Maryland Historical Trust
Public Access

Maryland Archaeological Synthesis Database

Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory
18CH374    Area A-1, Site D

Site Data
Site Number: 18CH374
Site Name: Area A-1, Site D
Other name(s):  
Prehistoric:
Historic:
Unknown:
Brief Description: prehistoric short-term camp/lithic scatter
Site Location and Environmental Data
Latitude: 38.61
Longitude: -77.11
Elevation:  
Site slope: 0
Maryland Archaeo Research Unit No.: 11
SCS soil & sediment code:  
Physiographic province: Western Shore Coastal Plain
Terrestrial site:
Underwater site:
Ethnobotany profile:
Maritime site:
Site setting: -Site Setting restricted -Lat/Long accurate to within 1 sq. mile, user may need to make slight adjustments in mapping to account for sites near state/county lines or streams
Topography
Floodplain:
Hilltop/bluff:
Interior flat:
Upland flat:
Ridgetop:
Terrace:
Low terrace:
High terrace:
Rockshelter/cave:
Hillslope:
Unknown:
Other:
Other Text:  
Ownership
Private:
Federal:
State of MD:
Regional/county/city:
Unknown:
Nearest Surface Water
Name (if any): Unnamed tributary of Mattawoman Creek
Saltwater
Ocean:
Estuary/tidal river:
Tidewater/marsh:
Freshwater
Stream/river:
Swamp:
Lake or pond:
Spring:
Min distance to water:
0 meters
Temporal Contextual Data
Paleoindian:  
Archaic:  
Early Archaic:  
Middle Archaic:  
Late Archaic:  
Woodland:  
MD Adena:  
Early Woodland:  
Middle Woodland:  
Late Woodland:  
Unknown prehistoric: Y
Contact period site:  
ca. 1630 - 1675:  
ca. 1675 - 1720:  
ca. 1720 - 1780:  
ca. 1780 - 1820:  
ca. 1820 - 1860:  
ca. 1860 - 1900:  
ca. 1900 - 1930:  
Post 1930:  
Unknown historic:  
Unknown context:  

Y=Confirmed, P=Possible

Ethnic Associations (historic only)
Native American:  
African American:  
Anglo-American:  
Hispanic:  
Asian American:  
Unknown:  
Other:  
Other Text:  

Y=Confirmed, P=Possible

Site Function Contextual Data
Prehistoric
Multi-component:
Village:
Hamlet:
Base camp:
Rockshelter/cave:
Earthen mound:
Cairn:
Burial area:
Misc. ceremonial:
Rock art:
Shell midden:
STU/lithic scatter:
Quarry/extraction:
Fish weir:
Production area:
Unknown:
Other PH context:
 
Historic
Urban/Rural?:
 
Domestic:
Homestead:
Farmstead:
Mansion:
Plantation:
Row/townhome:
Cellar:
Privy:
Industrial:
Mining-related:
Quarry-related:
Mill:
 
Black/metalsmith:
Furnace/forge:
Other industrial:
 
Transportation:
Canal-related:
Road/railroad:
Wharf/landing:
Maritime-related:
Bridge:
Ford:
Educational:
Commercial:
Trading post:
Store:
Tavern/inn:
Military:
Battlefield:
Fortification:
Encampment:
Townsite:
Unknown:
Other hist context:
 
Interpretive Sampling Data
Prehistoric context samples
Soil samples taken: N
Flotation samples taken: N
Other samples taken:  
Historic context samples
Soil samples taken:  
Flotation samples taken:  
Other samples taken:  

Diagnostic Artifact Data

Projectile Point Types
Clovis:  
Hardaway-Dalton:  
Palmer:  
Kirk (notch):  
Kirk (stem):  
Le Croy:  
Morrow Mountain:  
Guilford:  
Brewerton:  
Otter Creek:  
Koens-Crispin:  
Perkiomen:  
Susquehana:  
Vernon:  
Piscataway:  
Calvert:  
Selby Bay:  
Jacks Reef (notch):  
Jacks Reef (pent):  
Madison/Potomac:  
Levanna:  

All quantities exact or estimated minimal counts

Prehistoric Sherd Types
Marcey Creek:  
Dames Quarter:  
Selden Island:  
Accokeek:  
Wolfe Neck:  
Vinette:  
Popes Creek:  
Coulbourn:  
Watson:  
Mockley:  
Clemson Island:  
Page:  
Shepard:  
Townsend:  
Minguannan:  
Sullivan Cove:  
Shenks Ferry:  
Moyaone:  
Potomac Creek:  
Keyser:  
Yeocomico:  
Monongahela:  
Susquehannock:  

All quantities exact or estimated minimal counts

Historic Sherd Types
Earthenware
Astbury:  
Borderware:  
Buckley:  
Creamware:  
Ironstone:  
Jackfield:  
Manganese Mottled:  
North Devon:  
Pearlware:  
Staffordshire:  
Tin Glazed:  
Whiteware:  
Porcelain:  
Stoneware
English Brown:  
English Dry-bodied:  
Nottingham:  
Rhenish:  
White Salt-glazed:  

All quantities exact or estimated minimal counts

Prehistoric Artifacts
Flaked stone: 234
Ground stone:  
Stone bowls:  
Fire-cracked rock: 25
Other lithics (all):  
Ceramics (all):  
Rimsherds:  
Other fired clay:  
Human remain(s):
Modified faunal:  
Unmodified faunal:  
Oyster shell:
Floral material:
Uncommon Object:  
Other:
 

All quantities exact or estimated minimal counts

Historic Artifacts
Pottery (all):  
Glass (all):  
Architectural:  
Furniture:  
Arms:  
Clothing:  
Personal items:  
Tobacco related:  
Activity item(s):  
Human remain(s):
Faunal material:
Misc. kitchen:  
Floral material:
Misc.:  
Other:
 

All quantities exact or estimated minimal counts

Lithic Material
Jasper:
Chert:
Rhyolite:
Quartz:
Quartzite:
Ferruginous quartzite:
Chalcedony:
Ironstone:
Argillite:
Steatite:
Sandstone:
Silicified sandstone:
European flint:
Basalt:
Unknown:
Other:
 

Features

Dated Features
Dated features present at site:
 
Prehistoric Features
Mound(s):  
Midden:
Shell midden:
Postholes/molds:
House pattern(s):
Palisade(s):
Hearth(s):
Lithic reduction area:
Storage/trash pit:
Burial(s):
Ossuary:
Unknown:
Other:
 
Historic Features
Construction feature:
Foundation:
Cellar hole/cellar:
Hearth/chimney:
Postholes/molds:
Paling ditch/fence:
Privy/outhouse:
Well/cistern:
Trash pit/dump:
Sheet midden:
Planting feature:
Road/walkway:
Depression/mound:
Burial(s):
Railroad bed:
Earthworks:
Mill raceway:
Wheel pit:
Unknown:
Other:
 
Radiocarbon Data
Sample 1:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Sample 2:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Sample 3:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Sample 4:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Sample 5:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Sample 6:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Sample 7:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Sample 8:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Sample 9:   +-   years BP  
Reliability
 
Additional radiocarbon results available:
   
External Samples/Data
Additional raw data may be available online:
Collection curated at MAC
Summary
Site 18CH374 (Area A-1, Site D) is a prehistoric short-term camp or lithic scatter northeast of the town of Indian Head in Charles County, Maryland. The site occupies an area approximately 50 X 80 m on a north facing ridge edge at the head of a small intermittent stream. A steep slope bounds the north edge of the site. At the time of the first archeological excavations, the site was wooded with a mixture of hardwoods (white oak, maple, and beech) with areas of overgrown treefall. Soils at the site are Beltsville silt loams. The site was originally investigated as part of a large Phase I survey in 1994 prior to the onset of site preparation and construction for the Chapman’s Landing development. The development included the construction of extensive office and retail space, town houses, single-family houses, and a 200-acre golf course. In addition, roads, sewer lines, utilities, and other improvements would lead to significant impacts in the project area. Numerous archeological sites (both prehistoric and historic) were identified as a part of the 1994 study. During the Phase I survey, a total of 13 shovel test pits (STPs) were excavated across the site. Shovel tests were spaced at 20 meter intervals, with selective retesting of culturally positive STPs at 10 m intervals. Eight of the 13 STPs produced artifacts. Seventeen lithic flakes were recovered from the site. The main concentration was located at the north end of the site, near the terrace edge. Jasper, quartz, quartzite, and silicified sandstone were the component raw materials of the recovered flakes. All six of the jasper flakes were the result of primary reduction. Three of the four quartz flakes were non-cortical flakes, while the fourth was a secondary reduction flake. Two quartzite primary reduction flakes and one non-cortical flake were recovered. Of the two silicified sandstone flakes, one was a primary reduction flake, and the second was a secondary reduction flake. None of the flakes recovered from 18CH374 showed any evidence of use or subsequent modification. Fifteen of the 17 flakes were recovered from the second soil stratum (A2 horizon), generally from a depth of between 10 and 25 cmbs. No artifacts were recovered below a depth of 30 cmbs. The stratigraphic context of the majority of artifacts recovered during the Phase I survey suggested the potential for integrity, and thus the site was recommended for Phase II testing. Researchers returned to the site later that year to conduct Phase II testing in an effort to better characterize site use and to place it in a regional framework. Phase II evaluation included a systematic shovel testing of the site in order to more carefully define the horizontal and vertical distribution of different quantities and categories of artifacts. Shovel tests measured approximately 30 cm in diameter, and were excavated to a minimum depth of 40 cmbs or 10 cm into sterile subsoil, except where ground conditions prevented complete excavation. These were placed at 10 meter intervals. Soils were removed by natural strata and screened through hardware cloth. A total of 27 shovel tests were excavated. Six of the STPs produced artifacts. All of the artifacts came from the same A2 horizon encountered during Phase I work. The artifacts included 10 unmodified lithic flakes and one bifacially worked cobble which was probably utilized as a scraper. Based upon the numerical concentrations and types of artifacts recovered during the Phase II intensive shovel testing, as well as data gathered from the Phase I investigation, three locations were subjected to formal test unit investigations. The three test units measured 1 X 1 m, and were excavated to a minimum of 10 cm into sterile subsoil or to a minimum of 5 cm into fragipan in non-agrading soil deposits. Soils were removed by arbitrary 10 cm levels following natural stratigraphy and were screened through hardware cloth. Cultural material was recovered from each unit. A total of 231 prehistoric artifacts were recovered. Test Unit 1 yielded 1 utilized flake, 1 retouched flake, 84 unmodified flakes, 4 pieces of block or shatter, and 7 fire-cracked rocks. Test Unit 2 produced 1 biface, 1 core, 8 utilized flakes, 86 unmodified flakes, 8 pieces of block or shatter, and 12 fire-cracked rocks. Test unit 3 yielded 9 unmodified flakes, 3 pieces of block/shatter, and 6 fire-cracked rocks. Stratigraphically, the A1 horizon produced 74 artifacts, the A2 produced 130, and the B horizon produced 27 artifacts in the test units. The horizontal distribution of artifacts shows a higher concentration in the northernmost portion of the site, close to the edge of the ridge. Test Unit 2, located closest (approximately 4 m south) to the edge of the ridge, contained the highest artifact density. The low density of artifacts thoughout most of the site suggests limited prehistoric activity. The medium range flake weights , and the presence of a core and bifacial thinning suggest that the primary activities included secondary reduction of lithic materials. The presence of a biface, utilized and retouched flakes, and a limited amount of fire –cracked rock suggest other minor activities, including tool finishing and maintenance, lithic application activities, and heating/cooking. The low numbers of tools suggest that the tools produced or maintained at the site may have been, for the most part, taken away with the site occupants. Vertical artifact concentration was mainly confined to the A2 horizon. Below this stratum, the artifact concentration drops off significantly. This indicates that some degree of vertical integrity has persisted, despite evidence for soil deflation. However, the absence of diagnostic artifacts and the low level of material limits the site’s research potential. Consequently, Site 18CH374 is unlikely to provide significantly more information than that obtained through Phase II study. The site is best characterized as a limited activity/short-term encampment, utilized mainly as a locus for secondary reduction of cobbles that probably were tested along the streambed to the south, with its encampment along the northern edge of the site overlooking the wide drainage to the north. It is not a significant resource for understanding Maryland prehistory.
External Reference Codes
Library ID Numbers: