Williamson Site

The Williamson Site is an early prehistoric archaeological site located about 5 miles East of Dinwiddie, Dinwiddie County, Virginia along the south bank of the Little Cattail Creek. It is one of the largest Early Man sites in North America and dated to sometime between 15,000 and 11,500 years Before Present. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

Williamson Site
Overview from the south
Nearest cityDinwiddie, Virginia
Area20 acres (8.1 ha)
NRHP reference No.69000237
VLR No.026-0035
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 3, 1969
Designated VLRMay 13, 1969[1]

Archaeology

The site was first identified in 1947 after 4 fluted points were found there and it was noted that the surface was covered with cores and unused flakes. Thirty three Paleo-Indian fluted points and a number of snub-nosed scrapers, side scrapers, fluted basal ends of knives, and gravers were subsequently recovered, primarily of chert. A large number of projectile points from later period, mostly made of quartzite, were found as well.[2] It consists of more than 75 acres of cultivated land. The site consists of over 100 areas where projectile points have been found.[3]

In 1965 Ben McCary and Vance Haynes made two bulldozer cuts to test for possible stratigraphy. One cut showed possible stratigraphy. In March 1972 another excavation occurred. After cleaning the earlier bulldozer cut to establish strata, two 10 by 10 foot squares were excavated. Finds included a small crude fluted quartzite projectile point, a chert flake, two scrapers, and a hammerstone.[4][5]

From 1992 to 1994 the site was excavated by Phillip J. Hill. Thirteen 5-foot squares were opened and a variety of flakes and tool debris were found.[6][7]

References
  1. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  2. McCary, Ben C., "A Workshop Site of Early Man in Dinwiddie County, Virginia", American Antiquity, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 9–17, 1951
  3. Rodney M Peck (2010). "The Williamson Paleo Indian Workshop Site, Dinwiddie County, Virginia". Originally Published in the Central States Archaeological Journal, Vol. 57, No. 1, pg. 45.
  4. C. Vance Haynes, "Stratigraphic Investigations at the Williamson Site, Virginia", The Chesopiean, Vol. 10, No. 4, Norfolk, Aug. 1972
  5. Benthall, Joseph L., and Ben C. McCary, "THE WILLIAMSON SITE: A NEW APPROACH", Archaeology of Eastern North America, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 127–32, 1973
  6. Hill, Phillip J., "An Analysis of the Williamson Site: Examination oflntrasite Variation, Overall Site Function Pattern Position of a Paleoindian Period Site", Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, The Catholic University of America, Washington, 1996
  7. Hill, Phillip J., "A RE-EXAMINATION OF THE WILLIAMSON SITE IN DINWIDDIE COUNTY, VIRGINIA: AN INTERPRETATION OF INTRASITE VARIATION", Archaeology of Eastern North America, vol. 25, pp. 159–73, 1997

Further reading
  • Hranicky, Wm Jack, "A MICROBLADE CORE FROM THE WILLIAMSON SITE, DINWIDDIE COUNTY, VIRGINIA", Archaeology of Eastern North America, vol. 33, 2005, pp. 51–56, 2005
  • Peck, Rodney M., "A REAMER FROM THE WILLIAMSON SITE, DINWIDDIE COUNTY, VIRGINIA", Central States Archaeological Journal, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 62–63, 2001
  • Rodney M. Peck, "America's Largest Paleo-Indian Workshop Site, Dinwiddie County Virginia: The Williamson Site. A complete site report of America's Largest Paleo-Indian Site", Peck's Place Publishing, 2005
  • Peck, Rodney M., "PALEO INDIAN TOOL KIT OF THE WILLIAMSON SITE", Central States Archaeological Journal, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 154–57, 2003


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