The Barrington Site: A Middle Archaic Cache from the St. Louis Area

Abstract

Two artifact concentrations were discovered during the excavation of adjacent pit features at the Barrington site (23JE600-A) in eastern Missouri. The contents of Feature 1 included a fragmented cylindrical banners tone, a galena nodule, and a large side-notched point. Feature 2 yielded five projectile points of probable Early Archaic age, including two Hardin points, two Rice Lanceolate variants, and one St. Charles point. The features were less than 15 em apart, originate at the same depth, contain similar soils, and yielded the same type of carbonized seeds not found in any other features or site soil matrices. The artifacts are believed to have been placed in the pits by the same individual or group. Because bannerstones have not been associated with Early Archaic assemblages in the Midwest, the site is interpreted as being Middle Archaic in origin with Feature 2 representing a collection of curated Early Archaic artifacts.