Archaeologists recovered many diagnostic spearpoints from Sullen Possum. Most were Kirk Corner Notched, Kirk Serrated, and Kirk Stemmed examples. These types of spearpoints date to the Early Archaic period (8000 to 6000 BC).
In addition to the spearpoints, investigators recovered several scrapers and many small chert flakes, the kind that Native knappers produced during tool resharpening. This led archaeologists to suggest that Native peoples had camped at Sullen Possum to hunt and prepare hides. Given the quantity of charred nuts recovered, investigators also inferred that Native groups had camped at the site in the fall, when nuts would have been plentiful.
In 7500 BC, deciduous forests covered the hill slopes and ridgetops surrounding Sullen Possum. In many areas, large groves of oaks and chestnuts grew on the ridgetops. In some places, they accounted for 90 percent of the trees.
Plant and animal resources in the area would have been most abundant in the fall. The concentration of nuts was a strong attraction for animals, such as deer, black bear, turkey, raccoon, and squirrel. Early Archaic groups were attracted to the area for the same reason: nuts were an important source of food for them, too.