FLOODPLAIN MORPHOLOGICAL HISTORY AT THE TEMPLETON PALEOINDIAN SITE, WASHINGTON, CT

Paleoindian sites in New England are relatively rare, and most often found at or near ground surface. The Templeton site, however, is a stratified archeological site, which contains a Paleoindian component buried ~2 meters below surface in silicate floodplain sediments. The morphological history of the floodplain is an important context for interpreting the archaeological record as well as understanding site preservation in deeply buried Paleoindian sites. Floodplain morphology at the site was described by Peter Patton in 1988 as part of his broader study of Connecticut floodplains, but a higher resolution model is needed at Mallory Brook to better answer questions about the taphonomy of the archaeological site and human presence on the landscape over the last 12,000 years. In this study, we present new data from 4 vibracores and 105 sediment samples collected from units exposed in archaeologically excavated pits. Samples were analyzed via LOI, pXRF, camsizer and new radiocarbon dates were obtained from core material. Radiocarbon results are consistent with existing dates located in archaeologically rich units, but importantly provide crucial new dates on the sediment layers in between archaeological units, from a time interval (~5,500 and 10,000 ybp) not previously dated for the site. Overall, the new dates and geochemical data provide an updated, high resolution morphological model and relate floodplain and river phases to the timing of human presence on the landscape.