Coming Together: Evidence of Ritual and Public Space as a Mechanism of Social Integration

Summary

Structure 16 at the Morton Village site (11F2) provides a unique opportunity to examine social interactions between Oneota and Mississippian populations situated within the Central Illinois River Valley. Prior to our work, the nature of these interactions at this site was poorly understood. Burgeoning data supports our interpretation of a cohabitation at Morton Village between these populations following Oneota in-migration. A method of this integration is demonstrated through ritualistic activity expressed extensively at structure 16. This structure is a unique public space illuminating various forms of ritual. Our archaeological investigations at structure 16 provide strong evidence of cultural admixture within an exclusively integrated public domain. Our data suggests a negotiation of identity occurs, after the Oneota in-migration, through the active adaptation of select traits, activities, and behaviors between these populations. We explore the nature of integration that existed between the Oneota and Mississippian populations identified through the material remains and architecture found at structure 16.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Negotiating Migration and Violence in the Pre-Columbian Mid-Continent   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage