GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE COATS-HINES MASTODON SITE (40WM31)

The Coats-Hines site (40WM31) is a potential Pre-Clovis Mastodon site located in Franklin, Tennessee. The site rests, geographically, at the convergence of the Central Basin and Western Highland Rim. The site was discovered during the construction of a nearby golf course when a salvage team uncovered a mature female mastodon in association with stone tool artifacts. The site was later excavated in 1994/1994, during which time two additional mastodons were uncovered, again in direct association with stone tools. Preliminary radiocarbon dates reveal the site was deposited during the late Pleistocene epoch at roughly 14,000 cal yr BP. During the summer of 2012, the site was excavated with the goal of determining the depositional setting of the site and geographic region, as well as establishing the antiquity of the archaeological remains. The site geology was determined through field interpretation and texturing, micromorphological analysis, laboratory texturing, and radiocarbon dating. Sedimentation at the site is a combination of cherty colluvium from upslope as well as alluvium. The massive aggradation of alluvial silts and clays are likely a reflection of the glacial retreat and changing climate taking place during the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene transition. Charcoal samples were collected from the stratigraphic units of the site to determine the sequence of depositional episodes as well as confirming the time period in which the mastodon remains and lithic artifacts were deposited. Using the site stratigraphy and dating, regional geological correlations can be made with the floodplain stratigraphy of the Duck River in Tennessee, the Pomme de Terre River in Ohio, and the Lower Mississippi River.