Who Was Where: Georectification and Radiometric Dating of a Mississippian Mortuary Complex

Summary

The Orendorf site is a Mississippian village and mortuary complex located in west-central Illinois. Salvage excavations between 1970 to 1990 have yielded one of the largest and best-preserved skeletal assemblages in the central Illinois River valley. The human skeletal assemblage from the Orendorf site has been ideal for a wide variety of bioarchaeological research, both invasive and non-invasive. Despite the attention given to the individuals, research focusing on the burial contexts and radiometric dating of the burials are lacking. Through georectification of spatial data from the original excavation paperwork, I have identified seven individual burials from distinct stratigraphic episodes within the burial mound excavated between 1986 and 1990 for radiocarbon dating. Establishing a chronology for the Orendorf mortuary complex allows for greater inter- and intrasite comparisons within the central Illinois River valley, as well as, a more nuanced understanding of previous bioarchaeological research conducted with the Orendorf skeletal collection within a temporal context.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21995