Archaeological and Geological Investigations at the Coffey Site, Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas, Coffey Site 1970-1975

Coffey is a complex of prehistoric campsites located along the Big Blue River in the Prairie Plains of northeastern Kansas. Archaeological and geological investigations document a long series of Holocene fluvial and cultural deposits. Five major periods of deposition (Units I through V) are identified at the site. Based on surface collections and excavated material a cultural sequence consisting of Paleo-Indian, repeated Archaic and possible Late Woodland occupations has been established for the site. It is concluded that the sedimentary units of Coffey represent a series channel cutting and filling episodes resulting from the meandering of paleochannels of the Big Blue River into the site.
Archaeological Investigations at Locality I document the presence of several additional Black Vermillion phase occupations in Unit III. Materials recovered include a large assemblage of features, chipped stone tools, faunal remains and carbonized seeds. Archaeological investigations at Locality II indicate the presence of a stratified series of Walnut phase components. Features, lithic tools and faunal remains were recovered from these deposits.
The Late Archaic cultural deposits at Coffey are compared with other sites in the Tuttle Creek area, Snyder in the EI Dorado Lake area and Williamson in the John Redmond Lake vicinity. A tripartite Late Archaic phase sequence is proposed for eastern Kansas consisting of the Black Vermillion phase (ca. 5000 B.P.), El Dorado phase (3500 B.P.), and the Walnut phase (2000-2500 B.P.). The available evidence indicates that Late Archaic adaptation in eastern Kansas was round on resources from the grassland, riparian and aquatic biotic communities of small and medium river valleys.