
Refined Earthenware, continued. 

2 light blue transfer bodysherds 

1 handpainted polychrome floral sprig bodysherd 

1 handpainted polychrome floral saucer rimsherd with blue band 

6 red and/or green stick-stamped bodysherds 

1 red stick-stamped saucer rimsherd with black band 

3 brown, green, & black mocha mug bodysherds 

4 plain white plate or saucer rimsherds 

1 plain white plate flange sherd 

3 plain white plate foot ring sherds 

17 plain white bodysherds 

1 white ironstone fluted plate flange 

1 white ironstone fluted plate rimsherd 

1 white ironstone plate rimsherd 

1 white ironstone cup rimsherd 

1 white ironstone plate foot ring 

1 white ironstone cup basal sherd 

1 white ironstone bodysherd 

Miscellaneous Small Artifacts 

1 gray clay human effigy pipe bowl fragment, lips and chin portion 

2 rough-base white porcelain four-hole buttons 

1 piece chalkboard slate 

1 iron tack with globular sheet-iron head 

Glass 

1 clear glass bottle rimsherd 

2 clear glass bottle bodysherds 

11 light green glass bottle bodysherds 

5 dark green glass bottle bodysherds 

8 thin window glass sherds 

8 medium thick window glass sherds 

2 clear glass tumbler rimsherds 

1 clear glass tumbler basal sherd 

6 clear glass tumbler bodysherds 

2 clear pressed glass bodysherds 
Metal 

27 rusty square cut nails 

1 1 burned square cut nails 

1 piece iron wire 

1 broken link from light chain 

1 piece sheet iron 

1 piece cut silver-plated sheet brass 

Faunal 

1 unidentified bone fragment 

Test Unit 30-31 W, 48-50s 

Refined Earthenware 

1 blue shell-edge plate rimsherd 

3 red transfer bodysherds, one from plate 

2 light blue transfer bodysherds 

1 light blue transfer plate rimsherd 

2 black dendritic transfer bodysherds 

2 flow blue sherds, one a plate foot ring 

2 blue spongeware bodysherds 

1 handpainted polychrome floral sprig, saucer bodysherd 

1 red stick-stamped plate rimsherd 

1 brown and green mocha bodysherd 

1 brown mocha mug base edge 

2 handpainted bodysherds with blue annular rings 

1 plain cup shoulder 

1 plain white saucer rimsherd 

3 plain white plate foot ring sherds 

3 plain white plate flange sherds 

2 plain white cup shoulder sherds 

35 plain white bodysherds 

1 plain white ironstone foot ring sherd 

Coarse Earthenware 

1 brown-glazed redware bodysherd 

1 gray salt-glazed bodysherd 

1 green-glazed pitcher basal sherd 
Miscellaneous Small Artifacts 

1 white kaolin pipe bowl rimsherd with decorative band 

1 brown clay pipe bowl rimsherd with flutes 

1 proximal end of a slate pencil 

1 black hard rubber comb tooth 

1 flattened lead rifle ball 

Glass 

15 clear glass bottle sherds 

2 amber bottle sherds 

5 light green bottle sherds 

4 light green flask bodysherds 

1 cobalt blue flask bodysherd 

1 cobalt blue bottle bodysherd 

9 dark green bottle bodysherds 

1 dark green bottle basal sherd 

14 thin window glass sherds 

8 medium thick window glass sherds 

2 thick window glass sherds 

1 clear glass tumbler rimsherd 

2 clear glass tumbler basal sherds 

1 clear glass tumbler bodysherds 

Metal 

52 rusty square cut nails 

3 burned square cut nails with heat scale 

1 piece burned #9 size wire 

1 fragment of thin sheet iron disc 

1 handle from wood or bone handled table knife 

1 piece of silver-plated brass 

1 blunt-tipped woodscrew 

1 section cutter from mowing machine sickle bar 

Faunal 

2 hog molars 

1 piece calcined bone 

3 small unidentified bone fragments 

3 pieces of river mussel shells 
Test Unit 19-20W, 48-50s 

Refined Earthenware 

2 blue shell-edge plate rimsherds 

1 red transfer bodysherd 

8 light blue transfer bodysherds 

1 black dendritic transfer cup rimsherd 

1 black dendritic transfer bodysherd 

1 black transfer bodysherd 

1 flow blue plate foot ring sherd 

5 handpainted polychrome floral bodysherds 

1 handpainted polychrome floral cup bodysherd 

1 red stick-stamped plate rimsherd with annular blue rim band 

1 red stick-stamped bodysherd 

3 plain white plate foot ring sherds 

2 plain white plate flange sherds 

39 plain white bodysherds, mostly from plates 

1 white ironstone fluted plate rimsherd 

1 white ironstone cup rimsherds 

2 white ironstone saucer rimsherds 

2 white ironstone bodysherds 

Coarse Earthenware 

1 gray-glazed redware bodysherd with blue painted motif 

1 gray-glazed bodysherd 

1 brown-glazed ink bottle basal sherd 

1 brown-glazed ink bottle bodysherd 

2 green-glazed pitcher bodysherds 

Glass 

4 clear glass bottle bodysherds 

4 light green bottle bodysherds 

1 light green flask rimsherd 

2 light green flask bodysherds 

1 light green flask basal sherd 

2 light green thick bottle basal sherds 

1 dark green bottle basal sherd 

1 dark green bottle bodysherd 

5 thin window glass sherds 

4 medium thick window glass sherds 

1 clear glass tumbler rimsherd 
Glass, continued. 

3 clear glass tumbler bodysherds 

1 clear pressed glass bodysherd 

1 blob molten glass 

Miscellaneous Small Artifacts 

1 white kaolin pipestem fragment 

1 brown-glazed fluted pipe bowl fragment 

1 flattened lead buckshot 

Metal 

1 burned modern wire nail 

39 rusty square cut nails 

3 burned square cut nails with heat scale 

1 handforged rosehead nail 

1 wrought-iron buckle 

1 cast-iron butt hinge fragment 

2 pieces thin sheet iron 

Fauna 

2 hog tusk fragments 

3 unidentified bone fragments 

3 river mussel shell fragments 
APPENDIX C 

Inventory of Prehistoric Materials from 

the Dances with Grasshoppers Site 
Non- Biface Ut. Th.bi. Pp!hct Other Burned Hematite 

23SH177 Unmod. Tested Dec. Dec. True Thin fl. & & ab. Thin and steep Perf or. Pitted and fc. and Sandcobb. cobbles flake flake blades flake blades Cores pre. bifaces frags ret.uni. & drills cobbles rock limonite ston Other 

Test Units 

30-31 s 

78-80 W Plz. 3 52 273 6 2 31 

30-31-S 

78-80 w L.2 7 60 6 

30-32 s 

54-55 W Plz. 3 130 524 18 3 4 58 

30-32N 

60-61 W Plz. 2 43 337 25 3 

30-32S 

60-61 w L.2 2 23 

40-41 s 

68-70W Plz 4 5 40 164 21 2 

49-50 s 

59-60 W Plz. 5 78 2 9 2 

50-52 s 

59-60 W Plz. 21 172 3 2 4 2 

50-52S 

59-60 w L.2 

59-60s 

68-70 W Plz. 2 2 49 342 3 2 35 

59-60s 

68-70 w L.2 5 47 

Test Unit Subtotals 

Plowzone 14 15 413 1812 2 30 3 3 4 9 6 2 182 9 

Level 2 15 131 8 

Subtotal 14 15 428 1943 2 30 3 3 4 9 6 2 190 9 

0'1 

N 
Non- Biface Ut. Th.bi. Pp/hct Other Burned Hematite 

23SH177 Unmod. 

cobb. 

Tested 

cobbles 

Dec. 

flake 

Dec. 

flake 

True 

blades 

Thin 

flake 

fl.& 

blades Cores 

&ab. 

pre. 

Thin 

bilaces 

and 

!rags 

steep 

ret.uni. 

Perf or. 

& drills 

Pitted 

cobbles 

and fc. 

rock 

and 

limonite 

Sand· 

ston Other 

Shovel Tests 

130S·10E 

130S-20E 2 

130S-30E 

130-40E 

130-SOE 

130S·60E 6 

130S·70E 

130S·80E 

20S-10W 3 

20S-20W 

20S-30W 

20S-40W 2 

20S-50W 8 

20S-60W 2 10 

20S-70W 16 

20S-80W 9 19 2 

OS-10W 

OS-20W 

OS-30W 

OS-40W 

OS-SOW 

OS-60W 2 2 

10S-10W 

01 

u.l 
Non- Biface Ut. Th.bi. Pplhct Other Burned Hematite 

23SH177 Unmod. Tested Dec. Dec. True Thin fl. & & ab. Thin and steep Perfor. Pitted and fc. and Sandcobb. cobbles flake flake blades flake blades Cores bifaces ret.uni. & drills cobbles rock limonite ston Other 

Test Units 

10S-20W 

10S-30W 

108-40 

10S-50W 3 

10S-60W 5 

10S-70W 5 

30S-10W 

30S-20W 

30S-30W 

30S·40W 2 5 

30S·55W 2 15 

30S·65W 2 10 

30S-50W 6 22 5 

30S-60W 10 20 7 

30S-70W 4 7 3 

30S-80W 2 

35S-50W 2 13 2 

35S-55W 3 33 7 

35S-60W 4 3 

35S-65W 9 

35S-70W 7 

0'\ 

..f::.. 
Non- Biface Ut. Th.bi. Pp/hct Other Burned Hematite 

23SH177 Unmod. Tested Dec. Dec. True Thin fl. & & ab. Thin and steep Perfor. Pitted and fc. and Sandcobb. cobbles flake flake blades flake blades Cores pre. bifaces ret.uni. & drills cobbles rock limonite ston Other 

40S-OW 2 

40S-10W 2 

40S-20W 2 

40S-30W 2 

40S-40W 13 

40S-50W 2 14 

40S-55W 4 11 3 

40S-60W 2 28 

40S-65W 6 

40S-70W 16 

40S-80W 3 20 

45S-50W 4 18 2 

45S-55W 20 2 

45S-60W 10 2 

45S-65W 2 8 

45S-70W 3 

50S-OW 

50S-10W 4 

50S-20W 3 

50S-30W 2 

50S-40W 2 

50S-50W 5 17 

50S-60W 

0\ 

VI 
Non- Biface Ut. Th.bi. Pplhct Other Burned Hematite 

23SH177 Unmod. 

cobb. 

Tested 

cobbles 

Dec. 

flake 

Dec. 

flake 

True 

blades 

Thin 

flake 

fl. & 

blades Cores 

& ab. 

pre. 

Thin 

bifaces 

and 

!rags 

steep 

ret.uni. 

Perf or. 

& drills 

Pitted 

cobbles 

and fc. 

rock 

and 

limonite 

Sandston Other 

Test Units 

50S-55W 3 

50-65W 2 5 

50S-70W 2 17 

50S-BOW 5 

60S-OW 5 

60S-10W B 2 

60S-20W 

60S-30W 5 

60S-40W 7 

60S-50W 12 

60S-60W 2 15 3 Rusty 

nut 

60S-70W 4 24 

60S-BOW 2 9 

70S-OW 4 

70S-10W 5 

70S-20W 6 

70S-30W 

70S-40W 3 6 

70S-50W 1B 2 

70S-60W 2 21 4 

70S-70W B 11 2 

70S-BOW 7 

0\ 

0\ 
23SH177 Unmod. 

cobb. 

Tested 

cobbles 

Dec. 

flake 

NonDec. 

flake 

True 

blades 

Biface 

Thin 

flake 

Ut. 

fl. & 

blades Cores 

Th.bi. 

& ab. 

pre. 

Thin 

bilaces 

Pp!hct 

and 

!rags 

Other 

steep 

ret.uni. 

Perfor. 

& drills 

Pitted 

cobbles 

Burned 

and fc. 

rock 

Hematite 

and 

limonite 

Sandston Other 

Test Units 

80S-OW 3 2 

80S-10W 3 7 

80S-20W 

80S-30W 3 

80S-40W 

80S-50W 7 

80S-10E 2 3 

80S-20E 2 2 

80S-30E 

90S-OW 

90S-10W 3 

90S-20W 5 7 

90S-30W 3 

90S-40W 5 2 

90S-50W 6 14 

90S-10E 3 

90S-20E 5 

90S-30E 

90S-40E 2 

90S-50E 

100S-10E 9 

100S-20E 4 

0\ 

-.l 
Non- Biface Ut. Th.bi. Pplhct Other Burned Hematite 

23SH177 Unmod. 

cobb. 

Tested 

cobbles 

Dec. 

flake 

Dec. 

flake 

True 

blades 

Thin 

flake 

fl. & 

blades Cores 

& ab. 

pre. 

Thin 

bifaces 

and 

!rags 

steep 

ret.uni. 

Perfor. 

& drills 

Pitted 

cobbles 

and fc. 

rock 

and 

limonite 

Sandston Other 

Tests Units 

100S-30E 

100S-40E 3 

100S-50E 2 2 

100S-60E 

110S-10E 6 2 

110S-20E 4 

110S-30E 2 

110S-40E 2 5 

110S-50E 

110S-60E 7 

110S-70E 

120S-20E 

120S-30E 5 

120S-40E 2 

120S-50E 4 

120S-60E 

120S-70E 2 2 

1208-BOE 

140S-40E 2 2 

140S-50E 3 

01 

00 
Non- Bilace Ut. Th.bi. Pp/hct Other Burned Hematite 

23SH177 Unmod. 

cobb. 

Tested 

cobbles 

Dec. 

flake 

Dec. 

flake 

True 

blades 

Thin 

flake 

fl. & 

blades Cores 

& ab. 

pre. 

Thin 

bifaces 

and 

!rags 

steep 

ret.uni. 

Perfor. 

& drills 

Pitted 

cobbles 

and fc. 

rock 

and 

limonite 

Sandston Other 

140S-60E 4 

140-70E 

140S-80E 

Subtotals 3 2 162 758 35 5 5 64 6 

Totals 17 17 590 2701 2 65 3 4 4 14 11 2 255 2 15 

Abbreviations used in column headings: Dec. Flake= Decortication flake; Ut. fl. & blades = Utilized Flakes and Blades; Th.bi. & ab. pre. =Thick Bifaces and Aborted Preforms; Pp!hct and !rags= Projectile 

Points, Hafted Cutting Tools, and Fragments; Other steep ret.uni. = Other Steeply Retouched Unilaces; Perfor. & drills= Perforators and Drills; Burned and lc. rock= Burned and Fire-cracked Rock. 

APPENDIX D 

AN ARCHEOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF SITE 23SH230 

Mark J. Lynott 

INTRODUCTION 

Site 23SH230 is near Akers Ferry, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri. It is 

located on the north side of the Current River between the existing Group Campground and 

Akers Ferry, and it is on a south-facing hillside that slopes noticeably from Highway K to the 

Current River. The hillside is dissected by a series of gullies that are the product of natural 

erosion. A wildlife foodplot is present to the east of the road which connects the group 

campground to Highway K. The wildlife foodplot is clear of vegetation and offers the best 

surface visibility on the hillside. This area had been previously surveyed by James and Cynthia 

Price during a parkwide survey of wildlife foodplots. No archeological remains were observed 

at that time. Cedar glades are present on the upper half of the hillside, and remains of an old 

fence cross the site near the point where the cedar glade grades into a hardwood forest. The 

mature hardwood forest extends down the hill to the riverbank. 

Site 23SH230 was recorded by Cynthia R. Price (1985). Artifacts were observed when 

five backhoe trenches were excavated by National Park Service planners to examine soil structure 

and determine the suitability of the area for possible construction of a sewage treatment lagoon. 

Prehistoric materials were collected from two trenches along the lower slope of the hillside and 

one on the upper slope. Artifacts were also observed on the surface in exposed areas along the 

lower slope. No evidence of a plow zone was observed in any of the backhoe trenches. Cultural 

remains observed in 1985 included decortication and non-decortication flakes, cores, shatter, and 

fire-cracked rocks. A Dalton point was collected from one of the backhoe trenches. 

Description of Excavations at Site 23SH230 

The 1991 investigations at 23SH230 incorporated two types of excavation techniques. 

Due to the relatively dense vegetative cover, shovel tests were used to better define the extent 

of the site. A limited number of one-meter-by-two-meter test units were then excavated to more 

carefully examine the content and condition of the site deposit. 

The testing phase was initiated by establishing a grid across the site. The datum point 

was established in the woods at the north edge of the wildlife foodplot. A transit was used to 

set stakes in a north-south line down the hill to bank of the Current River. The transit was used 

to extend the grid system eastward from the original north-south datum line. 
Shovel Tests 

Archeological excavations at the site included 168 shovel tests. Each shovel test consisted 

of a round hole approximately 30 cm in diameter. Shovel tests were excavated to approximately 

30 cm below surface. All soil matrix from the shovel tests was screened through 114-inch-mesh 

hardware cloth. Artifacts collected from individual shovel tests were collected and placed in 

specimen bags labeled with the grid coordinates of the shovel test from which they were derived. 

Shovel tests were excavated at ten-meter intervals along eleven north-south transects and 

a single east-west transect. The location of the shovel tests is shown in Figure Dl. Results from 

the shovel tests combined with examination of exposed surfaces along erosional gullies indicate 

that site 23SH230 extends from the bank of the Current River uphill 180 meters. The eastern 

edge of the site is marked by a major gully that separates the site from 23SH106, located at the 

.campground amphitheater. The western edge of the site is less well defined. Artifacts have been 

observed in the current group campground, but examination of the group campground road failed 

to produce evidence that site 23SH230 extends that far to the west. 

Shovel testing data indicates that cultural remains are concentrated on the lower half of 

the hillslope. Vegetation in this area generally consists of a mature hardwood forest. The shovel 

testing data indicate that higher artifact concentrations correspond with a deeper mantle of soil 

in this area of the site. Artifacts are limited to the upper 10 cm of soil in the cedar glade at the 

top of the hill, but extend to more than 30 cm in places near the base of the hill. 

Test Units 

Three one-meter-by-two-meter test units were excavated. All three of the test units were 

excavated in arbitrary 10-cm levels. Soil matrix from the test units was removed with hand 

shovels and trowels, and screened through 114-inch-mesh hardware cloth. 

Two of the test units were placed in an area where artifacts are visible on the surface, and 

where shovel tests indicated that subsurface archeological deposits may be present. Test unit 

190-192Sl189-190E is located toward the southeast edge of the site. Test units 

180- 18 131185-1 87E is located about 10 meters northwest of 190- 192Sl189- 190E. No evidence 

of a plow zone was identified, and artifacts extended to about 25 cm below surface. Excavation 

revealed a brown sandy loam extending to about 16 cm below surface, where a reddish-brown 

clay loam becomes visible. Test excavations indicate that the majority of artifacts are limited 

to the brown sandy loam, with only a few flakes extending into the reddish-brown clay loam. 

Artifacts from these units include biface and core fragments, and considerable lithic debris. 

The third test unit was located immediately south of the former wildlife foodplot in an 

area of older-growth hardwood trees. Test Unit 136-137Sl8-10E was excavated in the same 

manner as the other test units. The uppermost stratum was a relatively thick leaf litter that 

extends to about 8 cm below surface. Below this is a rich dark brown humic zone that extends 
to 20 to 25 cm below surface. The lowermost stratum is a light brown loam. The test unit was 

excavated to 50 cm below surface. Artifacts are most numerous in the upper 30 cm, but extend 

to about 45 cm below surface. An archaic projectile point, bifaces, core fragments, and 

considerable lithic debris were collected. 

Although only three test units were excavated, they provide good evidence that intact 

subsurface archeological deposits are present. Largely due to the limited nature of the testing 

campaign, no subsurface features were identified. However, the relatively dense concentrations 

of artifacts that were observed during field investigations suggest that pits and hearths from shortterm camps may be present. Despite the paucity of temporally diagnostic artifacts, the limited 

number of projectile points found at the site suggest the occupation occurred largely during the 

Archaic stage. 

Artifact Descriptions 

Although it is visually obvious that agricultural activities have affected the landscape on 

which this site is located, very little archeological evidence of historic activity was encountered. 

Wire nails, amber bottle glass, and clear flat glass were collected from shovel tests along the 

southern margin of the site near the location of a former vacation cabin. A single shot-gun shell 

was collected near the center of the site. 

Prehistoric artifacts, which included fire-cracked rock, lithic debris, cores, hematite, 

bifaces, unifaces and a hammerstone, were collected over the entire site. These materials appear 

to be made of local raw materials. Burlington chert cobbles seem to be the source of both lithic 

debris and finished tools. The fire-cracked rock consists of sandstone, limestone, and cherts. 

Cores and Cobbles 

Seven cores and six tested cobbles were collected during the 1991 excavations. Six of 

the cores are fragments or simple, single-platform forms. The seventh core is a small multiplatform specimen. The tested cobbles are local stream cobbles that range in size from slightly 

larger than a golf ball to about the size of a softball. Four cores and one tested cobble were 

collected from test unit 180- 18 IS11 85- 187E, and two cores were collected from 136- 137Sl8- 10E. 

The remaining core and tested cobbles were collected from shovel tests. 

Lithic Debris 

Lithic debris is composed of flakes, proximal flakes and nondiagnostic shatter, which are 

the by-products of stone tool manufacture, repair, and maintenance. Lithic debris is the most 

common artifact class at site 23SH230, and is found across the entire extent of the site. Flakes 

and proximal flakes (n=952) are dominated by interior and secondary elements. Observation of 

platform preparation indicated that faceted platforms are present in significant frequencies. These 

observations, combined with an average flake length of only 1.5 cm suggest that lithic reduction 
activities tended to be focused on the later stages of tool manufacture and maintenance. 

Observation of raw material indicated that all of the lithic debris was produced from locally 

available cherts. The provenience of the lithic debris is presented in Table Dl. 

Bifaces 

Bifacially chipped objects are the most common type of stone tools found at 23SH230. 

Forty bifaces were collected from test units and shovel tests. Most of the bifaces are fragments, 

making it difficult to classify them into a precise stage in the reduction sequence. Visual 

examination of these pieces indicates that the full reduction sequence is represented in the 

collection. However, rough and thick bifaces from the middle of the reduction sequence are 

considerably more common than thin, preform type bifaces. Twenty of the bifaces were collected 

from shovel tests, with the remainder being collected from test excavations. The provenience of 

these specimens is presented in Table Dl. 

Projectile Points 

Only six projectile points were collected during the 1991 excavations. Five of these are 

large, stemmed or corner-notched forms that are characteristic of the Archaic stage. The sixth 

specimen is a basal fragment that cannot be classified. 

A Jakie point made from white chert was collected during shovel testing. The tip of the 

point is missing and may represent an impact fracture. The piece has a pink tint that may 

indicate the point was subjected to heat treating in manufacture. 

Two large corner-notched projectile point fragments were collected. One was collected 

froface along the southeast edge of the site, and the other was collected from 136-137Sl8-IOE. 

Both are made from local chert. The fragmentary nature of these points makes it difficult to 

attribute them to a particular temporal stage, because they resemble both Woodland and Archaic 

stage forms. 

A square-stemmed projectile point with a slightly expanding base was collected from 180- 

181Sl185-187E. The piece is made from local chert, and may represent a Hardin point that has 

been resharpened. 

A large, crude projectile point fragment was collected from 136-137Sl8-10E. It has a 

small square-stem that expands slightly. The tip of the blade is missing, perhaps from an impact 

fracture. Point forms like this are frequently found in Late Archaic contexts in the Eastern 

Ozarks. 

Unifaces 

Unifacially chipped stone tools are comprised of two scrapers, a graver, and 3 1 retouched 

pieces. The scrapers include a flake with steep retouch on one lateral margin and an end scraper. 
The graver is a flake that has been chipped to form a beaked working tip. The retouched pieces 

include flakes and pieces of non-diagnostic shatter that are unifacially chipped on dorsal or 

ventral surfaces. The provenience of these pieces are presented in Table Dl. 

Hematite 

Ten pieces of hematite were collected during the 1991 excavations. These pieces are 

generally small, ranging from the size of a pea to slightly larger than a marble. None of these 

have been heavily modified, but it is likely that these pieces were brought to the site by humans. 

Seven of the hematite pieces were collected from shovel tests and three were from test unit 136- 

137SI8-10E. The presence of hematite on this site is noteworthy, because hematite is not 

common on sites in the Akers Ferry area. 

Hammerstone 

A single hammerstone was collected during shovel testing. The specimen is a river 

cobble that was battered on one end. It probably represents.a local cobble that was used to 

hammer something and then discarded. There is no evidence that the shape of the cobble was 

modified. 

Fire-Cracked Rock 

Compared to other sites in the upper Current River valley, very little fire-cracked rock 

was collected from 23SH230. A total of eight pieces of fire-cracked rock were collected from 

the three test units. Six pieces of fire-cracked rock were collected from shovel tests. Firecracked rock is abundant at the nearby Akers Ferry site, 23SH23 (Lynott 1989). Since the Akers 

Ferry site is clearly a base carnp-type settlement, the low relative density of fire-cracked rock 

at 23SH230 is probably a function of short-term prehistoric occupations at that site. It is likely 

that hearths were small and informally constructed, and consequently left little fire-cracked rock. 

Discussion of the Artifact Assemblage 

The 1991 investigations at 23SH230 produced only a limited number of temporally 

diagnostic artifacts. These are predominantly projectile points, which are similar to forms that 

have been associated with the Archaic state in other areas of Ozark plateau. It is possible that 

the corner-notched projectile points may represent a Woodland occupation, but the absence of 

ceramics would seem to indicate that the site was occupied primarily during the Archaic state. 

Lithic debris is the most abundant artifact class collected at 23SH230. The rocky hillside 

on which the site is located may have been the source for some of the chert cobbles used to 

produce the lithlc debris, but the Current River channel with its abundant river cobbles is also 

nearby. However, despite the close proximity of lithic raw material, evidence for primary lithic 

procurement is limited. Only 3.6 percent of the flakes exhibit 50 percent or more cortex on their 

dorsal surface, and only seven cores were collected during the 1991 investigations. Overall, it 
would appear that the middle states of biface reduction and tool manufacture produced the 

majority of lithic debris at 23SH230. 

Most of the stone tools collected at 23SH230 are biface fragments. As noted above, these 

appear to be primarily from the middle stages of biface reduction. Rough forms from the initial 

stage, and preforms for the final stage of biface reduction are rare. 

Unifacial stone tools are dominated by retouched pieces. These are flakes or pieces of 

nondiagnostic shatter that have received limited marginal retouch. The other unifacial stone tools 

include two scrapers and a graver. These tool forms are most often associated with either Early 

and Middle Archaic, or the Emergent Mississippian lithic assemblages in the Eastern Ozarks. 

Since no evidence of Emergent Mississippian occupation has been collected from this site, it is 

likely that this is further evidence for Archaic occupation. 

The overall character of the artifact assemblage, combined with the nature and location 

of site 23SH230, seems to indicate a series of temporary occupations. While it is possible that 

the site served as a base camp at some time during the Archaic stage, current evidence points to 

a series of temporary camps. This is further supported by a comparison to 23SH23, the Akers 

Ferry site. These sites are only separated by slightly more than 300 meters. The akers Ferry site 

is located on a flat T-2 landform at the confluence of Gladden Creek and the Current River, 

while 23SH230 is on a gently sloping hillside. Testing at 23SH23 has yielded evidence of 

features and intensive occupation debris across most of the site. At 23SH230, dense 

concentrations of occupation debris occur as small pockets within the larger site scatter. 

Recommendations 

The 1991 investigations produced evidence that intact, subsurface archeological deposits 

are present at 23SH230. The site appears to have been occupied during the Archaic stage, and 

has the potential to yield important evidence about Archaic-stage lifeways in the Upper Current 

River valley. It is likely that this site is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. 

As noted earlier, the 1991 investigations showed that evidence of Archaic occupation is 

not distributed evenly across the site. The most significant archeological deposits are located in 

the hardwood forest area in the southern half of the site. This area has a relatively deep soil 

mantle, and there is a good likelihood that subsurface features are present. Further, there is little 

evidence that this area has been heavily disturbed by historic agriculture or timbering practices. 

Consequently, if possible, campground designers should attempt to avoid the southern half of 

23SH230 and focus campsite development in the cedar glade area in the northern half of the site. 

If this is not possible, then data recovery excavations should be conducted in advance of 

construction. 
REFERENCES CITED 

Lynott, Mark J. 

1989 Archeological Investigations at the Akers Ferry site, 23SH23, Ozark National Scenic 

Riverways, Southeast Missouri. Manuscript on file, Midwest Archeological Center, 

National Park Service, Lincoln. 

Price, Cynthia R. 

1985 Report on Construction Monitoring at Akers Ferry Development, Ozark National 

Scenic Riverways. Manuscript on file, Midwest Archeological Center, National Park 

Service, Lincoln. 
Table Dl. Prehistoric artifacts collected from test units, 23SH230. 

Unit and Level Flakes NDS FCR Cores Biface Unifaces 

Shovel Tests 413 724 9 1 22 24 

Totals 952 1436 17 7 48 29 

Abbreviations used in column headings: NDS = Non-diagnostic shatter; FCR = Fire-cracked rock