The Hansen Site is an archaeological site

Archaeological site

An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...

 located in near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky

Greenup County, Kentucky

Greenup County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1804. As of 2000, the population was 36,891. Its county seat is Greenup. The county is named in honor of Christopher Greenup....

. The 6 hectare site is on a flood terrace of the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 across from the mouth of the Scioto River

Scioto River

The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...

, just upstream from the Lower Shawneetown site and the Old Fort Earthworks. The site was occupied several times over the centuries, with occupations dating from the Late Archaic (2000 BCE), Middle Woodland

Woodland period

The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...

 (300 to 600 CE), and Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1750 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of modern-day Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Southeastern Indiana and Western West Virginia. They were a maize based agricultural...

 periods.

Archaic period occupation

Investigations by archaeologists have shown that the Hansen Site was lightly occupied probably during the summer months in the Late Archaic period at about 2000 BCE. Distinctive projectile points from this time period have been found at the site, including Cave Run, Merom, and Rowlette style points. Tests of materials found during excavations have returned uncalibrated dates of 2060 BCE and 1930 BCE.

Woodland period

The Hansen site was occupied twice during Middle and Late Woodland periods. The first was from from 300 to 450 CE, with an intensive occupation with activities centering around three circular single post structures and small clusters of households. Evidence has been found for stone tool manufacturing, food storage, and waste disposal. The second episode of habitation was from 500 to 600 CE and centered around more communal structures and many activities such as tool manufacturing seeming to take place in communal areas. During this time period the nearby Old Fort Earthworks and Biggs Site

Biggs Site

The Biggs Site , also known as the Portsmouth Earthworks Group C, is an Adena culture archaeological site located near South Shore in Greenup County, Kentucky. Group C was originally a large series of concentric circular embankments and ditches surrounding a central conical burial mound...

, parts of the Portsmouth Earthworks

Portsmouth Earthworks

The Portsmouth Earthworks are a large prehistoric mound complex constructed by the Ohio Hopewell culture mound builder indigenous peoples of eastern North America...

 complex, were constructed by Adena culture

Adena culture

The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 1000 to 200 BC, in a time known as the early Woodland Period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing a burial complex and ceremonial system...

peoples of the area.