Archaic occupations at White Bend: Helton, Falling Springs, and Hemphill horizons of the Lamoine Valley, Hancock County, Illinois

Almost 257,000 artifacts were recovered from an area measuring only 98 m2. Covered by up to 1.5 m of alluvial and colluvial deposits, the Archaic cultural components at White Bend consist of a 20 cm thick Hemphill midden (ca. 2650 BC) overlying a 40 cm thick Helton midden (ca. 4100 BC). A Falling Springs occupation (ca. 3500 BC) is also present within the Helton midden. In addition to the artifact-laden Helton midden, which included more than 100 Matanzas and Karnack points, numerous grooved axes, and a plethora of other chert and ground-stone cobble tools, the Helton occupation is marked by four small pit features arranged in a semicircular pattern; one Helton pit feature is located a short distance from these four. It is argued that the four features mark the location of a single-family residence whose occupants dispersed into the valley during the winter months for several years. The Falling Springs occupation, which is one of the more northerly occurrences of this cultural manifestation in west-central Illinois, was likely a temporary field camp focused on fall hickory nut processing. The Hemphill occupation at White Bend is suggested to be a one-time event that likely lasted at most several days and was focused on two paired steaming pits. Almost 50 points, consisting of bold side-notched varieties such as Osceola and Godar, are associated with this occupation.