Violence or Funerary Ritual? Performances of Life and Death in the Middle and Late Archaic Period of North Alabama

Summary

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

This study takes a holistic biocultural approach to re-conceptualize the forms and patterns of violence taking place at two neighboring Archaic Period shell mound sites on the Tennessee River in North Alabama, Mulberry Creek (1CT27) and Little Bear Creek (1CT8). Bioarchaeological documentation was supplemented by archival records in an attempt to re-construct identity, mortuary treatment, and site use over time. This allowed for a nuanced consideration of individual experience and community norms. Ultimately it is argued that patterns of trauma and mortuary practice in the Middle and Late Archaic Periods indicate variable identities for victims and perpetrators of violence, as well as specialized rituals surrounding post-mortem alteration and burial of such individuals within these communities. This indicates that inflicted injury likely had diverse intentions and perceived meanings in the past, and that certain forms of violence taking place were not deviant or maladaptive. Rather, it reinforces the argument that certain forms of ritualized violence likely served to foster community identity, group cohesion, and even lend stability during times of environmental and cultural change within these ancestral Native American communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40386.0