A Reassessment of the Significance of the Coffey Site (14PO1), Tuttle Creek Lake, Pottawatomie County, Kansas

McLean, Janice Ann

Publication

A Reassessment of the Significance of the Coffey Site (14PO1), Tuttle Creek Lake, Pottawatomie County, Kansas

McLean, Janice Ann

Abstract

The Coffey site (14PO1) is one of the significant stratified archeological records of the Middle Holocene period from ca. 6000-5000 B.P. Faunal and floral remains excavated from Coffey during the 1970s still contribute to studies of prehistoric subsistence. In 1977, the Coffey site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D for yielding significant information about the Archaic period. Following years of neglect, geoarcheological investigations were conducted in fall 2009 (1) to define the geomorphology and stratigraphy of the site, (2) to delineate the lateral extent of the artifact-bearing deposits, and (3) to determine the numerical age of those deposits. This thesis characterizes and interprets the cultural materials salvaged from along the cutbank or two backhoe trenches. The archeological evidence supports the finding that the Coffey site retains sufficient research potential and integrity to merit continued inclusion in the National Register under Criterion D.