Archaeology of the Lower Muskogee Creek Indians, 1715-1836

320 Pages·2007·2.18 MB·English

by  Howard Thomas Foster II

Archaeology of the Lower Muskogee
Creek Indians, 1715–1836
A Dan Josselyn Memorial Publication
Archaeology of the Lower Muskogee
Creek Indians, 1715–1836
H. THOMAS FOSTER II
With Contributions by Mary Theresa Bonhage-Freund
and Lisa O’Steen
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS
Tuscaloosa
Copyright © 2007
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Typeface: Minion
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Foster, Thomas, 1970–
Archaeology of the Lower Muskogee Creek Indians, 1715–1836 / H. Thomas Foster II ; with
contributions by Mary Theresa Bonhage-Freund and Lisa O’Steen.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8173-1239-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8173-1239-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-8173-5365-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-8173-5365-8
1. Creek Indians—Chattahoochee River Valley—Antiquities. 2. Creek Indians—Material
culture—Chattahoochee River Valley. 3. Excavations (Archaeology)—Chattahoochee River
Valley. 4. Chattahoochee River Valley—Antiquities. I. Bonhage-Freund, Mary Theresa.
II. O’Steen, Lisa, 1956– III. Title.
E99.C9F67 2007
758.004′97385—dc22
2006014322
To the Maskókalkî
Excavating or collecting artifacts from federal property without a
permit is a criminal offense punishable by ¤nes, imprisonment, and
con¤scation of property.
Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xxi
Notes on Orthography and Pronunciation xxiii
1. Ethnohistoric Context 1
2. Environmental Context 26
Thomas Foster and Mary Theresa Bonhage-Freund
3. History of Archaeological Investigations 37
4. Pottery 72
5. Architecture 102
6. Botanical Remains 136
Mary Theresa Bonhage-Freund
7. Animal Remains 194
Lisa O’Steen
8. Conclusion 256
Bibliography 267
Index 289

Figures
1.1. Region of the Muskogee Creek Indians during the eighteenth to early
nineteenth centuries 3
1.2. Creek town layout, adapted from Ephraim G. Squier’s engraving of
“Creek Towns and Dwellings” 23
2.1. Map of the region of the Lower Creek Indians (1715–1836) 35
2.2. Georgia rainfall between 1700 and 1836 as estimated from
dendrochronology 36
3.1. Region of the Chattahoochee River showing the Walter F. George
Reservoir, the Fort Benning Military Reservation, and the Oliver
Basin archaeological surveys 38
3.2. Location of Cheauhoochee, Apalachicola, and the Spanish Fort
(1689–1691) on the Chattahoochee River during the eighteenth to
early nineteenth centuries 47
3.3. Location of Auputaue on the Upatoi Creek during the eighteenth to
early nineteenth centuries 51
3.4. Location of Yuchi, Oosoochee, Captain Ellick’s town, Cheahau,
Ocmulgee, and Hitchitee on the Chattahoochee River during the
eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries 53
3.5. Location of Cussetuh, Cussetuh Old Town, Cowetuh, and Cowetuh
Talluahassee on the Chattahoochee River during the eighteenth to
early nineteenth centuries 55
3.6. Location of Sauwoogelo and Tamathli on the Chattahoochee River
during the eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries 61