The Prehistoric Cave Art and Archaeology of Dunbar Cave, Montgomery County, Tennessee

Dunbar Cave in Montgomery County, Tennessee has been used by people in a great variety of ways. This paper reports on prehistoric uses of the cave, which were quite varied. The vestibule of the cave, which is today protected by a concrete slab installed during the cave's days as an historic tourist showplace, saw extensive and very long term occupation. Diagnostic artifacts span the period from Late Paleo-Indian (ca.10,000-years ago) to the Mississippian, and include Archaic (10,000 to 3,000-years ago) and Woodland (3,000-1,000-years ago) cultural materials. These include a paleoindian Beaver Lake Point, Kirk cluster points, Little River types, Ledbetter types, numerous straight-stemmed point types, Hamilton and Madison projectile points. Woodland period ceramics comprise various limestone tempered forms, all in low quantities, and cord-marked limestone tempered wares in the uppermost Woodland layers. Shell-tempered ceramics bear witness to a rich Mississippian presence at the top of the deposit. Given this chronological span, the Dunbar Cave sequence is as complete as any in eastern North America. However, problems with previous excavation strategies make much of the existing archaeological record difficult to interpret. We present a new series of radiocarbon age determinations that show both the great time depth of the vestibule deposits and the problems with their integrity. There was also extensive prehistoric use of Dunbar Cave's dark zone, including mineral extraction, and ritual interment of the dead. Most importantly, thirty-five petroglyphs and pictographs were made on the cave walls, most probably during the Mississippian period. These include geometric shapes, abstract compositions, and human figures including a mythological hero warrior known from other examples of Mississippian iconography. Dunbar may also have seen ritual visitation very early, i.e., during the Archaic period (ca. 5,000-years ago), entailing the placement of offerings in the cave's interior waters.