Schurr, Mark R. (Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame)
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THE BELLINGER MOUND SIE (12 SJ 6): NEW DATA ON A GOODALL
HOPWELLIAN SITE IN NORTHWESTERN INDIANA
From May 18 to June 26, 1991, a field crew from the Department of Anthropology,
University of Notre Dame, conducted test excavations at the Bellinger Mound (also
known as the Litchfield mound), site 12 Sj 6, in St. Joseph County, Indiana. The
mound was looted in 1925 and produced a number of Hopewellian artifacts along
with the remains of up to eight human burials. Based on the styles of artifacts
recovered in 1925, the mound represents a Goodall Hopewell occupation and dates
to the Middle Woodland period (between circa 200 B.C. to A.D. 400). Goodall occupations
form a widespread cultural pattern or tradition that once extended from northwestern
Illinois to the Saginaw Bay area of Michigan (see
Figure 18). The Goodall traditon was closely related to the well known Havana
Hopewell tradition of Illinois, but the origins of the Goodall tradition are obscure.
The 1992 test excavations were intended to determine the extent of the damage
done to the mound in 1925 and to recover samples of prehistoric pottery and carbon
that could be used to provide a more precise date for the mound construction.
The excavations located the 1925 pothole in the southwestern quadrant of the mound
and demonstrated that substantial intact deposits still exist at the site. Temporally
diagnostic pottery and carbon samples for radiocarbon dating were collected, and
these artifacts will be used to date the site during subsequent laboratory analyses
of the excavated materials.
Profile maps of the mound (see Figure 19)
can be used to reconstruct the steps that occurred when the mound was constructed.
First, the original ground surface was prepared by removal of the humus, and at
least one tomb was excavated to depth of approximately 50 cm into the prepared
surface. Burials and associated artifacts were then placed in the tomb and the
tomb was capped with a layer of muck and marl brought from at least 130 meters
away. Finally, village midden (and in some cases subsoil) was used to cover the
muck/marl mantle to produce the final contours of the mound. The original height
of the mound cannot be determined because the mound contours have been heavily
altered by plowing, but the original mound was at least 13 meters in diameter.
Prehistoric pottery sherds recovered during the excavation suggest an occupation
date of between A.D. 1 and A.D. 100 for the midden debris used to produce the
mound. Limestone tempered sherds and a Hopewell rim with an unusual decorative
treatment may indicate an occupation date at the later end of this period, or
just past it.
Shovel probe surveys of the mound vicinity identified a prehistoric habitation
with a well-developed midden below the plowzone located approximately 360 meters
southwest of the mound. No diagnostic artifacts were recovered from the habitation
area and it could not be determined if the occupation in this location was coeval
with the mound. Additional excavations are planned at the site to investigate
the habitation area and other features of the mound.
This project was funded in part by a Department of the Interior grant administered
by the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Indiana Department of
Natural Resources. Additional funds for the project were provided by the University
of Notre Dame.
The excavations at the site were conducted by students enrolled in the Anthropology
Department's summer Archaeology Field School. I would like to thank Rick Degnan,
Jean Casmir, Alysia Courtot, Jim Mahoney, Paul Picchione, Marcus Vaughan (all
undergraduates at Notre Dame), Matthew Biddle (University of Colorado at Boulder),
Elizabeth Carrol (St. Mary's College), and Shoji Ichikawa (Dearborn College) for
their enthusiasm and careful work. Jeff Sutliff acted as Field Assistant and capably
handled all tasks from driving the van to operating the transit.