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The Kirk Project

2/4/2016

23 Comments

 
PictureDistribution of Kirk Corner Notched cluster projectile points (adapted from Justice 1987).
Last Thanksgiving break, I wrote this post about the Early Archaic corner-notched point horizon in the Eastern Woodlands, discussing some of the things we know and pondering some of the questions we can't currently answer. As a refresher, the “Kirk Horizon” (dating to about 8,800-6,600 BC) is marked by a distribution of Kirk Corner Notched points that extends across a huge area, from the lower Great Lakes to the Florida Keys. Its existence has been noted for over four decades (i.e., at least since James Tuck’s 1974 paper “Early Archaic Horizons in Eastern North America”).  

Although many authors have remarked on the striking similarity of Kirk Corner Notched projectile points from across the east, as far as I know there has never been a concerted effort to assemble a dataset of sufficient detail and spatial scope to allow us to characterize and analyze the kinds, amounts, and spatial components of variability among these points. Given how widespread Kirk is, that's a big job.

I assembled a relatively large dataset of Kirk points from the Midwest as part of my 
dissertation work, and have used that information in a couple of publications (e.g., this one and this one).  I've now started the process of adding to that dataset, beginning with information from Kirk points in large collection from Allendale County, South Carolina, that was donated to SCIAA in the 1990's.  I'm working my way through the Kirk Cluster points in that collection, adding them to my existing database and producing 3D digital models. 

Picture
A 3D model of a Kirk point from Allendale County, South Carolina. You can see the smooth facet in the middle of the blade - that's created by the hole left by the little gripper doo-dad I'm using to hold the point for scanning. Holding the points in the middle exposes all the edges which are important for measurements. The smooth spot is annoying, however.
Second, I need to work up a battery of replicable measurements that I can take on the 3D models that will capture aspects of functional and/or stylistic variation. That's going to require learning new software (I'm currently looking at MeshLab, a free product) and doing some thinking about what makes sense.  Using 3D models gives you the opportunity to do things you can't do with calipers, such as examine size/shape of a cross-section positioned anywhere on the point, accurately calculate volume and surface area of portions of the point (just the haft portion, for example), quantify arcs and curves, etc. Figuring out what information I want to extract and how I can extract it will be an iterative process. 
PictureSpatial distribution of Kirk sample by county as it currently sits in my database (889 points total).
The Eastern Woodlands is big. It took me years of intermittent work with both private and institutional collections to assemble my Kirk dataset from the Midwest.  It's going to take me a while to build a dataset of similar size in the South Carolina and the adjacent Atlantic Coast states.  As you can see from the map, I have no data from the deep south or the Northeast.  

If you're like me and are interested in questions about Kirk (including where it comes from and what it can tell us about the Early Archaic societies of the Eastern Woodlands), I ask you to think about the idea of producing the largest-ever Kirk dataset ever assembled. How similar are Kirks, really, across this large area? How does variability within Kirk break down according to space? Can we identify regional differences in "stylistic" variation?  Are there discontinuities or is variability clinal? What about regional differences in the scales of raw material transport? Is morphometric variability isomorphic with lithic raw materials? Can we identify regional variation in "functional" attributes such as resharpening patterns, haft size, blade configuration, etc.?  Just from looking about the first 30-40 Kirk points I've examined from South Carolina, I'm guessing there might be a higher incidence of beveling (all left hand beveling so far) here than in the Midwest.

Anyway, this post isn't supposed to be high pressure. I won't necessarily be able to devote a great deal of time to this on any given day. I'm just letting you know that if you're interested in Kirk and want to think big, I'm right there with you. Let me know if you want to participate in an effort to create a massive Kirk dataset that we can use to address all kind of potentially interesting questions about early Holocene hunter-gatherers in the Eastern Woodlands. Please pass it on to anyone you think might be interested.


Update (2/12/2016): Guidelines for contributing data to the Kirk Project.
23 Comments
Bob Jase
2/4/2016 11:19:36 am

I think I recognize this - its real archeology isn't it?

Please tell me that Ken Feder is involved in some way.

Reply
Andy White
2/4/2016 11:26:14 am

I'm sure I can figure out how to get Ken involved in some way.

It's funny that the more "real" the archaeology is that I do the fewer people are actually interested in it. C'est la vie.

Reply
Jonathan Feinstein
2/4/2016 11:40:55 am

It's not a lack of interest so much as it's not as controversial or laughable as the pseudo-archaeo-historical stuff. In a case like this we read, think, 'Interesting," and unless we know a whole lot about stone points (my knowledge ends at the bachelor level) we go read another article. I will be reading more of these as the project progresses however. Maybe I can learn something.

Eric
2/4/2016 12:21:58 pm

I'm interested, but this is outside my wheelhouse, at least in the collection and analysis of the artifacts. Keep posting the real archaeology too, even if it doesn't generate the comments, because in later stages, we might be able to weigh in. I'm just not good enough in prehistoric Native American material culture, but that doesn't mean reading about it causes my eyes to glaze over- your map shows Kirk points have been found in the Ohio county adjacent to me in Western Pennsylvania, so it does increase my knowledge of the lives of the aboriginal inhabitants of my home area.

Andy White
2/4/2016 12:24:48 pm

Kirks are everywhere east of the Mississippi. The really are amazingly common for a time period when the population is hypothesized to have been quite low. There are many and they are everywhere.

Andy White
2/4/2016 11:45:44 am

Right now I'm working with trying to teach myself to use MeshLab (1.3.3) effectively. It's freeware, but it seems to be able to do a lot of things. So far I have not been able to get it to save a project file successfully - it keeps crashing on "save." If anyone reading this can offer any advice (either on this problem or another another free 3D software package that might work) I'm listening. I'm running Windows 7 Professional (SP 1) and have plenty of RAM (128 GB) and processing speed.

Reply
Jonathan Feinstein
2/4/2016 12:19:35 pm

Well, I tried looking to see if it was a common problem (which you may have already done) but could only find it on Linux versions a few years ago.

I don't really know the program, but I suppose it might not like your videocard (although I would be more inclined toward that if it was crashing on compile or open) and p[ossibly you have a bad memory chip on one of your memory modules. You obviously have plenty of memory in that box, so you could try taking one module out at a time and see if the program continues to crash. Video cards and memory are the two most common faults I have to deal with,

If it is neither the video card nor the memory I would try opening a discussion at the MeshLab support forum, http://sourceforge.net/projects/meshlab/support


Good luck!

Reply
Andy White
2/4/2016 12:22:27 pm

Thanks. Yeah - I couldn't find a specific bug report or fix either. This is a brand new high performance computer, but I also had problems with running the 3D scanner and (for a while) graphics programs like Adobe Illustrator. I suspect it may have something to do with the graphics card. The scanner runs great using my old POS laptop, which is way under specs. So I'm going to try some other software options and see what I can find. I'm not invested in MeshLab yet.

Andy White
2/4/2016 12:51:58 pm

I'm playing around with GOM Inspect now and watching some tutorials. This may work.

http://www.gom.com/3d-software/gom-inspect/download.html?tx_powermail_pi1%5BmailID%5D=2248&cHash=47472ec8fde06a8f28083d9330254808#c2248

PFRK
2/4/2016 02:31:12 pm

Hi,
I have been following your blog ever since the FHS.
I have been enjoying your back issues.
My interest is in N.Am. lithics.
Your recent articles on the Kirk Project are most interesting to me.
Thanks.

Reply
Mike Jones
2/5/2016 07:12:05 am

For folks like me, who are just starting to get into projectile points, I find this website a great place to start...http://www.projectilepoints.net/

Reply
Stuart Fiedel
2/5/2016 08:11:04 am

Kirk C-N is extremely rare in New England, where the local archaeologists generally regard bifurcates as marking inception of the Early Archaic. In NY they have been found on the Upper Susquehanna near the PA border and on Staten Island. A few were reported from the Muddy Brook rockshelter in Putnam Co. They are absent farther north. I suspect there was some sort of cultural boundary with the contemporaneous Eastern Plano folk to the north. But then there's a curious northern outpost at the Nettling site in Ontario.

Reply
Andy White
2/5/2016 08:17:24 am

That's interesting. So rare/absent east of the eastern border of New York?

Reply
Jonathan Feinstein
2/5/2016 08:22:52 am

Those found beyond such a boundary might be indicative of trade rather than local manufacture. Just conjecture in this case.

Dave
2/5/2016 07:19:55 pm

"How does variability within Kirk break down according to space?"

What are you asking here?

Reply
Andy White
2/6/2016 03:50:04 am

Think about it like variation within a language. In English in the United States, for example, there are regional accents and dialects that can be detected and described. The language functions the same in terms of communication, etc., but you can tell the "style" of a New England accent from an Upper Great Lakes accent from a Deep South accent. Kirk points are clearly all the same "language," but it would be interesting to know if there are regional "dialects" that may tell us something about the social fabric.

Reply
Jay Franklin
2/8/2016 05:12:18 am

Andy, I am happy to contribute to your Kirk CN database. I don't have a lot but can perhaps help fill in for the Upper Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and the far reaches of the upper Tennessee Valley.

Reply
Andy White
2/11/2016 12:09:13 pm

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the offer. I'm going to start a list of potential contributors and will try to get the "how and what format" questions figured out. I'll write a blog post and send out an email when I get that done.

Reply
Tim Guyse
2/16/2017 06:57:06 am

Hi Andy,
Anna Mullican at Oakville Mounds Museum refereed me to you. I have a collection mostly from Lawrence and surrounding counties in North Alabama. And I know lots of collectors. The Kirk is a fairly common point for Archaic in this area. Most of what I see are field finds so they are often dinged or damaged. Lots of highly patinated Fort Payne chert. How can I help with your research?

Tim

Reply
Andy White
3/6/2017 10:45:45 am

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the comment and the offer. I'm just now getting around to trying to get my ducks in a row on this. Could you send me an email at aawhite@mailbox.sc.edu so we can discuss it? I've heard you have quite a bit of material, and it doesn't look like I'll be in Alabama any time in the near future. I'm hoping we can do some strategizing.

Reply
Howard King
3/4/2017 02:35:21 pm

I would be willing to provide any information I have on Kirk Corner Notch. I've collected artifacts in the North Alabama area for over 50 years.

Reply
Andy White
3/6/2017 10:16:58 am

Hi Howard,

Thanks for the offer. Could you send me an email at aawhite@mailbox.sc.edu so that we can discuss it? Thank you!

Reply
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