Northeastern Section - 36th Annual Meeting (March 12-14, 2001)

Synthesis of the results of a ground penetrating radar survey, gouge auger coring, and previous archaeological surveys on three relict recurve spits are combined to produce three paleogeographic maps related to the evolution of Cape Henlopen, DE. Cape Henlopen is a spit complex composed of a presently prograding simple spit, a relict cuspate foreland, relict beach ridges and associated sand dunes, and several relict recurve spits. Ground penetrating radar reveals the spatial relationship between each relict recurve spit and the prehistoric archaeological site located at the distal end of each relict recurve spit. The gouge auger coring conducted within Lewes Creek Marsh in proximity to each prehistoric archaeological site constrains the paleogeography of each recurve spit below Lewes Creek Marsh. Based on previous archaeological surveys, as one moves from the Atlantic Ocean toward the Delaware Bay coast the relative ages of the prehistoric archaeological sites become progressively younger. Each prehistoric archaeological site is a time indicator for the existence of each relict recurve spit. The time of occupation for each prehistoric archaeological site is based upon the relative and absolute times determined by previous archaeological surveys. The combination of these three sources of data results in the paleogeographic reconstruction of the environs related to the evolution of Cape Henlopen at three points in time.