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Seasonal Food Supply
The BARC Floodplain A Site may have served as a seasonal location for gathering food, as well as tool materials. The broad drainage area the site occupies would have been an ideal location for finding many types of edible plants and game animals.
The presence of nut and fruit remains gives some insight into the types of food the inhabitants ate. It also indicates what time of year they occupied the camp. Evidence from the site showed seasonal use of hickory, walnuts, and raspberries or blackberries, all of which typically ripen in the late summer to early fall.
Walnuts
Blackberry
Hickory Nuts
Raspberry
Physical features of the site also support the late summer to early fall time frame. The climate 1,000 years ago was very different than it is today. During the Middle Woodland period, the site would have been marshy and uninhabitable for much of the year. However, in the late summer and early fall, both the Paint Branch and Little Paint Branch creeks receded. The landform became dry and habitable. Given the seasonal changes in the environment, it seems likely the occupants took advantage of the short dry period to establish their camp.
White Oak
American Chestnut
Tulip Tree
Mushrooms