A Ritual Complex at Etzanoa

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The National Park Service held its Remote Sensing Workshop at Etzanoa in May, 2023, and Wichita State University followed with a field school in June. The results of both suggest that the area investigated was the site of a variety of ritual activities. Remote sensing there has included thermal imaging from a drone, magnetometry, resistivity, ground-penetrating radar, and magnetitic susceptibility. These detected the structure of the underlying bedrock, variations in midden accumulation, a cluster of fire-related features, and a large number of storage pits.

Excavation had previously revealed a series of bell-shaped storage pits on what was thought to be a natural knoll. That area, however, was buried under two layers of deep subsoil in a clearly purposeful fashion. All of the pits covered by these deposits were relatively empty of trash, and ceramics from them include a large proportion of Caddoan pottery. One proved to be a very large post pit with an insertion ramp. It and at least one of the bell-shaped pits contained broken grinding stones that may have marked a termination ritual.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38963.0