A Survey and Assessment of the Cultural Resources at Kaw Lake, Northern Section (Kansas)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers required a complete inventory and assessment of cultural resources on lands administered by the Tulsa District office around the northern end of Kaw Lake in southern Cowley County, Kansas. Intensive field survey recorded 53 archaeological sites on federal property and 20 additional ones on lands immediately adjacent. Three major geographical concentrations of sites may reflect sizeable prehistoric settlements (communities) of at least three distinct cultural affiliations. A large settlement of protohistoric Great Bend peoples clustered along the lower Walnut River near Arkansas City with minor outlying sites to the east. Late Woodland settlements seem to have existed on the south bluffs of the Arkansas River and in the lower Grouse Creek Valley. A very large Middle Woodland settlement seems to have preceded the later one in the lower Grouse Creek Valley. Two sites along Grouse Creek contain undisturbed stratified materials belonging to several Woodland components. Seven U.S.A.C.E. owned sites appear to meet eligibility criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places while nine others should qualify for the Register of Historic Kansas Places. No historic buildings or sites were recorded. (Author)