This is the second volume in a series sponsored by the Archeological
Society of Virginia and the Council of Virginia Archaeologists and, like the first volume
on Paleoindian, is the result of a public symposium on Virginia prehistory. In some
respects, this volume illustrates that the Early--and particularly the Middle--Archaic
periods are more poorly understood than the "more elusive" Paleoindian period.
In this regard, the authors are forced to draw much of their data from surrounding states.
Yet, the potential for Virginia is obvious and, if studies like McAvoy’s unpublished
data on the Nottoway River come to fruition, Virginia stands ready to be at the forefront
of Early/Middle Archaic archaeology in the East. Reinhart and Hodges have assembled an
attractive, readable volume that offers an excellent baseline summary. Filling in the gaps
is up to the rest of us.
Reprinted by permission from the Journal of Middle Atlantic
Archaeology, 1991, (7): 198.
