Histories of Southeastern Archaeology

408 Pages·2002·2.84 MB·English

by  Shannon Tushingham (ed.)

Histories of Southeastern Archaeology

Histories of
Southeastern Archaeology
Edited by Shannon Tushingham, Jane Hill,
and Charles H. McNutt
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS
Tuscaloosa
Copyright © 2002
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
The typeface is Minion
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Science–Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Histories of southeastern archaeology / edited by Shannon Tushingham, Jane Hill,
and Charles H. McNutt.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-8173-1139-4 (paper : alk. paper)
1. Indians of North America—Southern States—Antiquities. 2. Archaeologists—
Southern States—Interviews. 3. Archaeologists—Southern States—History.
4. Excavations (Archaeology)—Southern States—History. 5. Southern States—
Antiquities. I. Tushingham, Shannon. II. Hill, Jane, 1964– III. McNutt, Charles H.
E78.S65 H57 2002
975′.01—dc21
2001005411
Contents
List of Illustrations / vii
Précis / ix
Charles H. McNutt
Introduction / xv
Shannon Tushingham and Jane Hill
PART I: TOPICS
1. Excerpts from “Bringing the Past Alive”: Interviews with
William Haag and George Quimby / 3
William Haag, George Quimby, and Ann F. Ramenofsky
2. Museum Paradigms and the History of Southeastern
Archaeology / 13
David S. Brose
3. Forty Years of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex / 26
James A. Brown
4. Historical Archaeology in the Southeast, 1930–2000 / 35
Stanley South and Kathleen Deagan
5. Paleogeography and Geomorphology in the
Lower Mississippi Valley / 51
Roger T. Saucier
PART II: STATES
6. Some Ruminations on the Archaeology of Southeast Missouri / 63
Stephen Williams
7. Pot Hunters, Salvage, and Science in Arkansas, 1900–2000 / 77
Hester A. Davis
8. Louisiana Archaeology: A Selective History / 88
Robert W. Neuman
9. Rediscovering Illinois: The Development of Archaeology
in Illinois / 99
Jon Muller
10. The History of Archaeology in West Virginia / 115
Bettye J. Broyles
11. Virginia’s Archaeology: A Look Back and a Look Ahead / 126
Howard A. MacCord Sr.
12. North Carolina Archaeology in Historical Perspective / 136
Bennie C. Keel
13. A History of Archaeological Research in South Carolina / 145
David G. Anderson
14. Forty Years of Kentucky Archaeology or Incidents of Recent
Archaeological History in a Border State: A Review / 160
R. Berle Clay
15. A History of Tennessee Archaeology / 172
Charles H. Faulkner
16. One Hundred Years of Archaeology in Mississippi / 183
Jay K. Johnson
17. Alabama Archaeology in the Twentieth Century / 194
John A. Walthall, Vernon J. Knight Jr., and Gregory Waselkov
18. A Personal Perspective on Georgia Archaeology at the End of
the Twentieth Century / 209
Lewis Larson
19. Florida Archaeology: A Recent History / 219
Jerald T. Milanich
PART III: COMMENTARY
20. Histories by the Archaeologist, for the Archaeologist / 233
Kenneth E. Sassaman
References Cited / 243
Acknowledgments / 351
Contributors / 353
Index / 363
vi Contents
Illustrations
0.1. Charles H. McNutt and Bill Dunson at Sully
Field Camp, 1958 / x
0.2. Phoebe McNutt, Charles H. McNutt, James B. Grif¤n,
and Stephen Williams at Southeastern Archaeological
Conference meeting, 1982 / xii
0.3. Symposium participants at Southeastern Archaeological
Conference, Histories/Lower Mississippi Survey
reception, 1999 / xvii
0.4. Map of southeastern U.S. archaeological sites / xxi
1.1. William Haag and George Quimby / 5
1.2. James B. Grif¤n / 10
3.1. Eliza McFadden, Richard Bartlett, Phil Phillips,
Jim Brown, Barbara Page, and Jeff Brain at
Peabody Museum, 1980 / 28
5.1. Early and Late Wisconsinan stage valley train
surfaces and deposits / 54
5.2. James A. Ford / 55
5.3. Distribution of Dalton points / 56
6.1. Map of Sikeston Ridge / 67
6.2. Thomas Beckwith / 68
6.3. Beckwith collection / 69
7.1. Cob Cave, 1931 / 80
7.2. Means site, 1940 / 82
7.3. Map of reservoir surveys and testing in Arkansas / 85
8.1. Watson Brake site / 93
9.1. Kincaid, 1936 / 104
9.2. Kincaid, 1940 / 105
10.1. Archaeological sites in West Virginia / 117
13.1. Archaeological sites in South Carolina / 146
15.1. Madeline Kneberg Lewis and T. M. N. Lewis / 175
17.1. WPA excavations at sites Ma31 and Ma32 / 197
18.1. Excavations at Mound C, Etowah / 216
19.1. Charles Fairbanks and Jerald T. Milanich / 221
19.2. Workmen at shell midden near Thursby Mound, St. Johns River / 226
viii Illustrations
Précis
Charles H. McNutt
This volume has grown from seeds planted by two of my past graduate
students, Jane Hill and Shannon Tushingham, who wished to organize a ses-
sion at the Southeastern Archaeological Conference in my honor, featuring
senior scholars giving their personal views of the history of Southeastern ar-
chaeology. I made some of the initial contacts; responses were more than any-
one could hope for—a real geriatric happening.
Hill and Tushingham followed up in all phases of organization and also laid
the groundwork for publication of our efforts by the University of Alabama
Press. I am suf¤ciently honored to be a participant in the project.
As you all know, one of our most highly respected and fondly regarded con-
tributors, Roger Saucier, was not able to present his paper at SEAC in person.
It is our good fortune that Roger had completed his critical contribution to our
volume before his untimely death.
My colleague Charles Faulkner discusses the history of archaeology in Ten-
nessee. This leaves me free to add a brief personal note told, it is hoped, against
a background of more than three decades of Southeastern archaeology.
My ¤rst association with Southeastern archaeology came when I was a
graduate student at the University of Michigan. I accompanied Jimmy Grif¤n
and Al Spaulding to Poverty Point in 1955, I think, where we joined such other
notables as William Haag, Junius Bird, George Quimby, Clarence Webb, Stu
Neitzel, and Robert Greengo to discuss the puzzle of Poverty Point with Jim
Ford. The Michigan contingent returned by way of Nodena Plantation, where
I met the Hampsons; from there we went to see Cahokia, which I refused to
believe was a mound. In 1957 Grif¤n and Spaulding also took me to the four-
teenth SEAC in Macon, Georgia. In those days, professors took graduate stu-
dents to sites and went out of their way to introduce them to other professionals.
As auspicious as this was, I was an ingrate. I had gotten my master’s degree
in the Southwest and could not understand why people would dig among roots,
mud, poison ivy, mosquitoes, and chiggers. I still don’t really understand it.
After passing my preliminary doctoral exams and digging my “dissertation
site”—in the Southwest—I went to work for Robert Stephenson in 1957 at the
River Basin Surveys located in Lincoln, Nebraska. My position was absolutely