Lithics/Pottery Workshop?

[DreamcatcherNC]

I've been working a spot on and off for about several months that I believe was a Woodland Period lithics workshop. Finding lots of small triangular points. Some are complete, some have minor imperfections and some are broken. It's on a hill that has never felt the plow. No difference in patina on the breaks. Some look like they could have been repaired with just a couple of strokes with an antler. Several different pottery shapes and designs. So far I've found 209 complete and incomplete or broken points, 57 tools and 427 pot sherds.
Anybody ever run into anything like this? Thanks for any info.

 

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[pickaway]

Nice finds looks like a hotspot...

 

[GL]

HOTSPOT!!!!!

 

[unitas]

Sounds like a great spot. Keep on looking.

 

[JimBeHuntin']

Nice finds Dreamcatcher ... congratz on a great hunting site ~ Jimmy

 

[Rege-PA]

Dreamcatcher...Interesting site, small triangles are more diagnostic to the late Prehistoric period and usually have shell tempered pottery on Mississippian sites. Is your pottery grit tempered? Are there any depressions or sources of lithic material nearby? You don`t mention any bone artifacts but if woodland they probably would not have survived anyway. Any charcoal? Just trying to figure out if this was a defensive village or a lithic work shop as you suggest. Pickaway has a very interesting site similar to your scenario in Ohio.

 

[DreamcatcherNC]

Rege-PA,

All pot sherds are tempered with either flint or creek sand. The location is bordered on two sides by creeks whose banks provide excellent sources for clay. I have used this clay, tempered with creek sand for years in making primitive type pottery. Pottery designs include plain burnished, simple stamp, net impressed and complicated stamped. No bone artifacts. Some, but not an abundance, of charcoal and not in situ with the artifacts. Probably from forest fires. Lots of hickory and walnut trees. I have found 3 nutting stones and a couple of small "burnishing" stones for pottery which show evidence of wear. I'm working 1 meter squares using trowel and brush and running all spoils through a quarter-inch screen. The greatest majority of small points and sherds show up in the screen. Since this is on a hill, it has been subject to erosion and the majority of artifacts are just below 5 or 6 inches of humus into about an inch or two of the red clay underneath. While most projectile points are Woodland period, I have found a few Guilford and Savannah River points - some of which show reworking. Thanks for the response and interest.