Key for Russell Brown Mound 3 by the Liberty Earthwork
Verbatim from Seeman and Soday (1980:91-93):
Associated with this floor were 19 post molds and six features. A few of the post molds
contained burned earth and charcoal, but the majority were filled with dark soil and
cultural debris. Predominately associated with the northeast quadrant of the floor, they
do not form an identifiable pattern. The posts were relatively substantial (mean diameter
= 20.9 cm, s = 8.9, N = 19), and extended vertically into the subsoil (mean length = 45.1
cm, s = 19.5, N = 19). Six features were associated with the floor:
1. Feature-1: a basin-shaped depression 46 cm in diameter and 13-cm deep. It
contained charcoal, about 45 small fragments of calcined bone, one unburned
prismatic blade of obsidian, one unburned prismatic blade of Knife River Flint,
one unburned distal fragment of a prismatic blade made of Upper Mercer flint,
one unburned distal fragment of a prismatic blade made of Harrison County flint
and one burned flake of Upper Mercer flint. There was no evidence of in situ
burning.
2. Feature-12: a basin-shaped depression 152 cm in diameter and 30-cm deep. It
contained burned red earth, charcoal, about 60 small fragments of calcined bone,
two burned prismatic blade midsections of Flint Ridge flint, and fragments of
mica cutouts.
3. Feature-22: a feature 183-cm long, 157-cm wide and 20-cm deep. It was
principally filled with fire-cracked sandstone rocks, charcoal, and black earth.
From the fill of this pit were recovered: three unburned deer vertebrae; one
unburned fragment of deer tibia; 35 unburned indeterminate mammal bone
fragments; 59 burned indeterminate mammal bone fragments; three grit-tempered,
simple-stamped body sherds (Turner Simple Stamped); two grit-tempered,
cordmarked body sherds (McGraw Cordmarked); eight grit-tempered, plain body
sherds (McGraw Plain); one grit-tempered, plain rim sherd (McGraw Plain); one
grit-tempered tetrapod; three grit-tempered, indeterminate sherds; four unburned
flakes of Flint Ridge flint and one burned flake of Flint Ridge flint.
4. Feature-26: a basin-shaped pit 76 cm in diameter and 25-cm deep. It was filled
with a mass of fire-cracked rock, fragments of charred logs and bark, and what
appeared to be burned fabric. It also contained: one unburned fragment of deer
tibia; one unburned fragment of deer ulna; one unburned fragment of deer
humerus; 42 unburned mammal bone fragments; 15 unburned mammal bone
fragments; 5 unburned fragments of bird bone; one unburned fragment of fish
bone; 15 grit-tempered, plain body sherds (McGraw Plain); six grit-tempered,
cordmarked body sherds (McGraw Cordmarked); two grit-tempered, simplestamped body sherds (Turner Simple Stamped); four grit-tempered, checkstamped body sherds (Turner Check Stamped); one sand-tempered, incised body
sherd (Southeastern Series); three grit-tempered, plain rim sherds (McGraw
Plain); one unburned prismatic blade of Flint Ridge flint; three unburned proximal
fragments of prismatic blades of Flint Ridge flint; four unburned medial prismatic
blade fragments of Flint Ridge flint; one unburned distal prismatic blade fragment
of Flint Ridge Flint; one unburned polyhedral blade core of Flint Ridge flint; one
unburned flake of Flint Ridge flint; 1 unburned drilled shark’s tooth; and one
unburned, drilled raccoon canine.
5. Feature-27: a basin-shaped pit 122 cm in diameter and 25-cm deep. The interior
of this pit was filled with large sandstone and limestone rocks and dense black
soil.
6. Feature-28: an irregular pit with a maximum length of 411 cm, and maximum
width of 127 cm, and a depth of 36 cm. It was filled with a solid mass of broken
trap rock, burned limestone cobbles, and heat-fractured sandstone boulders. It
also contained a considerable amount of charred log fragments, bark, and
branches. The fill was a greasy black earth. One prismatic blade was recovered
from this feature, but it is no longer in the collection.
There were three additional features which appear to originate somewhat above the
gravel floor in the yellow fill:
7. Feature-13: a basin-shaped feature 3.2-m long, 178-cm wide and 30-cm deep. It
originated 61 cm below the surface and 20 cm above the gravel floor. It was
primarily filled with black earth and charcoal, but also contained a small mass of
fire-cracked rock in the southern portion and a concentration of pottery in the
north. Sherds currently in the collection include: 3 grit-tempered, plain body
sherds (McGraw Plain); 5 grit-tempered, simple-stamped body sherds (Turner
Simple Stamped); 4 grit-tempered, unzoned dentate rocker-stamped body sherds
(Chillicothe Rocker-stamped); 2 grit-tempered, plain rim sherds (McGraw Plain).
8. Feature-18: a feature located 38 cm below the surface and 36 cm above the gravel
floor. It consists of a rectangular copper breastplate which supported about 18
fragments of calcined bone and several pieces of broken slate. One of the bone
fragments was identified as part of an adult human mandible (C.O. Lovejoy,
personal communication). The copper breastplate was lying on a piece of fabric.
The surrounding earth was a light gray in color.
9. Feature-24: a gravel floor located 46 cm below the surface. It was 3.7 m in
diameter, between 30- and 46-cm thick, and primarily composed of small pebbles.
It is directly above feature-26 and there may be a functional association.