The location of the Allen's Creek site on a terrace above the flood plain of the Genesee River and Canaseraga and Tuscarora Creeks, adjacent to Allen's Creek, would have been rich in floral and faunal resources. This location would have been attractive to Native groups throughout the Late Archaic. Our excavations and analysis showed that the site was repeatedly visited by hunter/gatherer groups from approximately 3500-1120 B.C. While our Investigations were constrained to a narrow corridor, we are interpreting the site components as the remains of several camps dated throughout the Late Archaic and, possibly, into the Transitional. In the Genesee Valley, hunter-gatherer groups likely congregated at certain key spots during each season to collect aggregated resources. While the site represents the remains of several such camps, the nature of the camps remain open for further interpretation. Site investigations were restricted based on the project area and, therefore, it is very possible that the sites represent a revisited base camp, where occupants stayed for several weeks or longer to harvest aggregated resources, such as deer or fish. The sheer number of projectile points and the variety of tools, along with an unusual drilled stone, suggest a more intensive site use more similar to that of a base camp.
The similarity in the lithic assemblage through time suggests that there was no major shift in lithic technology throughout the site's history. Occupants used both bifacial and expedient technologies, with an emphasis on bifacially worked curated tools, such as projectile points and bifaces.
Activities throughout the Late Archaic were also similar, although the locations and intensity of the activities changed. Occupants at the Allen's Creek site manufactured and maintained stone tools, hunted/butchered animals, processed their hides, and collected and processed plants, particularly nuts. Hearth-centered activities were common, with hearths providing heat as well as light. The abundant nut remains and the co-occurrence of nut species in several features suggest that a primary site activity was amassing nut resources. Projectile points and smudge pits indicate that hunting and processing of hides was also an important activity.
