Clough Creek and Sand Ridge Archeological District - Excavation and Conclusions

Excavation and Conclusions

On behalf of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, archaeologists investigated a midden at Sand Ridge in 1884. They were able to add a wide range of artifacts to the museum's collection, including a wide range of stone tools, bird and deer bones, and projectile points. In more recent years, Clough Creek has also attracted attention for the artifacts visible on its surface, including scrapers, blanks, and projectile points. According to archaeological estimates, some artifacts at the site may be buried as much as 5 feet (1.5 m) below the surface.

Despite the distance between the two sites, they are believed to be closely related. Artifacts found at Sand Ridge indicate that they are part of the Madisonville Focus of the Fort Ancient culture. This identification is based primarily on the pottery recovered, which resembles that of the Madisonville and State Line Sites. A distinctive feature of Sand Ridge is the presence of artifacts from two chronologically different cultures: the Fort Ancient village was apparently built on the site of an earlier Late Woodland occupation.