Archaic Societies: Diversity and Complexity Across the Midcontinent

895 Pages·2009·18.82 MB·English

by  Thomas E. Emerson

Archaic Societies

Archaic Societies
Diversity and Complexity across the Midcontinent

edited by

Thomas E. Emerson, Dale L. McElrath, and Andrew C. Fortier

State University of New York Press
Albany, New York
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2009 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Archaic societies : diversity and complexity across the midcontinent / edited by
Thomas E. Emerson, Dale L. McElrath, and Andrew C. Fortier.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-2701-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Paleo-Indians--North
America. 2. Hunting and gathering societies--North America. 3. Archaeology-
-North America. I. Emerson, Thomas E., 1945- II. McElrath, Dale L., 1949- III.
Fortier, Andrew C., 1947-
E77.9.A7 2009
970.01--dc22
2008047545
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Table of Contents
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................................vii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................................xvii
Preface .........................................................................................................................................................................xix
Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................................xxiii
Part 1. An Archaic Overview
1 An Introduction to the Archaic Societies of the Midcontinent,
Dale L. McElrath, Andrew C. Fortier, and Thomas E. Emerson ........................................................................................3
2 The Eastern Woodlands Archaic and the Tyranny of Theory, Thomas E. Emerson and Dale L. McElrath ......................23
3 Archaic Faunal Exploitation in the Prairie Peninsula and Surrounding Regions of the Midcontinent,
Bonnie W. Styles and R. Bruce McMillan ...................................................................................................................39
4 A Regional and Chronological Synthesis of Archaic Period Plant Use in the Midcontinent, Mary L. Simon ............81
5 Archaic Burial Sites in the American Midcontinent, George R. Milner, Jane E. Buikstra, and Michael D. Wiant ..........115
6 Dalton and the Early Holocene Midcontinent: Setting the Stage, Brad Koldehoff and John A. Walthall .....................137
Part 2. Stratigraphic Sequences in the Archaic Period
7 Archaic Prehistory of the Western Ozarks of Southwest Missouri,
Jack H. Ray, Neal H. Lopinot, and Edwin R. Hajic ..................................................................................................155
8 Dated Projectile Point Sequences from Modoc Rock Shelter and Applications of Assemblage-Based Analysis,
Steven R. Ahler and Brad Koldehoff ........................................................................................................................199
9 The Archaic Period in the Lower Illinois River Basin,
Michael D. Wiant, Kenneth B. Farnsworth, and Edwin R. Hajic .................................................................................229
10 Archaic Period Chronology in the Hill Country of Southern Indiana, C. Russell Stafford and Mark Cantin ...........287
Part 3. The Mississippi River Region
11 The American Bottom: An Archaic Cultural Crossroads,
Dale L. McElrath, Andrew C. Fortier, Brad Koldehoff, and Thomas E. Emerson .............................................................317
12 Archaic Period of East-Central Missouri, Joseph L. Harl .......................................................................................377
13 Archaic Cultural Variation and Lifeways in West-Central Illinois, David J. Nolan and Richard L. Fishel ....................401
14 Archaic Periods in Eastern Iowa, David W. Benn and Joe B. Thompson ....................................................................491
Part 4. The Ohio River Region and Southeast
15 The Ohio Archaic: A Review, Matthew P. Purtill ..................................................................................................565
16 Land between the Rivers: The Archaic Period of Southernmost Illinois, Brian M. Butler .......................................607
17 Archaic Cultures of Western Kentucky, Richard W. Jefferies ....................................................................................635
18 The View from the Southeast, Tristram R. Kidder and Kenneth E. Sassaman ............................................................667
v
vi Contents
Part 5. The Great Lakes
19 The Archaic Tradition in Wisconsin, Thomas C. Pleger and James B. Stoltman .........................................................697
20 Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations and Alternative Perspectives on the Michigan Archaic:
Research Problems in Context, William A. Lovis .................................................................................................725
21 Defining the Archaic in Northern Illinois, Rochelle Lurie, Douglas Kullen, and Scott J. Demel ..................................755
22 At the Crossroads and Periphery: The Archaic Archaeological Record of Southern Ontario,
Christopher Ellis, Peter A. Timmins, and Holly Martelle .............................................................................................787
Part 6. Concluding Comments
23 Concluding Thoughts on the Archaic Occupation of the Eastern Woodlands,
Dale L. McElrath and Thomas E. Emerson ..............................................................................................................841
Index ..........................................................................................................................................................................857
vii
Figures
3.1. Study area and Archaic sites used in the quantitative analyses of faunal exploitation .............................................39
3.2. Proportion of vertebrate NISP (number of identified specimens) in each faunal category for early early
Holocene site components.............................................................................................................................61
3.3. Proportion of vertebrate NISP (number of identified specimens) in each faunal category for late early
Holocene site components.............................................................................................................................62
3.4. Bison index [bison NISP / (bison + deer NISP) x 100] for late early Holocene site components ........................62
3.5. Deer index [deer NISP / (deer + squirrel NISP) x 100] for late early Holocene site components ........................63
3.6. Rabbit index [rabbit NISP / (rabbit + deer NISP) x 100] for late early Holocene site components .....................63
3.7. Squirrel index [squirrel NISP / (squirrel + deer NISP) x 100] for late early Holocene site components ...............64
3.8. Fish index [fish NISP / (fish + deer NISP) x 100] for late early Holocene site components .................................65
3.9. Proportion of vertebrate NISP (number of identified specimens) in each faunal category for early middle
Holocene site components.............................................................................................................................65
3.10. Proportion of vertebrate NISP (number of identified specimens) in each faunal category for middle middle
Holocene site components.............................................................................................................................66
3.11. Proportion of vertebrate NISP (number of identified specimens) in each faunal category for late middle
Holocene site components.............................................................................................................................67
3.12. Bison index [bison NISP / (bison + deer NISP) x 100] for late middle Holocene site components .....................68
3.13. Deer index [deer NISP / (deer + squirrel NISP) x 100] for late middle Holocene site components.....................68
3.14. Squirrel index [squirrel NISP / (squirrel + deer NISP) x 100] for late middle Holocene site components ..........69
3.15. Rabbit index [rabbit NISP / (rabbit + deer NISP) x 100] for late middle Holocene site components ..................69
3.16. Fish index [fish NISP / (fish + deer NISP) x 100] for late-middle Holocene site components .............................70
3.17. Proportion of vertebrate NISP (number of identified specimens) in each faunal category for early late
Holocene site components.............................................................................................................................70
3.18. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) plot of faunal category variables based on patterning in
Archaic site components ................................................................................................................................71
3.19. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) plot of Archaic site components based on patterning in
faunal categories ............................................................................................................................................71
4.1. Midwest vegetation model at 10,000 B.C. ..........................................................................................................85
4.2. Early Archaic sites with analyzed plant remains....................................................................................................88
4.3. Middle Archaic sites with analyzed plant remains ................................................................................................90
4.4. Late Archaic sites with analyzed plant remains .....................................................................................................95
4.5. Terminal Late Archaic sites with analyzed plant remains ......................................................................................96
4.6. Midwest vegetation model at 1000 B.C. .............................................................................................................96
4.7. Average contributions of nutmeats, estimated on the basis of nutshell weights, to grouped Archaic and
Terminal Late Archaic assemblages in three parts of the Midwest ....................................................................97
4.8. Scanning electron micrograph of wild rice (Zizania aquatica) and scanning electron micrograph of
Chenopodium berlandieri showing rounded margin ...........................................................................................98
5.1. Most Archaic skeletons were excavated early in the twentieth century, particularly during
t .h..e.. .G...r.e..a.t. .D...e..p..r.e..s.s.i.o..n.....................................................................................................115
5.2. Most late Middle to Late Archaic skeletons from the Green River area in Kentucky were partly or
fully flexed, much like this individual from the Read shell heap ....................................................................118
5.3. The distribution of beads associated with 216 skeletons from late Middle to Late Archaic Green River sites ......125
5.4. The distribution of beads associated with 216 skeletons from late Middle to Late Archaic Green River sites.
Axes are plotted using log scales ...................................................................................................................125
5.5. An antler point (ca. 10 cm long) was lodged in a lumbar vertebra from C. B. Moore’s excavation at
Indian Knoll, Kentucky ...............................................................................................................................128
6.1. Location of the Dalton Heartland, important sites, and related Dalton-horizon complexes .................................138
6.2. Point type clusters of the Dalton horizon ..........................................................................................................139
6.3. Location of the Crescent quarries and Sloan Dalton discoveries in the central Mississippi Valley .........................141
vii
viii Figures
6.4. Dalton points and adzes from the American Bottom region ..............................................................................142
6.5. Plots of nonlocal (long-distance) raw materials used by Clovis and Dalton groups in the
central Mississippi Valley ...............................................................................................................................144
7.1. Physiographic subprovinces in the western Ozarks ............................................................................................156
7.2. Location of Big Eddy and other sites discussed in the text .................................................................................158
7.3. Blocks F–K and Trenches 1, 3, and 4 in relation to stream banks T1a, T1b, and T1c1–2 at the Big Eddy site .......159
7.4. Collapsed stratigraphic profile of the middle submember oriented perpendicular to the T1c stream bank and
north–south trending alluvial ridge illustrating diagnostic artifacts, radiocarbon ages, and isochrones .............163
7.5. Packard points, 23CE426 ..................................................................................................................................163
7.6. Breckenridge points ..........................................................................................................................................164
7.7. Scottsbluff points ..............................................................................................................................................165
7.8. Cache River points ...........................................................................................................................................166
7.9. Graham Cave points .........................................................................................................................................166
7.10. Graham Cave component piece plots and features in relation to excavation units and the alluvial
r ..i.d.g..e.. .s.u..m...m...i.t............................................................................................................................167
7.11. Rice Lobed points ............................................................................................................................................168
7.12. Hidden Valley points .........................................................................................................................................169
7.13. Hidden Valley component piece plots, features, and activity areas in relation to excavation units and the
alluvial ridge summit ...................................................................................................................................170
7.14. Searcy points ....................................................................................................................................................171
7.15. Jakie points .......................................................................................................................................................172
7.16. White River points ...........................................................................................................................................175
7.17. Hogan Creek site artifacts .................................................................................................................................176
7.18. Cottonrock artifacts from the Hogan Creek site ................................................................................................176
7.19. Ground-stone artifacts from the Hogan Creek site ............................................................................................177
7.20. Calf Creek points .............................................................................................................................................177
7.21. Generalized cultural stratigraphic model for the Late Archaic at the Big Eddy site .............................................179
7.22. Smith points .....................................................................................................................................................179
7.23. Etley points ......................................................................................................................................................179
7.24. Smith-Etley points ............................................................................................................................................180
7.25. Chipped-stone adzes from the Smith-Etley component at Big Eddy .................................................................180
7.26. Smith-Etley component piece plots, features, and activity areas in relation to excavation units and the
T1b stream bank ..........................................................................................................................................182
7.27. Williams-component piece plots, features, and midden deposits in relation to excavation units and the
T1a and T1b stream banks ...........................................................................................................................185
7.28. Williams points .................................................................................................................................................186
7.29. Kings points .....................................................................................................................................................187
7.30. Afton points .....................................................................................................................................................189
8.1. Location of Modoc Rock Shelter and the Modoc Village site (11R266) ...........................................................199
8.2. Site plan of Modoc Rock Shelter showing excavation areas ..............................................................................200
8.3. West Shelter stratigraphy ...................................................................................................................................202
8.4. Upper portion of Main Shelter stratigraphy showing stratigraphic sequence in the East Pillar area .....................203
8.5. Lower portion of Main Shelter stratigraphy showing stratigraphic sequence of the Main Trench ........................204
8.6. Reconstructed strata in the Main Shelter ..........................................................................................................207
8.7. Reconstructed strata in the Main Shelter ..........................................................................................................207
8.8. Reconstructed strata in the West Pillar portion of the Main Shelter ...................................................................208
8.9. Projectile points from EAR1 and EAR2 contexts .............................................................................................209
8.10. Projectile points from MAR1 contexts .............................................................................................................211
8.11. Projectile points from MAR2 contexts .............................................................................................................212
8.12. Projectile points from MAR3 contexts .............................................................................................................213
8.13. Projectile points from MAR4 contexts .............................................................................................................213
8.14. Projectile points from MAR5 contexts .............................................................................................................214
8.15. Projectile points from MAR6 contexts .............................................................................................................215
8.16. Projectile points from LAR1 contexts ...............................................................................................................216
8.17. Projectile points from LAR2 contexts ..............................................................................................................217