This site is still in its early phase of construction, but here is a quick overview. This page will focus on historic and prehistoric archaeology in the greater Kansas City region and will hopefully stretch further after time. My main goal is to provide detailed information on current and past archaeological work in the area that is not readily available to scholars, students or hobbyists, as well as providing links to other relevant sites.
Initially, I will be presenting general overviews of the cultural periods of the area and eventually present more specific data from certain sites in the region. These overviews will most likely be brief as I would like to focus more on specific sites. At a later date an overview of the area's environmental setting will also be included. I would like to point out, however, that I am by no means an expert in this area's archaeology or in web publishing, so please be patient since I can only update this page in the small amount of free time I have. In the mean time if anyone has constructive comments, they would be greatly appreciated.
With that said, I will move on to the overviews.
The Paleoindian period is poorly understood in many areas of the Midwest, especially in west-central Missouri. Paleoindian occupation in the Kansas City area has been characterized by surface finds of large lanceolate fluted and unfluted projectile points. It has been suggested that Paleoindian settlement patterns involved highly mobile nomadism and temporary hunting camps located on upland summits, however, little more is known for this period.
The Dalton period is viewed as a transitional period from a focus on big game hunting to an economy relying more on the increase in use of smaller game and the collection of plant resources. The Dalton period is best known in the Ozark Highlands of Missouri and is identified by the presence of fluted projectile points with distinctive serrated blades. The Dalton period coincides with the warming early Holocene climate and the development of a mixed deciduous forest-prairie environment. Surface finds of Dalton points are common in western Missouri along major rivers, but only three excavated sites (Rodgers Shelter, Graham Cave and Arnold Research Cave) provide good evidence of the period.
More extensive information is available for the Middle Archaic period. The Middle Archaic period can be subdivided into two sequential units referred to as the Blue Springs and Jacomo phases. The early Middle Archaic Blue Springs phase has been radiocarbon dated at 6580 to 6660 years B.P. and is characterized by small side-notched projectile points. The Blue Springs phase appears to have been part of an early Middle Archaic small side-notched point tradition that probably extended over most of the eastern Prairie Plains during the seventh millennia B.P.
The second late Middle Archaic Jacomo phase has acceptable radiocarbon dates ranging from 5550-5590 years B.P. Diagnostic points are medium to large-sized expanding stemmed and corner-notched forms.
The Late Archaic period in the area is represented by Nebo Hill phase sites. The Nebo Hill type site is located on the bluffs of the Missouri River north of the Little Blue valley and has been dated at 3555 years B.P.
The Nebo Hill phase is best represented by a site of the same name. The Nebo Hill site (23CL11) is a well known archaeological site in Clay County, Missouri and figures prominently in the archaeology of the Kansas City area. The Nebo Hill phase was first defined in the late 1940Õs by the late J. Mett Shippee. His work was based on suface materials recovered from the Nebo Hill site as well as others in the southern Clay County area. Shippee first published his data in 1948 in an article in American Antiquity. He suggested the age of the site to 6000-7000 years ago. This estimate was based on the recovery of distictive lanceolate projectile points recovered from the site which were similar to those recovered from sites on the Plains. ShippeeÕs initial report was followed by two articles published several years later in the Missouri Archaeologist and by a publication in the Research Series of the Missouri Archaeological Society in 1964.
Nebo Hill site characteristics include a variety of Nebo Hill points, bifacial hoes and fiber-tempered ceramics.
At this point I will be temporarily omitting some phases like the Woodland phases, Mississippi phase and early historical events. These subjects will eventually be covered. I would, however, like to mention a site of considerable historic significance, that being the Quindaro townsite.
Quindaro was a mid-nineteenth century port along the Missouri River which developed after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The ruins of this site are currently located on the northern edge of Kansas City, Kansas in Wyandotte County. Development at Quindaro began in 1857 but had been abondoned by the early 1860's. Because of its short existance it is a time capsule of the territorial settlement along the Missouri River.
Quindaro is also an important site to the local African American community. After the sites original abandonment an influx of freed slaves resettled the townsite and the surrounding area. The new town, called Happy Hollow, was one of the earliest African American settlements in Kansas. Quindaro was also said to have had some tie to the underground railroad, but little evidence is available to support this claim.
The development of Quindaro will be explained in more detail in the future, however, I will mention that there is currently work being done to develop the site into an archaeolgical park. Subsequently, a web site dedicated solely to Quindaro may be produced in the relatively near future.
I realize that much of this information is not complete nor as detailed as I would like, however, I will be expanding this site as quickly as possible. I also realize that the information presented has not been referenced. That is also being worked on and should be in place soon. Until then I will provide some of the prominent sources. Information on the Nebo Hill site is primarily referenced from Kenneth C. Reid's "Archaic Hunters and Gatherers in the American Midwest" and the work of J. Mett Shippee. Information relating to the Quindaro townsite is based to a large extent on the work of Larry J. Schmits.
The Kansas City Archaeological Society may also be producing a web site in the near future and they would also be a source for current issues in local archaeology. I will keep you posted.
Comments or questions? E-mail: Subedei1@aol.com