A Comparison of Two Late Woodland Features: Helton 20-36 and Carter 2-15

Author(s): Maria Cox; Valerie Sgheiza; Kelsie Hart

Year: 2016

Summary

While the structure of Middle Woodland (2050-1600 BP) burial mounds from the lower Illinois River valley (LIV) is widely understood in terms of ramps, tombs, and peripheral interment facilities, those for the subsequent Late Woodland period (1600-1000 BP) remain poorly characterized. To illustrate commonalities between Late Woodland sites from the LIV, we here compare Feature 36 from Helton Md 20 and Feature 15 from Carter Md 2. The detailed excavation notes from the Helton excavation are used to inform the Carter context, which was recorded less extensively. We here report the biased demography recorded for both features and discuss the nature of the extended funerary rituals evident in body processing. The complex nature of both features reflects the evolution and diversification of mortuary practices during the Late Woodland period in the LIV.

Cite this Record

A Comparison of Two Late Woodland Features: Helton 20-36 and Carter 2-15. Maria Cox, Valerie Sgheiza, Kelsie Hart. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, Florida. 2016 ( tDAR id: 405042)

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Keywords

General
bioarchaeology • Lower Illinois River Valley (LIV) • Mortuary Practice

Geographic Keywords
North America - Midwest

Spatial Coverage

min long: -104.634; min lat: 36.739 ; max long: -80.64; max lat: 49.153 ;