Farming, Warfare, Drought, and Soil Fertility in the Mississippian Central Illinois River Valley: Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes on Maize Kernels from Five Sites Spanning Two Centuries
Author(s): Amber VanDerwarker; Mallory Melton; Greg Wilson
Year: 2018
Summary
We report on carbon and nitrogen isotope results from a total of 60 maize kernels from five sequentially-occupied sites in the Central Illinois River Valley that span the Mississippian period (AD 1100-1300). The sites span: (1) the onset of and intensification of warfare in the region; and (2) a long period of drought that eventually gave way to wetter conditions during the last 50 years of the sequence. C13 and N15 isotope values from these maize kernels provide independent support for the cessation of drought conditions during the final occupation, but also provide evidence for deteriorating soil fertility associated with intensive infield production.
Cite this Record
Farming, Warfare, Drought, and Soil Fertility in the Mississippian Central Illinois River Valley: Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes on Maize Kernels from Five Sites Spanning Two Centuries. Amber VanDerwarker, Mallory Melton, Greg Wilson. Presented at The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC. 2018 ( tDAR id: 445203)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Environment and Climate
•
Isotopes
•
Mississippian
•
Paleoethnobotany
Geographic Keywords
North America: Southeast United States
Spatial Coverage
min long: -93.735; min lat: 24.847 ; max long: -73.389; max lat: 39.572 ;
Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 20976