The Bullskin Creek Site (designated 33CT29) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Located near Felicity in

Clermont County Clermont County, popularly called Clermont ( ), is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 208,601. Ordinanced in 1800 as part of the Virginia Military District, Clermont is Ohio's eighth oldest county, the ...

, the site appears to have been a base camp for

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

s during the Late Archaic period. The site comprises three loci: two significant areas of various debris and a large

midden A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

that underlies everything else. From these components, which cover an area of approximately by , collectors and archaeologists have recovered hundreds of artifacts, including stone tools, weapons, and

bone tool In archaeology, a bone tool is a tool created from bone. A bone tool can conceivably be created from almost any bone, and in a variety of methods. Bone tools have been documented from the advent of ''Homo sapiens'' and are also known from ''Homo ...

s. Because the site is located in a farm field, it has frequently been cultivated, and the plow has brought at least five burials to the surface from a cemetery on the edge of the site.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 138-139. Among the types of

features Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...

found at the site are ovens, trash pits, and postmolds. Bodies at the site were generally adorned with red ochre and buried in a flexed position.Otto, Martha P., and Brian G. Redmond, eds. ''Transitions: Archaic and Early Woodland Research in the Ohio Country''.

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

: Ohio UP, 2008, 344-345. The

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

of the Bullskin Creek Site (so named because it sits atop a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

above Bullskin Creek, near its mouth at the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

) has been archaeologically classified as "Central Ohio Valley Archaic," along with at least three other sites in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and Clermont counties. Like the other sites, which are known as Dravo Gravel, DuPont Village, and Logan, the Bullskin Creek Site is believed to have been inhabited during the middle portion of the Late Archaic, between 2750 and 1750 BC according to

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

. Among the types of tools found both at Bullskin Creek and at the others are distinctive flint knives, parts of atlatls, and stone axes and pestles. These sites are distinguished from other Late Archaic sites in the region by the knives, which are of a type only found in the region surrounding the Great Miami River. Unique to Bullskin Creek was the presence of what appears to have been religious articles: one artifact cache comprised a wide range of artifacts that suggest that they were the collection of a

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

. Conversely, no grave goods were found with any of the burials. In the 1970s, excavations by the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

demonstrated that the Bullskin Creek Site was richer than any other site investigated by the university in the previous few years. Because of its archaeological value, the site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1978.

References

{{NRHP in Clermont County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Clermont County, Ohio Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Archaic period in North America Clermont County, Ohio