STRATIGRAPHIC INVESTIGATIONS AT BARBER CREEK (31PT259) : RECONSTRUCTING THE CULTURE-HISTORY OF A MULTICOMPONENT SITE IN THE NORTH CAROLINA COASTAL PLAIN

Abstract

Barber Creek is a multicomponent stratified site situated atop a relict sand dune in eastern North Carolina. Previous research has put emphasis on site formation and occupation. The focus of this study was to reconstruct the cultural chronology of the west-central portion of Barber Creek and compare it to previous analyses from other portions of the site. This study resulted in the identification of three former occupation surfaces, or floors, buried in approximately one meter of aeolian sands. These occupation floors date to the Early Archaic, Middle to Late Archaic and Early to Middle Woodland periods. The stratified remains of three discrete occupation floors identified in this investigation are largely consistent with previous investigations at the site. The artifact backplots reconstructed here are the clearest evidence yet for a stratified sequence at Barber Creek. In fact, the results of this study provide the best evidence thus far for the presence of Early Archaic, Middle to Late Archaic, and Woodland components in stratified contexts in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Great potential exists at Barber Creek and other such stratified sites along the Tar River to answer questions concerning chronology and typology related to the prehistory of the North Carolina Coastal Plain.