Coats–Hines site
The Coats–Hines–Litchy site (formerly Coats–Hines) is a
Site summary
The Coats–Hines–Litchy site is located east of I-65 near CoolSprings Galleria in Williamson County, Tennessee. The site was initially recorded in 1977 when several large bones were identified during landscaping at the Crockett Springs Golf Course (now the Nashville Golf and Athletic Club). Salvage work by staff from the Tennessee Division of Archaeology recovered the partial skeleton of a single mature female mastodon (“mastodon A”) from along a small stream drainage. No description of this excavation or the skeletal material was ever published, and the area that contained the remains was subsequently destroyed by earthmoving along the 13th hole of the golf course.[6] In 1994, construction of a subdivision just west of the golf course by the company Hines Interest LP resulted in identification of a well-preserved bone bed of Pleistocene-aged faunal material. The bone bed was situated 20 metres (65 feet 7+1⁄2 inches) west of the original mastodon find along a deeply incised portion of the same stream channel, approximately 2 metres (6 feet 6+1⁄2 inches) below ground surface. Salvage excavations resulted in the identification of several late ice age species, including horse, deer, muskrat, and the partial, disarticulated remains of a young male mastodon (“mastodon B”) [1] The remains of a third mastodon (“mastodon C”) were identified eroding from the bank line approximately 50 m west of mastodon B, but were not excavated. The site, owned at the time of the 1994 excavation by Gary T. Baker, was assigned state number 40WM31, and named “Coats–Hines” in honor of Tennessee Division of Archaeology staff member Patricia Coats, who participated in the excavation of mastodon A, and the Hines corporation, which facilitated the 1994 salvage work. The site name was expanded to add "Litchy" in 2012 in honor of the landowner. Following excavations, the area that contained mastodon B was backfilled and incorporated into the backyard of a single-family home.[3]
Although Tennessee Division of Archaeology staff continued to monitor the stream drainage, no additional excavations took place at the site until 2008. That year, limited excavations were performed to recover several heavily fragmented bones eroding from the bank line at the location of mastodon C. Poor preservation of the material prevented conclusive identification of the animal’s species, sex, or age.
In 2010, archaeologists from the Tennessee Division of Archaeology were awarded a Historic Preservation Grant through the Tennessee Historical Commission and National Park Service to conduct additional archaeological testing at the Coats–Hines site in order to assess its archaeological integrity and eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.[3] A total of 1,582 faunal remains, including both whole and fragmentary elements from turtle, rodent, deer, large Pleistocene vertebrate, small amounts of ivory, and a possible fragment of Mastodon tooth were recovered during the 2010 investigations. Additionally, the test excavations recovered 12 stone flake fragments, potentially resulting from stone tool manufacture. Two broken prismatic blades were recovered out of context and cannot be directly associated with the bone bed. Based on the presence and significance of intact archaeological or paleontological deposits, the site was nominated eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D of 36 CFR 60.4. This site was listed on the National Register on July 12, 2011.[5]
The site was once again studied in 2012 through extensive excavation by a team from the Center for the Study of the First Americans at Texas A&M University.[4] As part of that effort the team conducted reexaminations of all existing site materials and data, including a reanalysis of all stone and bone artifacts identified to date and their provenience within the site. The results of that examination ultimately concluded that the Coats–Hines site represents a non-anthropogenic deposit of Pleistocene fauna within a fluvial environment.
Paleoindian–Mastodon association
During the 1994 excavations of mastodon B, archaeologists identified 34 lithic items identified as stone tools or debitage, apparently in association with the disarticulated faunal remains. These tools included prismatic blades, scrapers,
Subsequent reexaminations of lithic materials from the site by Tune et al. Comprehensive radiocarbon dating of the site revealed that bone-bearing sediments were situated within strata deposited between approximately 22,490+/-100 and 36,590+/-650 14C BP. This range significantly predates the accepted period of initial human occupation in Tennessee or the American southeast. No contemporary examination or assessment of the proposed cut marks on the mastodon B remains has been undertaken to date.
Geoarchaeological analysis of soils from the 1994 excavations suggested that at the end of the
See also
- Mastodon
- Paleoindian
- List of archaeological sites in Tennessee
- History of Tennessee
- Tennessee Division of Archaeology
References
- ^ a b c d e f Breitburg, Emanuel; Broster, John B.; Reesman, Arthur L.; Stearns, Richard G. (1996), "The Coats–Hines Site: Tennessee's First Paleoindian–Mastodon Association", Current Research in the Pleistocene, 13: 6–8
- ^ Breitburg, Emanuel; Broster, John B. (1995), "A Hunt for Big Game: Does Coats–Hines Site Confirm Human/Mastodon Contact?", The Tennessee Conservationist, 61 (4): 18–26
- ^ a b c d e f Deter-Wolf, Aaron; Tune, Jesse W.; Broster, John B. (2011), "Excavations and Dating of Late Pleistocene and Paleoindian Deposits at the Coats–Hines Site, Williamson County, Tennessee", Tennessee Archaeology, 5 (2): 142–156
- ^ a b c d e f Tune, Jesse W.; Waters, Michael R.; Schmalle, Kayla A.; DeSantis, Larisa R.G.; Kamenov, George R. (2011), "Assessing the proposed pre-last glacial maximum human occupation of North America at Coats–Hines–Litchy, Tennessee, and other sites" (PDF), Quaternary Science Reviews, 186: 47–59
- ^ a b Deter-Wolf, Aaron; Tune, Jesse W. (2010). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination: the Coats–Hines Archaeological Site (40WM31), Williamson County Tennessee".
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(help) - ^ a b Corgan, James X.; Breitburg, Emanuel (1996), "Tennessee's Prehistoric Vertebrates", State of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Geology Bulletin 84
- ^ a b Tune, Jesse W. (2015). Settling Into The Younger Dryas: Human Behavioral Adaptations During The Pleistocene To Holocene Transition In The Midsouth United States (PhD). Texas A&M University.