134 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 182 



HYCO RIVER COMPONENT 

 (44Ha7) 



Tlio village site and burial ground of the Hyco Eiver site, 44Ha7, 

 located at the confluence of the Hyco and Dan Elvers was the western- 

 most site to be excavated in the John H. Kerr Reservoir basin. It 

 occupied an area roughly 350 feet long by 150 feet wide. 



When first visited, the major portion of the site was under culti- 

 vation and fringed with trees and brush along the margin of the two 

 streams. Before any excavation could be undertaken, the reservoir 

 clearance crews had reached the site and proceeded to heap huge piles 

 of brush and trees upon the central portion of the site, leaving only 

 narrow marginal sections available for investigative purposes. The 

 wheels of the heavy clearing macliinery cut deeply into the site and 

 well into the limits of the cultural remains, so that the first 10 to 12 

 inches had to be grouped into a single layer along with the plowed 

 zone. 



Starting at a distance 200 feet from the edge of the Dan Eiver, a 

 trench 10 feet wide was run north and south and at right angles to the 

 bank for a distance of 150 feet, which carried the exploration well 

 over the primary terrace and toward the river's edge. Later, this 

 trench was enlarged in a westerly direction for another 60 feet, result- 

 ing in the exploration of an area roughly 70 feet wide by 150 feet 

 long. The overall area was excavated to a depth of 4 feet, but to 

 insure against the possibility of deeper cultural deposits this depth 

 was extended, in a number of instances, down to water level, which 

 measured slightly over G feet from the present ground level. 



METHODOLOGY 



The site was first staked off in 10-foot squares, allowing for complete 

 control of the area. The soil was removed in arbitrary 6-inch levels 

 except when features such as midden or burial pits occurred. Eecords 

 of all features and artifacts were kept according to their provenience, 

 square desigTiation, and depth. All material from a single midden pit 

 was kept as a unit unless natural stratigraphy was present and then 

 the pit contents were reduced accordingly. Usually very little stratig- 

 raphy was found within the pits, so most of the material was re- 

 corded as a single unit. In a number of instances the contents of 

 various midden pits were taken down in 3-inch levels or layers, in 

 order that any undiscernible stratigraphy might be shown in labora- 

 tory study of the material that could not be detected while in the field. 



All burials and features were listed numerically as found. When- 

 ever human skeletal material warranted salvaging, the skull was 

 placed in a single container, the long bones in another, and the rest 

 of the skeleton was placed in a third; all were tagged with the neces- 

 sary data attached to prevent any mixup. 



