Beads and Bohr Models: Using XRF to Discuss Choctaw Identity Formation

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This paper presents the results of a study that uses x-ray fluorescence (XRF) to examine European glass trade beads from the Chickasawhay Creek Sites (22KE630 & 22KE718) in Kemper County, Mississippi. Together, these two sites present a unique opportunity to examine Choctaw ethnogenesis. Although a combination of archaeological and ethnohistorical research has aided in examining Choctaw origins, questions concerning how families were integrated into a larger society and the formation of a Choctaw identity persist. By using a practice-based approach, this paper discusses the application of chemical characterization analyses in bead studies to establish more accurate dates of occupation, discuss body adornment and identity, and examine Choctaw-French interaction during the 18th century.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25201