Post Mold Features: Searching for
Comprehensive Patterns
Dr. David Butler
Test Unit
3 (2X2 meter block unit) reveled at least two patterns associated with post
mold features. One such pattern was an arc extending toward the North (likely
associated with an oval structure). This
discovery justified opening an adjoining unit to the north (Test Unit 4) to
investigate whether this pattern continued.
Consequently, over thirty post molds have been discovered in Test Unit 4
and are currently being processed. This many posts in this small area clearly
indicates multiple building episodes with overlapping foundation posts. As time passed and new structures replaced
old ones, new foundation posts were established and post mold features at the
Blueberry site (8HG678) demonstrate that the village site was prime prehistoric
real estate.
Newly
discovered post mold features in TU 4 have been mapped and photographed and are
currently being sampled and removed. As
this analysis in Test Unit 4 is completed, the overall relationship between the
distribution of posts in these two units across this
4X4 meter space will be evaluated. The
second pattern observed in Test Unit 3 was an east-west line of posts. In
September 2007 Test Unit 5 (a 2x2 meter western adjoining block unit) was
initiated to investigate this East-West line of posts to discover if it
continued outside TU3.
Test
Units 4 and 5 have been strategically placed to investigate post mold patterns
observed in Test Unit 3. Thus far, Test Unit 4 has produced consistent results
with Test Unit 3 (initial elevation, soil color and texture, and diameter of
post mold features). Test Unit 5 is still above the primary midden at the
Blueberry Site and has been excavated to a depth of 15 centimeters below ground
surface. More data recovery is needed to discern the presence of post mold
features in Test Unit 5 (they appeared at the base of the midden in TU3 and
TU4). The objective of these adjoining
units is to find enough evidence to potentially demark the dimensions of a
prehistoric structure. A comprehensive explanatory model has not been developed
in south-central