The Hobson site (33MS2) is a Native American

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 ...

located below

Middleport, Ohio Middleport is a village in Meigs County, Ohio, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,530 at the time of the 2010 census. History Middleport was founded during the 1820s, a time of great prosperity and rapidly increasing commerce in Meigs Co ...

on the north bank of 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 ...

. It has minor traces of Archaic,

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

and Late Prehistoric artifacts. However, the largest component is a small village and cemetery of the Feurt Phase of the

Fort Ancient culture Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from Ca. 1000-1750 CE and predominantly inhabited land near the Ohio River valley in the areas of modern-day southern Ohio, northern Kentucky, southeastern Indiana and western ...

originally estimated to date to 1100 to 1200 CE. More recent radiocarbon-dating has provided a date of 1350 CE.Murphy 1989: 372

Abstract

The type of earlier pottery, in quoting James L. Murphy, "cannot be distinguished from the late Middle Woodland Watson Ware of the upper

Ohio Valley 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 Illinoi ...

nor from the Late Woodland Peters Cordmarked Ware from the Scioto and

Hocking Valley The Hocking River (formerly the Hockhocking River) is a right tributary of the Ohio River in southeastern Ohio in the United States. The Hocking flows mostly on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, but its headwaters are in a glaciated region. ...

drainages". Murphy, in 1968, explained the dominance at the site of smooth-surfaced shell-tempered sherds has an even more striking similarity between the Hobson site and the components in the Hocking Valley of the Fort Ancient Tradition. The archaeologist found 791 plain, shell tempered body sherds. Ten fragments of pottery were found having thick strap handles and two lug handles, with punctate and incised decoration. These sherds most closely resemble ceramic material from the Feurt Phase of the Scioto and Hocking valleys. The artifacts of flint, hematite, animal bone, shell and pottery were typical of the Feurt Phase of the Fort Ancient Tradition. The majority of the Hobson flint arrowheads were elongated and triangular shaped with straight or concave sides and convex bases.

Material tradition

As with other phases within the contemporaneous Fort Ancient Tradition, local freshwater shell was used for tools and jewelry. Animal bone and shell were used for garden hoes. Animal bone was shaped for use as tools. These included awls, punches, fish hooks, bone needles, and hide scrapers. Animal bone artifacts included beads, hair pins, pendants, and tinklers. The vertebrate fauna at Hobson was dominated by deer and turkey but also included raccoon, elk, fish, and turtle.

Burial

Construction and looting at the site destroyed all but one of the human burials before excavation could be undertaken. The single Hobson site burial retrieved during archaeological investigations was semiflexed, with knees removed by historic era plowing. The male was estimated at 22–23 years of age and had

ankylosis Ankylosis is a stiffness of a joint due to abnormal adhesion and rigidity of the bones of the joint, which may be the result of injury or disease. The rigidity may be complete or partial and may be due to inflammation of the tendinous or muscular ...

of the vertebrae from the second cervical to the third thoracic being fused. Two of the skeleton's lumbar vertebrae were penetrated by triangular flint arrow points.

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson Site Fort Ancient culture Archaeological sites in Ohio Pre-statehood history of Ohio