Ellerbusch Site
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Ellerbusch Archeological Site (12W56)
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Overview of the site from the southeast
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| Location | Atop the bluff northwest of the junction of State Road 662 and Ellerbursch Rd., west of Newburgh, Indiana |
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| Coordinates | 37°57′8″N 87°25′32″W / 37.95222°N 87.42556°WCoordinates: 37°57′8″N 87°25′32″W / 37.95222°N 87.42556°W |
| Area | 0.8 acres (0.32 ha) |
| NRHP Reference # | 91000270 |
| Added to NRHP | March 14, 1991 |
The Ellerbusch Site (12-W-56) is a small but significant archaeological site in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. Unlike many sites created by people of the same culture, it occupies an upland site near a major river floodplain. Its existence appears to have been the result of the coincidence of periods of peace and growth in the related Angel Site, which led some townspeople to leave their homes for new villages that were more convenient for resource gathering. Researched partly because of its small size, Ellerbusch has produced information that greatly increases present awareness of other small sites and of its culture's overall patterns of settlement in the region. Because of its archaeological value, the site was declared a historic site in the late twentieth century.
The immediate vicinity is known to be archaeologically rich; although a cursory survey in 1954 failed to find Ellerbusch and revealed nothing in any other part of section 33 of Ohio Township, it revealed four substantial sites in adjacent sections, including a village on the riverbank about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the southwest of where Ellerbusch was later discovered.
The first excavations at the site were undertaken by the Ellerbusch family, who owned the property, working with their neighbors George and Francis Martin of the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University in Bloomington. The Martins arranged for the aid of an IU graduate student in the early excavations, and with his help they revealed the site of one house, part of another, and a pit with decorated potsherds in the summer of 1957; this initial excavation was published in the following year. Comparatively little was done in 1958 and 1959, and no further work was performed except for a very limited excavation in 1962.
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