Julie Morrow, Ph.D.Arkansas Archaeological Survey, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas
I first learned of the Martens site in the early 1990s while researching Clovis sites in the Midwest. Rumor had it that the site had yielded fluted point manufacturing rejects and other tools suggestive of a substantial Clovis occupation. Thanks to Alan Banks, I was able to make contact with Richard Martens, who had surface collected the site since the 1960s. Toby Morrow and I spent several enjoyable weekends at Dick’s house, illustrating and measuring fluted points, end scrapers, and other tools from the Martens site.
The information recorded from the surface-collected Martens artifacts, along with those from other collections, provided many insights into Clovis stone technology (Morrow and Morrow 1999). We can learn a lot about the peopling of the New World by studying Clovis and other Early Paleoindian artifact assemblages on a continent-wide basis.
In May 1996, I attempted to contact the owner of the Martens site to get permission to conduct a test excavation. Surrounded by housing developments, the site was situated within one of the few remaining cultivated fields in suburban Chesterfield, Missouri. Unfortunately, the landowner, Mary Plant Faust, had recently passed away, and the land within which the Martens site lay was soon to be developed.
I wrote a proposal to the land development company explaining why, where, when, and how we wanted to excavate at the Martens site. The Nooning Tree Partnership graciously allowed us to excavate the site for five weeks. To prepare for the excavation, I put a call out for volunteers in the Missouri Archaeological Society Newsletter. We received an overwhelming number of phone calls and letters from people wanting to help out.
We were fortunate that Richard Martens had made a map of where he had found various Clovis and other artifacts at the Martens site. This information allowed us to focus on a two-acre area within a field of more than 80 acres. Farmer Buddy Burkhardt set aside this area for us and even came out and mowed the corn stubble when we were ready to excavate.
Within this area we excavated numerous one-by-one-meter squares. In one area of the site, corresponding to where Dick had found a number of Clovis artifacts, we recovered many artifacts far below the plow zone and at much greater depths than expected. We concentrated our efforts on this location by excavating 96 contiguous one-by-one-meter squares that we called “The Big Block.”
Although several artifacts from later time periods were found, many Clovis tools, flaking debris, and preforms were recovered. I believe the “Big Block” represented what was once a Clovis campsite. A total of 139 square meters was excavated by a crew of more than 100 volunteers. The crew included members of the Central States Archaeological Societies, Inc., the Missouri Archaeological Society, the St. Louis Singles Club, Girl Scouts, students from East Central College, and many local residents who stopped by to see what we were uncovering in the corn stubble.
Funding for the Martens site project came from many different sources. At first, it was entirely out of our own pockets. We designed a poster to help…
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