Indian Knoll
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Indian Knoll
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| Nearest city | Paradise, Kentucky |
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| Area | 290 acres (120 ha) |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000362 |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Indian Knoll is an archaeological site near Paradise, Kentucky that was declared to be a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Excavations of Indian Knoll during The Great Depression, and research of the remains and artifacts in the 1960s-1970s demonstrated that its builders were greatly atypical of inhabitants of Archaic sites. Archaic peoples were typically egalitarian, but burials at this knoll revealed that the inhabitants were divided into two social groups, irrespective of age or sex, as social class seems the most likely reason for this division.
The Indian Knoll site, designated 15OH2, is located in the Ohio Valley of west central Kentucky near Green River. This area is known as the "shell mound region" because of the large shell middens, or deposits of shell that were disposed of by the indigenous people that lived there. Though there is evidence of earlier settlement, this area was most heavily occupied from approximately 3000–2000 BC, when the climate and vegetation were nearing modern conditions. This floodplain provided a stable environment, which eventually led to agricultural development early in the late Holocene era. In the early 20th century Clarence Bloomfield Moore was the first to explore a small portion of the land not being used for agricultural purposes. After the farm that occupied the site was destroyed by a flood, the land was opened for further excavation by William Snyder Webb in 1939. The study of this site has contributed towards an understanding of the social complexity of the southeastern cultures of the mid-late Holocene era.
The original excavation in 1915 was led by C.B. Moore and his crew of eight men. He was the first to report on the bannerstone at Indian Knoll and recover 298 individuals, 66 of which were well preserved and sent to the United States National Museum. After the flood in 1937, Webb and his team began a second excavation, leading to the discovery of 880 more burials. The Indian Knoll skeletal population was inadequately evaluated by Moore, so in 1960, the remains were reassessed by Francis Johnston and Charles Snow. From the skeletal fragments, they estimated there to be at least 1,234 individuals, rather than 1,178 reported between Moore and Webb. Johnston and Snow concluded that Indian Knoll had a high infant mortality rate, mostly only under one year, but also many under four. The average life span was about 18.5 years old, with slightly more male burials than female.
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