Purtill co-authors journal article on sand dune formations used by Native Americans

Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences Assistant Professor Matthew Purtill is the lead author on a co-authored article, "Of Marshes, Moraines, and Sand Dunes: New Perspectives into Historic and Precontact Settlement Patterns for Benton, Jasper, and Newton Counties, Indiana," published by Indiana Archaeology, volume 15, number 1.

The journal article explores the use of different landforms in the glaciated Till Plains of northwestern Indiana by both historic Euro-American settlers and precontact Native Americans. This research further indicates that sand dune "hills" or "ridges,” which research demonstrates have actively developed and migrated throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene, potentially cover archaeological remains, thus obscuring significant components of precontact Native American history.

The article begins on page 45 and can be accessed online.