Eva Site - The Eva Site's Inhabitants

The Eva Site's Inhabitants

While Clovis points and other Paleo-Indian artifacts have been found along the Tennessee River in Benton County, major occupation of the site didn't begin until around 6000 BC during the Middle Archaic period. Substantial occupation continued at Eva until at least 1000 BC and possibly as late as 500 BC. While pottery sherds dating to the Woodland period and Mississippian period were uncovered at Eva, they were relatively scant. The Eva site was uninhabited when Euro-American explorers and settlers arrived in the late 18th century, although the junction of two major Native American trails ("traces") occurred just south of the site.

Cultural materials and features uncovered from Stratum IV and Stratum V (which correlate to the Eva culture) include mussel shells, fire-cracked rocks, flint chips, antler tools, projectile points, and animal bones (mostly deer). Using radiocarbon testing, an antler section uncovered from Stratum IV was dated to roughly 5200 BC. A pile of chert projectile point blanks and the relatively large number of tools might indicate the location of a workshop.

Very little cultural material was uncovered from Stratum III, indicating a significant gap between the Eva occupation and the Three Mile occupation. Materials and features uncovered in Stratum II (which correlates to the site's Three Mile phase) include fire-cracked rocks, mussel shells and a curious mussel shell arrangement, ash content, and animal bones. While deer bones still comprised the majority of the animal bones, the percentage was significantly lower than that of the Eva phase, indicating a greater reliance upon fish and bird meat.

Cultural materials uncovered from Stratum I and the plowzone (which correlate to the site's Big Sandy phase) include burned clay, a hearth, a mortar, hammerstones, and bone needles. Deer still comprised the greatest percentage of animal bones, but, as with the site's Three Mile phase, birds and fish were providing major supplements. Unlike previous phases, however, very few mussel shells were uncovered in Stratum I. Lewis and Lewis hypothesized that the lack of mussel shells indicates higher river levels in the Late Archaic period.