In 1933, Black assisted on a survey of Dearborn County, Indiana, and Ohio counties to record sites such as Nowlin Mound. Black also led excavations at Nowlin Mound, his first major project, which began in 1934. His meticulous excavation methods and detailed published report, "Excavation of the Nowlin Mound: Dearborn County Site 7, 1934-1935," written with James Bennett Griffin and Frederick R. Matson Jr., provided a well-documented description of the mound structure. The project also "served as the model for all subsequent excavations on like contexts." The Nowlin Mound report included a history of the mound and details of excavation, including a description of its construction and artifacts. According to James H. Keller, who was Black's biographer, "Probably no more precise description of mound structure is in print than that contained in the Nowlin Mound report."