Cultural Resources Report, Ohio River Cultural Resources Assessment 1976-1983

The goal of this study was to prepare a listing of information on known cultural resources in the study area in a systematic format. From this base and from other studies in the adjacent portions of the Ohio Valley a generalized assessment of these resources can be drawn and appropriate plans can be made to preserve and protect them. Published and unpublished documents, records, maps, and knowledgeable individuals were consulted for information.
For the purposes of this study, cultural resources have been divided into two categories: historic and prehistoric. Historic resources post-date the beginning of the Colonial period and pre-date the modern era or AD 1900 in the Ohio Valley; these include sites of historic structures, districts, and abandoned towns or historical archaeological sites. Prehistoric resources include mounds, earthworks, camps, villages, or other habitation loci of the prehistoric period, prior to AD 1700. Together these known resources contain the unwritten documents of humankind’s cultural achievements in technology, economy, esthetics, domestic, public, and religious architecture, as well as the data base for understanding cultural changes and continuities.
Because of the different types of data and records which are available for historic and prehistoric cultural resources, relevant background information, study methods, the kinds of data and their limitations, and selected published and unpublished references are described separately for each category. Historic resources are described and listed in Part III and Appendixes B and C.