Little Caney River, Prehistory (Copan Lake): 1978 Field Season,

During the Summer and Fall of 1978 the University of Tulsa, Laboratory of Archaeology conducted an investigation of five archaeological sites in the area of Copan Lake, now under construction along the drainage of the Little Caney River between its confluence with the Caney River and the town of Caney, Kansas. The investigation represented Phase II of a multi-year project funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District Office. Phase II fieldwork at Copan Lake included the excavation of three sites Sites 34WN30, 34WN64, 34WN68 and test excavation of two additional sites Sites 34WN32, 34WN69. The bulk of field work was conducted during late June through August, although limited additional work was carried out during the months of October and November. The sites studied represent a number of different kinds of activity or occupancy, as part of continued emphasis of paleoenvironmental reconstruction and settlement systems analysis for the Little Caney drainage. The incorporation of the work with prior investigations by the Laboratory of Archaeology Henry, 1977a Keyser and Farley, 1979 and other institutions Rohn and Smith, 1972 Vaugh, 1975 Vehik and Pailes, 1978 should strongly aid in the development of a refined prehistory of the region, especially the ecotonal area generally referred to as the Cross-Timbers see also Henry, 1977b, 1977c, 1978.