North America - Southeast (Geographic Keyword)
251-275 (537 Records)
The mound-and-plaza complex is a hallmark of late prehistoric sites in the Lower Mississippi Valley. While these mounds and the spaces between them have been the focus of much productive research, many mound-and-plaza centers began as circular or oval-shaped middens and only later incorporated mounds. Moreover, sites organized around central "empty" spaces are common starting in the Archaic period. I argue that by examining these earlier and less frequently studied examples of "plazas," we can...
In the Fields of the Thunder Lord, Playing the Apalachee Ball Game: Archaeological and Ideological Evidence for Its Antiquity (2015)
This presentation examines the archaeology, folklore, and iconography attesting to the antiquity of the Apalachee Ball Game. We will examine the "Apalachee Ball Game Myth" as recorded by Friar Juan Paina in 1670 as well as several Mississippian carved shell objects (ca. AD 1350, Craig Mound, Spiro, Okla.) that thematically express episodes in this myth. From the evidence gleaned from these several sources we can demonstrate that the ideology underlying the Apalachees’ Ball Game dates from at...
In Their Cups?: Background lipids in shell as a basis for analyzing shell cup residues (2016)
Lipids in a variety of large shells were extracted using both destructive and non-destructive techniques and analyzed with GC/MS. In pottery residue analysis, lipids found in extracted residues can be assumed to derive from human usage because natural geolipids are removed from the clay during firing. Shell cups do not undergo firing at temperatures high enough to result in lipid removal. As a result, it is important to understand the natural lipids present in large shells before attempting...
The In-Crowd: Implications of Notable Village Features at 44CH62 – the Randy K. Wade Site (2016)
Located in the southern region of the Virginia Piedmont, the Late Woodland Randy K. Wade site (44CH62) was initially identified as a community influenced by Tidewater culture groups. In recent years, the discovery and analysis of a boundary ditch feature, fence line, and three large central post features have impacted the interpretation of the site. It is now believed that the Wade Site exhibits characteristics influenced by Mississippian culture groups in addition to a Tidewater influence....
Indigenous Appropriations of Spanish Metal Goods in Southeastern North America (2017)
Broadly speaking, iron and copper-alloy objects of Spanish origin in southeastern North America seem to fall into three categories that variably dominate from one site to another: 1) essentially unaltered; 2) trade goods modified by Europeans to conform to Native American demand; 3) assemblages that consist of both categories 1 and 2, but were re-worked by Native Americans. This diversity was a complex product of the convergence of structure, agency, and serendipity. The timing and nature of...
Indurated Sediment Masses (ISMs) from Southern Texas (2015)
Baked-clay nodules are reported at many archaeological sites across southern Texas. These nodules are indurated sediment masses (ISMs) and are found in many contexts. William A. Duffen first found ISMs within a hearth at the Morhiss site in Victoria County. His discovery led researchers to conclude that these were heating elements used in place of stone and analogous to Poverty Point Objects. Ricklis came to the same conclusion about ISMs found in a hearth at 41NU2. The heating element...
Inhaling Prehistory: Exploring the Smoking Culture of the Eastern Woodlands (2017)
Pipes, pipe-smoked plants, and the tradition of smoking in the Eastern Woodlands of North America have long interested anthropologists and archaeologists because these artifacts and activities are viewed as material correlates of ritual, ceremonial, and religious activities. While pipes are regularly recovered from archaeological sites, the remains of plants materials that were smoked are far more difficult to recover. Traditionally, the identification of pipe-smoked plants, such as tobacco,...
Integration of multiple geophysical datasets to classify archaeological responses (2017)
North American archaeologists are increasing using multiple near-surface geophysical techniques at archaeological sites to locate features of interest. Examining different physical properties in the subsurface has greatly improved archaeological interpretations; however, these data are often examined in a subjective site specific fashion (notable exceptions are the pioneering work of Kvamme and Ernenwein). This research seeks to quantitatively integrate magnetic gradiometry, frequency-domain...
An Integrative Archaeological and Geomorphological Approach to Understanding Site Distributions and Prehistoric Settlement Patterns along the Little River, East Tennessee (2015)
Over 15 years of archaeological research at the University of Tennessee’s East Tennessee Research and Education Center, Blount County, Tennessee, has uncovered a number of archaeological sites that range in age from Early Archaic to Mississippian. Located within a complex alluvial system at the confluence of Ellejoy Creek and the Little River, the study area was part of a prehistoric trail system through the Great Smoky Mountains. Research at the University of Tennessee’s Archaeological...
Interacting in Cramped Spaces: Material Culture and Identity at the Mission San Joseph de Sapala (2017)
Accounts by 16th- and 17th-century explorers, missionaries, and government officials clearly illustrate the considerable amount of variability in indigenous cultures, ethnicities, and traditions found throughout the Southeast at contact. Beginning in the mid-17th century, many of these formerly dispersed groups began to coalesce around mission communities in modern Georgia and Florida. The historical narrative of the contraction and eventual destruction of the Spanish mission system in Florida...
Interactions with the Lower Creek: Historic Document Quantification (2015)
Historic documents are a useful tool in understanding post contact archaeological sites. Documents can show different forms of interaction between Europeans and Native Americans and chronicle events that are invisible in the archaeological record. Notations in archaeological reports often refer back to letters, journals, orders, laws, treaties, reports, newspaper articles and trade records, to support findings and give credence to interpretations of the past. However, use of historic documents...
Interpreting Prehistoric Eastern U.S. Salt Production Using Ethnographic Analogy (2016)
The manufacture of salt by agricultural peoples in the Eastern United States has been documented at dozens of salt springs. Archaeologists have produced detailed inventories of specialized features, vessels, and other tools common to these sites and have mapped variations in their distributions, but the precise processes in which these tools were applied, particularly in the Early and Middle Mississippian periods, remains largely speculative. This paper situates the evidence within the limited...
Intersecting Identities in Southeastern U.S. Prehistory (2015)
Archaeological evidence from the southeastern and mid-south regions of the U.S. suggest that dress, personal ornamentation, and body modification were key strategies for presenting the self during later prehistory. These markers were apparently deployed to designate multiple and intersecting aspects of identity, including gender, age, community affiliation, and leadership status. Evidence comes from recovered artifacts, human burials, and representational images of humans. Some archaeologists...
The Intersection at Biscayne National Park of Looting as a Traditional Form of Recreation, Submerged Cultural Resources, and Management Practice (2015)
Protecting archeological sites from looting is one of the constant challenges facing the 66 park units in the Southeast Region of the U.S. National Park Service. One park in particular--Biscayne National Park--eclipses the others in terms of the quantity and destructiveness of looting it suffers. Research since 2010 at the HMS Fowey, English China, Black, Pillar Dollar, Brick, Long Reef Cannon, and other shipwrecks illustrates the severity of the problem. The submerged nature of the resources is...
Investigating alternative subsistence strategies among homeless individuals in University, Hillsborough County, Florida (2016)
Homelessness is one of the most pressing social and political issues of our time. At least 570,000 people in the United States currently experience homelessness, and at least 175,000 of these live in unsheltered locations, which implies both exposure to weather and inadequate access to drinking water and sanitation resources. Most rehabilitation programs focus on returning such individuals to "normal" productive society, but research shows that many have abandoned wage labor and are instead...
Investigating Late Mississippian Incised Pottery on St. Catherines Island, GA (2016)
Recent excavations at Fallen Tree (9Li8), St. Catherines Island, GA have recovered thousands of ceramics. Although the majority of the decorated sherds are complicated stamped, more than 500 sherds are incised, which is more than any St. Catherines Island Mississippian site. In this paper, I characterize Late Mississippian mortuary and village incised pottery on St. Catherines based on temper, rim attributes, designs, and incising techniques. In addition, I examine vessel forms and sizes to...
Investigating Late Woodland Aquatic Catchments through the Reconstruction of Freshwater Mussel Habitats in Mississippi and Alabama, USA. (2017)
Throughout the Late Woodland of the American Southeast, prehistoric communities appear to have expanded the range of species used for food to include lesser ranked resources, resulting in increased exploitation of freshwater mussel beds. These mussel remains provide a valuable source of information about past environments during the Late Woodland. Because many mussel species are extremely sensitive to the characteristics of the waterways in which they live, the pattern of species distribution...
Investigating Mississippian Site Layout and Architecture in Northeast Arkansas (2016)
In June 2015, the Arkansas Archeological Society Training Program was held at the Richards Bridge site. This Parkin phase village lies along the Tyronza River and was contemporaneous with the Parkin site, located about 16 km away. Geophysical studies revealed well-preserved structure floors at Richards Bridge and four of these were chosen for excavation to see if their construction was identical to those at other Parkin phase sites. A search for fortifications revealed a wooden palisade, but no...
Investigating the Impact of Fish Weirs from the Bottom Up: A Perspective from the Southeast (USA) (2017)
Archaeological approaches to fish weirs in the southeastern United States have traditionally focused around issues of social complexity and resource intensification in the Mississippian period (post cal A.D. 1000). This pairing has limited our view of the antiquity of fish weirs and their socio-cultural impact beyond economics, subsistence, and politics—the assumption being that weirs were an answer to a problem of economic demand from the top down. However, a recent look into regional...
It’s a Bird, it’s a Plane, it’s Public Engagement! One Summer Library Program as an Effective Outreach Platform (2016)
Summer library programming is a crucial element of the Florida Public Archaeology Network’s (FPAN) outreach efforts. Library programs are a common and important part of FPAN's work as they allow us to explore multiple approaches to engagement and education. The program "Superheroes of Stewardship" was developed by FPAN for the Orange County Public Library System's summer programming in 2015, and serves as an example of the efficacy of queer archaeology in engaging and educating young audiences....
Jaketown, Pilgrimage, and Poverty Point Era Sacred Monumental Landscapes in the Lower Mississippi Valley (2016)
Monumental earthworks are a well-attested element of hunter-gather-fisher societies in the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV) from ca. 7000-3000 cal B.P. Most famous among these earthworks is the Poverty Point site, ca. 3600-3200 cal B.P. However, earthen monuments in the LMV contemporary with Poverty Point remain enigmatic because their roles in the broader political economy of the region are not well understood. We present information from the Jaketown site in west-central Mississippi to...
The Karst Spring Vent as Receptacle with Meaning: Chassahowitzka Headsprings Weeden Island Period Dolphin Fin Effigy (2016)
Restoration dredging of the Chassahowitzka Headsprings along the west coast of central Florida produced a wealth of artifacts representing virtually all culture periods including Paleoindian, Middle Archaic, early (Deptford) Woodland, late Woodland (Weeden Island), and Contact period Native American, as well as 16th through 20th century Euro-American (Historic) such as rare (broken) Majolica bowls and an asymmetrical paddle. All of the Euro-American artifacts can be attributed to secondary...
Labor, Materials, and Ritual Knowledge: Erecting and Erasing Middle Woodland Enclosures in Southern Appalachia (2015)
Middle Woodland geometric enclosures are among the most complex earthen monuments ever built in Eastern North America. Well-known 19th century maps have long provided archaeologists with a view of their shape, size, and scope, in their final forms. However, because relatively few of these enclosures have been systematically excavated, their early life histories and the ways they may have evolved through time remain enigmatic. In this paper, I seek to document a more complete biography of...
Landscapes of Mississippian Rock Art in the Southeast (2016)
Prehistoric rock art has been relatively unknown in the American Southeast until the past few decades. In the 1970's Wellman's catalog of North American rock art contained a handful of sites east of the Mississippi River; today there are hundreds of sites recorded for Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and areas east of the Appalachian Mountains. The great majority of these sites probably date to the Late Prehistoric period, and there are clear regional variations in how rock art was...
Late Pleistocene and Holocene Abrupt Climate Change and Human Response in the Southeastern United States (2016)
As a result of the analysis of high-resolution global and regional paleoclimate records, we now know that our “stable” Holocene climate has been punctuated with periods of rapid and synchronous change, including rapid changes in temperature, available moisture, and vegetation. Far from being a period of climatic stability, recent studies suggest abrupt climate change during the Holocene including departures in temperature and precipitation with millennial-scale cyclicity that operates...