Plan of Rock House cave published by Adams (1941:Figure I). Adams made careful plans, controlled his excavation by a grid system, and published his results; his work is praiseworthy.
Rock House Cave (23BY3) was excavated and published by Lee M. Adams, an amateur archaeologist and trustee of the Missouri Archaeological Society. His research at the cave was published during 1941 in the Missouri Archaeologist 7(2):19-27.
This site is situated on private property and it is not open to the public. The stone tools that Adams uncovered at Rock House Cave are typical of the Archaic Period (7000 - 1000 BC) and Woodland Period (1000 BC - AD 900) in the Ozarks region of Missouri. Adams (1941:26) reported that 2 grit tempered pottery sherds (typical of the Late Woodland Period = AD 700 - 900) and 14 shell tempered pottery sherds (typical of the Mississippi Period = AD 900 - 1400) were excavated from Rock House Cave.
In 1991, Rock House Cave was combined with several other sites to become the "Southwest Missouri Prehistoric Rock Shelter and Cave Sites Discontiguous Archaeological District" as designated on the National Register of of Historic Places.
Plan of Rock House cave published by Adams (1941:Figure I). Adams made careful plans, controlled his excavation by a grid system, and published his results; his work is praiseworthy.
Profile of Rock House cave published by Adams (1941:Figure II).
Profile of Rock House cave published by Adams (1941:Figure III).
Projectile points excavated from Rock House cave and published by Adams (1941:Figure IV).
Projectile points and scrapers excavated from Rock House cave and published by Adams (1941:Figure V).
Projectile points and scraperes excavated from Rock House cave and published by Adams (1941:27).
Projectile points excavated from Rock House cave and published by Adams (1941:27).
Bone tools excavated from Rock House cave and published by Adams (1941:27).
Pottery sherds excavated from Rock House cave and published by Adams (1941:26).
Pre-form of a projectile point excavated from Rock House cave by Adams (1941). Registration number 777. This artifact weighs 23.4 grams. Length = 79.0 mm, width = 35.5 mm, and thickness = 8.6 mm.
Langtry contracting stemmed projectile point excavated from Rock House cave by Adams (1941). Registration number 861. This artifact weighs 16.8 grams. Length = 72.1 mm, width = 37.3 mm, and thickness = 6.1 mm.
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Many thanks to Stephen Burks, a member of both the Missouri Archaeological Society and the Central States Archaeological Society, for making the artifacts from Rock House Cave available for study.
Webpage constructed 24 March 2018