Migration and Cultural Emplacement on the Mississippian Periphery: A Fort Ancient Example

Summary

Recent excavations at the Turpin site (33HA19) in southwest Ohio, have reestablished the importance of population movement in cultural emplacement in this region. Although the predominant model for Fort Ancient evolution in the Middle Ohio Valley posits gradual village development and relatively late (post-AD 1400) Mississippian influence, work at Turpin and other sites in the lower Miami Valleys suggests that the movement of Mississippian people acted as a catalyst for change beginning around AD 1050-1100. The focus of this presentation is on results from recent excavation and analysis of assemblages from two wall trench structures. Chronological and material culture data suggest that early occupation (AD 1030-1200) of Turpin is consistent with Mississippian villages throughout the Midwest and Southeast. Later occupation (AD 1200-1275) at Turpin is more consistent with more "typical" Fort Ancient sites in the region. The largest implication of these findings is that Mississippian involvement was seminal in the development of Fort Ancient culture rather than epiphenomenal.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17146