The idea of not finding any occupation debris on an earthern floor makes a
lot of sense to me. Back in the 1960s I worked prospecting for alluvial tin
on the tinfields of north Queensland (Australia) The fields were scattered
with old huts made of bush timber and corrugated iron with bare earth
floors. When occupied these floors were swept every day so all dust, debris
and hiding places for poisoness insects and reptiles went straight out the
door and to one side or other of the path. All other rubbish such as empty
tins and bottles were dumped at a place away from the hut within throwing
distance. On abandoning the hut to move to another area some rubbish may
have been left within the hut but if it was occupied again the next person
would have to clean it back to the bare earth. A sprinkle of water and a
good sweep kept the surface hard and clean and all small debris was swept
away and would, I imagine, give a pattern much as Leslie describes it.
John
----- Original Message -----
From: "Leslie FRYMAN" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2001 8:07 AM
Subject: Re: Frontier Cabins


Sean:
Over the past decade I have tested or excavated at least a dozen rural cabin
sites in 3-4 different locations throughout the Sierra Nevada foothills in
northern California.  The sites date from the Gold Rush (1849-1852) through
the 1870s.  Some cabins had stone walls or stone half-walls, while others
were constructed entirely of timber.

I have always tested their interiors with the idea of locating an earthen
floor or some sign of an occupation surface, but have not (yet!) had the
opportunity to find such a feature.  In fact, the floors of these structures
have always been surprisingly devoid of artifacts, save for nails and other
structural debris from roof or wall fall.  I have tried placing test units
in corners, just inside the door, and even inside the bases of stone
chimneys.  Instead, domestic artifact scatters associated with the cabin
tend to be located directly outside the door, to either side of the door
(mixed with ashes from cleaning out the stove), and around the well or other
exterior features.  Larger quantities of debris are found scattered a short
distance from the structure, often in one location just out of its viewshed
(which makes sense).

From this patterning I have interpreted that these cabins probably had
raised timber flooring or puncheon placed directly on the earthen interior
(ie., lacking an earthen use surface), or, were simply not occupied long
enough to create a visibly compacted floor-surface.  Since frontier
settlement during the California gold rush was extremely transient, I've
concluded that either scenario may be correct.  While it is very possible
that these cabins were occupied intermittently by different persons, the
total use period seemed to be less than 20-30 years in all cases.  So far, I
have not been able to make any distinction between different occupants based
on artifacts or feature modifications.

I've observed similar artifact patterns at other frontier settlement sites
tested in California and other western states.  For comparative purposes, I
would be interested to know if you (or anyone) have been able to identify a
"good" earthen cabin floor, via artifacts or soil character or both.  If so,
what was the total length of structure use or occupation?

Leslie R. Fryman
Jones & Stokes, 2600 V Street, Sacramento, CA  95818
(916) 737-3000
[log in to unmask]


>>> [log in to unmask] 05/04/01 06:45AM >>>
Greetings,

I have had the opportunity to test a couple mid-nineteenth century cabin
sites on Lake Superior.  One of these was apparently built and occupied for
a couple years by a family (ca. 1847).  The cabin appears to have then been
periodically occupied for a number of years by a variety of persons.  I was
curious if anybody on the list, or otherwise, had dealt with similar
transient use patterns in a frontier setting.  In a related question, has
anybody worked with artifact patterning within structures with earthen
floors or perhaps comparing those patterns with the pattern of deposition
within cabins with floors.

Thanks in advance.

Sean Dunham
Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, Inc.