GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATION OF THE RYAN-HARLEY SITE (8JE-1004) IN THE WACISSA RIVER, NORTHERN FLORIDA

The inundated Ryan-Harley site (8Je-1004) is located in a swamp forest dissected by channels of the spring-fed Wacissa River in northern Florida. The Ryan-Harley site is thought to represent an undisturbed Middle Paleoindian Suwannee point site (~10,900 14C BP to ~10,500 14C BP) (Anderson et al. 1996, Goodyear 1999, Dunbar 2002). The site consists of sandy to silty organic rich, unconsolidated sediments overlying the Oligocene Suwannee Limestone. Distribution and taphonomic analyses of the artifacts and vertebrate faunal remains recovered from the Suwannee point horizon suggests the artifact assemblage and the faunal remains represent an archaeological site component that has remained relatively intact since its time of deposition. Additional conformation of site integrity beyond the artifact suite is also necessary. To accomplish this, granulometric analyses of unconsolidated sediment samples were performed. Samples were collected from the artifact-bearing horizon and from horizons immediately above and below. Arithmetic probability plots of grain-size distributions suggest that most but not all of the sandy sediments were originally transported and deposited as point bars by fluvial processes. Evidence presented shows that the artifact assemblage, fossil vertebrates, and fine grain fraction eolian sand recovered from the Suwannee point horizon were deposited after the deposition of the point bar during a subaerial event. The Suwannee point horizon then became inundated and buried. The granulometric analyses as well as other lines of evidence indicate the Suwannee point horizon at the Ryan-Harley site is essentially intact with little or no post-depositional reworking.