Hardin Village Site
Encyclopedia
The Hardin Village Site (15GP22) is a Fort Ancient culture Montour Phase archaeological site
located on a terrace of the Ohio River
near South Shore
in Greenup County, Kentucky
. It is located within the Big Sandy
Management Area along with the nearby Lower Shawneetown site. The site was first inhabited sometime in the early 1500s CE and abandoned by 1625. This era of protohistory saw the arrival of Europeans in North America, although by the time they made it to this area, the village had been long abandoned.
surrounding it, but unlike other sites it does not seem to have had a central oval plaza
. In most other towns of the culture the houses would face into the oval plaza, but at Hardin they seem to have been arranged in clusters, although this may actually be the result of the rebuilding of a new houses in the same general location as the older demolished houses. Houses were built using the single set post method, meaning each individual post was set in its own individual hole, then the rectangular structure was covered in bark, thatch, or skins, probably resembling Iroquoian longhouses . Interior posts helped to support the roof and storage pits lined the interior of the walls. Thin partitions divided the large structures into multi-family dwellings. A gap between two larger posts set on the river sides of the houses was used as the doorway. The houses could be quit large, some measuring up to 9.1 metres (29.9 ft) by 21.5 metres (70.5 ft), but the average size was 132.9 square metres (1,430.5 sq ft).
shells from local stream were used for tools and jewelry. Animal bone and shell attached to prepared tree limbs were also used for hoes in their gardens. Animal bone was shaped for use as tools. These included awls, punches, fish hooks, bone needles, and hide scrapers. Their jewelry included beads, hair pins, pendants, tinklers, and bone and shell gorget
s. Gourds from their garden and turtle shell were used for ceremonial rattles.
Pottery
at the Hardin site was similar to that made and found at other Fort Ancient sites. Women would use ground mussel shell as a tempering agent, it was added to wet clay and finely kneaded in. This technique of using ground mussel shell is a hallmark of Mississippian cultures to the south and west of the Fort Ancient, and displays how they were influenced by that culture. The clay would then be rolled into strips and layered and smoothed to form the appropriate shapes. It was then decorated with a variety of methods such as engraving designs with a sharpened stick, cordmarking with twine, stamping, and beating with a wooden paddle. The majority of the pottery found at the site is of the Madisonville-Fox Farm Cordmarked(about 75 % of examples) and Madisonville Plain, with Fox Farm Saltpan, Madisonville Groove Paddled, Madisonville Net-Impressed and Fox Farm Check Stamped showing up as minor types. These decorations and shapes were unique to Fort Ancient culture and are used as diagnostic tools for identifying their sites, which period in the chronology the sites are from and which other groups they interacted with the most.
bones reburied as a bundle) and graves with stone slabs. About half of the burials contained grave goods, including pottery and stone tools. These utilatarian wares were more often interred with adults. Exotic goods were more likely to be interred with children up to about 4 years old (excluding those 1 year old or less) and adults over about 50, with males being buried with nonlocal engraved shell ornaments
, hematite
and metal objects made from brass tubes and copper from European sources. These exotic trade objects came by way of Mississippian culture
peoples to the south and west of the Fort Ancient peoples. By the time French and English explorers reached the area, the village had long been abandoned.
Analysis of these burials has shown that Fort Ancient peoples were not as healthy as their less agrarian ancestors, a byproduct of their heavy dependence on maize agriculture. The chronic malnutrition and niacin deficiency
caused by the eating of maize as their major food source caused many of the Fort Ancient peoples to have high rates of arthritis, dental diseases, lower life expectancies and a high infant mortality. This chronic malnutrition also made them prone to other infections, such as tuberculosis
(which only a few specimens exhibited) and treponematosis
(a non veneral form of yaws
or syphilis
) a disease which many were found to have been afflicted with.
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
located on a terrace of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
near South Shore
South Shore, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,226 people, 539 households, and 335 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,916.9 people per square mile . There were 605 housing units at an average density of 945.9 per square mile...
in Greenup County, Kentucky
Greenup County, Kentucky
Greenup County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1804. As of 2000, the population was 36,891. Its county seat is Greenup. The county is named in honor of Christopher Greenup....
. It is located within the Big Sandy
Big Sandy River (Ohio River)
The Big Sandy River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course...
Management Area along with the nearby Lower Shawneetown site. The site was first inhabited sometime in the early 1500s CE and abandoned by 1625. This era of protohistory saw the arrival of Europeans in North America, although by the time they made it to this area, the village had been long abandoned.
Site
The Hardin Village site is located on the large flat 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide floodplain terrace of the Ohio River, a little over 3 miles (4.8 km) from present day South Shore, Kentucky. It was occupied from sometime in the early 1500s and abandoned by about 1625, during the Montour Phase of the Fort Ancient chronology. During its occupation it covered an area of about 4.5 hectares (45,000 m²) and measured 160 metres (524.9 ft) on its east-west axis and 300 metres (984.3 ft) on its north-south axis. Like other Fort Ancient villages it had a defensive palisadePalisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
surrounding it, but unlike other sites it does not seem to have had a central oval plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
. In most other towns of the culture the houses would face into the oval plaza, but at Hardin they seem to have been arranged in clusters, although this may actually be the result of the rebuilding of a new houses in the same general location as the older demolished houses. Houses were built using the single set post method, meaning each individual post was set in its own individual hole, then the rectangular structure was covered in bark, thatch, or skins, probably resembling Iroquoian longhouses . Interior posts helped to support the roof and storage pits lined the interior of the walls. Thin partitions divided the large structures into multi-family dwellings. A gap between two larger posts set on the river sides of the houses was used as the doorway. The houses could be quit large, some measuring up to 9.1 metres (29.9 ft) by 21.5 metres (70.5 ft), but the average size was 132.9 square metres (1,430.5 sq ft).
Material culture
As with other peoples of the era, musselMussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
shells from local stream were used for tools and jewelry. Animal bone and shell attached to prepared tree limbs were also used for hoes in their gardens. Animal bone was shaped for use as tools. These included awls, punches, fish hooks, bone needles, and hide scrapers. Their jewelry included beads, hair pins, pendants, tinklers, and bone and shell gorget
Shell gorget
A shell gorget is a Native American art form of polished, carved shell pendants worn around the neck. The gorgets are frequently engraved, and are sometimes highlighted with pigments, or fenestrated ....
s. Gourds from their garden and turtle shell were used for ceremonial rattles.
Ceramics
Native American pottery
Native American pottery is an art form with at least a 7500-year history in the Americas. Pottery is fired ceramics with clay as a component. Ceramics are used for utilitarian cooking vessels, serving and storage vessels, pipes, funerary urns, censers, musical instruments, ceremonial items, masks,...
at the Hardin site was similar to that made and found at other Fort Ancient sites. Women would use ground mussel shell as a tempering agent, it was added to wet clay and finely kneaded in. This technique of using ground mussel shell is a hallmark of Mississippian cultures to the south and west of the Fort Ancient, and displays how they were influenced by that culture. The clay would then be rolled into strips and layered and smoothed to form the appropriate shapes. It was then decorated with a variety of methods such as engraving designs with a sharpened stick, cordmarking with twine, stamping, and beating with a wooden paddle. The majority of the pottery found at the site is of the Madisonville-Fox Farm Cordmarked(about 75 % of examples) and Madisonville Plain, with Fox Farm Saltpan, Madisonville Groove Paddled, Madisonville Net-Impressed and Fox Farm Check Stamped showing up as minor types. These decorations and shapes were unique to Fort Ancient culture and are used as diagnostic tools for identifying their sites, which period in the chronology the sites are from and which other groups they interacted with the most.
Mortuary practices
Burials for the village would be made in designated areas of the village. A total of 301 to 445 burials have been found at the site by archaeologists, the largest number of burials found in a Kentucky Fort Ancient site. Most of these burials were in the extended position, stretched straight out. A small percentage of burials at the site have been of other types, including in the flexed position (with the knees drawn up), bundle burials (excarnatedExcarnation
In archaeology and anthropology, the term, excarnation , refers to the burial practice of removing the flesh and organs of the dead, leaving only the bones....
bones reburied as a bundle) and graves with stone slabs. About half of the burials contained grave goods, including pottery and stone tools. These utilatarian wares were more often interred with adults. Exotic goods were more likely to be interred with children up to about 4 years old (excluding those 1 year old or less) and adults over about 50, with males being buried with nonlocal engraved shell ornaments
Shell gorget
A shell gorget is a Native American art form of polished, carved shell pendants worn around the neck. The gorgets are frequently engraved, and are sometimes highlighted with pigments, or fenestrated ....
, hematite
Hematite
Hematite, also spelled as haematite, is the mineral form of iron oxide , one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and corundum...
and metal objects made from brass tubes and copper from European sources. These exotic trade objects came by way of Mississippian culture
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
peoples to the south and west of the Fort Ancient peoples. By the time French and English explorers reached the area, the village had long been abandoned.
Analysis of these burials has shown that Fort Ancient peoples were not as healthy as their less agrarian ancestors, a byproduct of their heavy dependence on maize agriculture. The chronic malnutrition and niacin deficiency
Pellagra
Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin in the diet. It can be caused by decreased intake of niacin or tryptophan, and possibly by excessive intake of leucine. It may also result from alterations in protein metabolism in disorders such as carcinoid...
caused by the eating of maize as their major food source caused many of the Fort Ancient peoples to have high rates of arthritis, dental diseases, lower life expectancies and a high infant mortality. This chronic malnutrition also made them prone to other infections, such as tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
(which only a few specimens exhibited) and treponematosis
Treponematosis
Treponematosis is a term used to collectively or individually describe any of the diseases caused by the bacterial species Treponema pallidum. There are four subspecies described which cause the following diseases:* Syphilis...
(a non veneral form of yaws
Yaws
Yaws is a tropical infection of the skin, bones and joints caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum pertenue...
or syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
) a disease which many were found to have been afflicted with.