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Archaeological Research at Limpy Creek
1996
Josephine County, Oregon

The Limpy Creek archaeological site (designated 35JO39 by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office) is located near the confluence of Limpy Creek and Rogue River in southwestern Oregon. Archaeological research conducted by the Bureau of Land Management and the State Museum of Anthropology at the University of Oregon indicated that the site would be damaged by proposed construction of a highway bridge. In the summer of 1996, the State Museum of Anthropology, under the direction of Dr. Brian O'Neill and Mark Tveskov, conducted data recovery excavations at the site.

The excavations recovered a rich assemblage of features, artifacts and faunal remains that are currently being analyzed at the University of Oregon. The site appears to represent the remains of a small Native village -- hearths, middens, and work areas were identified at the site, along with a large numbers of projectile points, plant processing equipment, and wood working tools. Of particular interest is the large number of notched-stone netsinkers recovered at the site, reflecting fishing activities in nearby Rogue River.

Radiocarbon dates, artifact styles, and the presence of glass trade beads and other objects of Euro-American manufacture suggest that the Limpy Creek site was occupied from approximately 600 years ago until the 1850s, when Native people were forcibly removed from Rogue River Valley by the United States Government.

Native People of Rogue River Valley

Life at the Limpy Creek Site

Excavations under way at the Limpy Creek Site
on Rogue River, August 1996.