Sean,
In southern Ohio we seemed to have transient patterns in a couple of cabins
during the 1870s-80s (after the cabins had ceased to be mentioned on tax
records) that we interpreted as hunters using the cabins for brief but
regular periods.

Neal Hitch
Ohio HIstorical Society
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sean Dunham [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, May 04, 2001 9:45 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Frontier Cabins
>
> 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.