North America - Southeast (Geographic Keyword)
176-200 (537 Records)
This paper examines evidence of heirlooming at Moundville, a major Mississippian center located in west central Alabama. This evidence was discovered while analyzing pottery engraved in Moundville's Hemphill style. The Hemphill Style (ca. AD 1325-1450) is Moundville's local representational art style including such motifs as winged serpents, raptors, crested birds, paired tails, hand and eye designs, scalps, skulls, and forearm bones.
Examining Small-scale Variations within Late Mississippian Complicated Stamped Pottery from St. Catherines Island, GA (2017)
Late Mississippian (AD 1300-1580) ceramic typologies on the Georgia coast broadly group pottery based on 1) temper (coarse grit) and 2) surface decoration (incising, stamping, and rim decoration). Recently, Late Archaic and Mission period pottery studies focused on small-scale ceramic variations, which reflect micro-styles, were successful in identifying patterns related to past pottery communities of practice. Using a similar approach, I present data on three Late Mississippian village ceramic...
Examining the Ceramic Assemblage from Washington Mounds: An Early to Middle Caddo Site in Southwestern Arkansas (2015)
The Washington Mounds site is an Early to Middle Caddo period (A.D. 800-1300) mound site with 11 mounds, some of which contain burials; two village areas are associated with the site surrounding the mounds. It is located in southwest Arkansas between the Red River and Little Missouri River Basins. Some level of ritual activity occurred at the site, but what types or scale of ritual is unknown. Two excavations have been done at the site: one in the early 20th century by M. R. Harrington, and a...
Examining the influence of Middle and Late Holocene shorelines and tidal zones on shell ring locations along the lower Southeastern coasts. (2015)
This study examines the interplay of Holocene sea level change and the locations and timing of construction of Archaic coastal shell rings. Based on 161 radiocarbon dates from 32 shell rings located on the lower Atlantic and Gulf coasts, most shell ring construction took place from 5000—2750 cal BP, with the greatest intensity occurring during a roughly 1,000 year window between 3500 and 4500 cal BP. We use a high-resolution reconstruction of past sea levels (Balsillie and Donoghue 2004) and GIS...
Examining the Non-Mississippian Southeast: A Comparison of the Intrasite Arrangement of Piedmont Village Tradition Settlements, AD 1200–1600 (2015)
Excavations at the Redtail site (31Yd173) have begun to reveal the internal arrangement of a Piedmont Village Tradition (PVT) settlement occupied during AD 1200–1600 in the upper Yadkin River Valley of the western North Carolina Piedmont. Research projects over the last 40 years have established similar information for a small number of settlements in the eastern and central Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia. This research examines the morphology and spatial patterning of postmolds and pit...
Excavating the Yahoola High Trestle: Spanning Past and Present in Dahlonega, Georgia (2017)
Archival research and subsequent test excavations at the site where the Yahoola High Trestle once stood in Dahlonega, Georgia, has explored the construction, use, and abandonment of an important component of America’s first gold rush. This structure supplied high-pressure water to hydraulic mining operations in the area, facilitating sophisticated mining techniques to extract gold from the surrounding landscape. This paper presents the results of archival research and archaeological testing...
Excavation of a Chickasaw Homestead in Tupelo (2016)
In March and April 2015, a Phase II cultural resources investigation was conducted to assess the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility of the Webb Site (22LE516) in Tupelo, Mississippi. Excavations identified 36 cultural features, including the outlines of two Chickasaw houses and several nearby clay-extraction pits, or okaakinafa'. Materials recovered from the site suggest a single-component occupation between A.D. 1680 and 1760. The site lies near the eighteenth-century...
Excavation of an 11th Century Living Surface Buried Underneath a 19th Century Railroad Bed (2015)
Often construction of transportation features from the 19th Century or later is considered to be destructive to earlier archaeological components. The excavation of an 11th Century site in north central Alabama has demonstrated that a 19th Century railroad bed has enhanced preservation of several features that preceded its construction by 800 years. This poster will present a comparison of features found beneath the railroad bed with those located outside of that area. SAA 2015 abstracts made...
Exploring Community Creation at the Mississippian site of Etowah (9Br1) (2015)
Etowah was the locus of a prehistoric community for 550 years. After it’s founding the site was abandoned and re-occupied twice, meaning Etowah’s communities were created three separate times. Periods of abandonment create points in the life of a community where it is possible to question and modify local tradition. Re-establishment after abandonment can lead to novel ways of casting identity, social relations, and history. Data collected at Etowah and the wider region reveal this process and...
Exploring Different Facets of Early Hunter-Gatherer Interaction in Selected Ecotonal Boundary Areas of North and South America (2017)
This paper examines the influence of Richard Jefferies’ research into early hunter-gatherer interaction on my own work in the mid-Continental U.S. and Central Andes. The material expressions of social interaction among terminal Pleistocene to mid-Holocene populations in these disparate regions vary substantially. However, interesting observations may be made when placing those expressions in a broader context of understanding the ways in which early populations navigated their social and...
Exploring Land Usage at Tannehill State Park: Giving Artifacts a Context through Watershed Mapping (2015)
Tannehill Historical State Park encompasses a resource rich environment that has supported human settlement for thousands of years. Dozens of possible sites have been identified across the park’s landscape, but few are thoroughly investigated, leaving a gap in current understanding of settlement patterns and land usage in prehistoric times. Josselyn Site 2G, a large surface collection, is one site where little is known. It holds projectile points indicative of the Middle Archaic, Late Archaic,...
Exploring Mica in Mortuary Contexts at Fallen Tree (9Li8) on St. Catherines Island, Georgia (2016)
Recent excavations at the Fallen Tree Mortuary Complex (9Li8) on St. Catherines Island, GA have recovered over 20 shaped mica artifacts and dozens of fragments associated within three Late Mississippian adult male burials. This non-local material was purposely shaped and interred with the individuals. In this paper, I present the results of recent analysis and explore mortuary mica use at this site. I examine the location and orientation of the mica discs to help determine spatial patterns and...
Exploring Strategies for Talking to the Public: Learning from 10 Years of the Florida Public Archaeology Network (2016)
The last 10 years of outreach and education has allowed staff from the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) to experiment with many different strategies for discussing archaeology with the public. Through this experience we have become better aware of the ways to effectively communicate archaeological concepts and garner an appreciation for our archaeological and historic heritage. This presentation will provide some basic strategies and outline specific programming that we have found...
Exploring the Social Affects of Hurricane Recovery in Colonial St. Augustine (2016)
Data gathered during two seasons of excavation of a Minorcan household in St. Augustine, FL are examined for patterns that reflect how recovery from the hurricane that hit the city on October 5, 1811 affected social systems and relations within the city’s communities. Johnson (2005) has argued that recovery from the disaster created strong bonds among members of the communities and acted to level social inequality within them. Schwartz (2005), however, notes that during the colonial period...
Exploring the use of LiDAR Remote Sensing Data to Illuminate Belle Glade Earthworks (2016)
Locating and mapping methodology of archaeological earthworks for the prehistoric Native American Belle Glade culture can be improved by applying airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) employing FUSION software and the Ground Filter program to these remote areas. This study compares the standard utilization of vendor created classes for ground classification to FUSION's software ground filter program. The two case study locations contain Belle Glade type B circular–linear earthwork...
Exposed Again: Current Environmental Impact on Dugout Canoes---their Research and Care! (2015)
Across Florida, severe drought in recent years lowered water levels, especially in 2000 and then again a decade later. Both times this resulted in the exposure of dozens and dozens of ancient dugout canoes. This trend occurred not only in Florida, but also the greater southeastern U.S. This paper discusses the concerted efforts of state and local agencies as well as private stewards to document the environmental impact on these canoe finds, as exposure to sun and elements accelerated their...
Faunal Data from Apalachicola (1RU18, 1RU27) (2014)
An Excel spreadsheet containing the zooarchaeological data from Apalachicola (1RU18 & 1RU27), part of the Apalachicola Ecosystems Project. The first tab contains the primary zooarchaeological data, the second tab contains the weights, and the third tab contains a pivot table which shows the total combined weight for each taxon identification.
Faunal Data from Spanish Fort (1RU101) (2014)
An Excel spreadsheet containing the zooarchaeological data from Spanish Fort (1RU101), part of the Apalachicola Ecosystems Project. The first tab contains the primary zooarchaeological data, the second tab contains the weights.
Faunal Remains from the Apalachicola Ecosystems Project (2014)
This report presents the results of zooarchaeological analysis of faunal specimens recovered from two sites (1RU18 and 1RU27) excavated as part of a multidisciplinary NSF-funded Collaborative Research Project titled the “Apalachicola Ecosystems Project”, as well a reanalysis of a zooarchaeological assemblage from the nearby site of Spanish Fort. Report prepared for the National Science Foundation (Award # BCS-1026308).
Finding the Needle in the Haystack: Submerged Prehistoric Archaeological Sites in Everglades National Park (2015)
Many attempts have been made to consistently locate submerged and inundated prehistoric archaeological sites offshore the state of Florida. In many instances these attempts have not been successful in some respects but beneficial in others. This paper will identify the issues of studying such sites and the results of past and recent studies. However, the main topic of the paper will focus on a recent study exercised within the Florida Bay region of Everglades National Park. Working in...
The fish of Fort Morris: A GIS-based study of human-environment interaction during the American Revolutionary War (2017)
Situated at the mouth of the Medway River in coastal Georgia, Fort Morris provided protection for the bustling port city of Sunbury. During the Revolutionary War the fort was first controlled by American forces and later by the British, and while the fort’s history is well-known in local lore archaeological analyses are shedding new light on everyday life at the site. This paper draws on the identification of fish bones to provide an inventory of the fish taxa consumed by soldiers at the fort on...
The Fisherfolk of the Two Late Archaic Shell Rings on St. Catherines Island: Similarities and Differences in Contemporaneous Coastal Economies (2015)
Late Archaic (2250-1800 cal B.C.) shell rings, found along the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States, are large, ring-like structures composed of shell. Sometimes shell rings are complexes with two or more rings in close proximity, while others are singular rings. Rarely are two rings found on an island system without the rings forming a complex. Two shell rings on St. Catherines Island, GA, have been documented and excavated on opposite sides of the island and do not form a complex....
Fishing Practices and Effective Seasons: An Evaluation of Zooarchaeological-Based Seasonality Studies in the Lower Suwannee Region of Florida (2016)
This paper critically evaluates the concept of seasons as utilized in zooarchaeological studies of coastal settlements. The project aims to show that "seasons," as a matter of perception, emerge from interplay between natural processes and human practices. Because processes and practices vary geographically and historically, effective seasons are contingent on local circumstances and histories. This paper presents methods for utilizing data on present-day fish populations in the Lower Suwannee...
Flipping the Desk: Increasing Tribal Participation in Archaeological Investigations (2016)
Tribal archaeology expands the interpretation of the archaeological record through the incorporation of tribal perspectives. The Seminole Tribe of Florida (STOF) Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) partnered with the sixth grade students of STOF Pemayetv Emahakv (“Our Way”) Charter School in 2014 to excavate a little known, historic, Anglo-American home-site on the Seminole Brighton Reservation. The THPO worked with the students to document their observations and participate in the site’s...
Flooding, Drought, Fires and Extinctions: How Did Florida’s Foragers Respond to the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition? (2016)
While directly-dated sites are somewhat rare, northern Florida contains an extremely rich archaeological record of diagnostic artifacts from the Paleoindian and Early Archaic periods. Very commonly, Early Archaic diagnostics are discovered at the same sites as Paleoindian diagnostics. The Paleoindian components are presumed to be Pleistocene in age, while the Early Archaic is generally but not universally associated with early Holocene ages. Recent research we have been conducting in...