The Nobles Pond site, located in Stark County Ohio, is an early Paleo-Indian habitation site which, based on recovered stone artifacts, dates to the period 10,500 -11,500 B.P. (before the present). Work by amateur archaeologists over many years has demonstrated the presence not only of numerous stone tools but also shown that these are grouped into several clusters which indicate either house floors or specific activity areas. Because the site is slated for housing development and will be destroyed within the next year, Dr. Mark Seeman will conduct emergency excavation. Working with students and groups of amateurs, he will carry out careful excavation to define these clusters and recover material from them. The cultural artifacts recovered will be analyzed and curated. Most information on these earliest inhabitants of the Americas has come from sites located in the Western United States. While it is clear that Paleo-Indian peoples inhabited a number of distinct environments, this sampling bias has prevented archaeologists from gaining an understanding of their broader subsistence and social adaptations. Because very few sites are known from the mid-West, the Nobles Pond site is particularly important. It is also interesting because it is located near no major flint source. Many Paleo Indian sites are and were involved in mining activities. Thus a second factor also biases site representation. This research is important because it will recover information which would otherwise will soon be destroyed. It will increase our understanding of United States prehistory and the development of Native American cultures. It will also shed new light on human subsistence adaptations.
