The functional dimensions of earth oven cooking: An analysis of an accidently burned maize roast at the C. W. Cooper site in West-central Illinois

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of earth ovens, a subclass of pit features used for cooking, there is little consensus regarding how these cooking features were used or about the foodstuffs that were prepared in them. To provide a more detailed understanding of earth oven cooking in the archaeological record, we analyze the archaeobotanical contents, stratigraphy, and morphology of a cooking pit recently excavated at C. W. Cooper, an early Mississippian (a.d. 1150–1200) site in west-central Illinois in order to contribute to research on late Prehistoric foodways. Filled with nearly 100 ears of maize, this earth oven presents the opportunity to document the process of undertaking a maize roast. The volume of maize and its presence within a dense concentration of cooking, processing, and storage facilities allows us to consider the communal nature of outdoor earth oven cooking in the 12th century Central Illinois Valley and the socioeconomic dimensions of commensal politics more broadly during the Precolumbian era.     

Evidence of Prehistoric Scalping at Vosberg,Central Arizona

Four crania recovered during the 1970 Arizona State University field school season at a prehistoric site in Vosberg, Arizona show parallel clusters of cut marks characteristic of scalping with a stone knife. These victims were identified during a general survey of the Vosberg skeletons for evidence of trauma and pathology. The discovery of these four victims in the same atypical burial context provides clues to the nature of the scalping custom in the American Southwest prior to European contact and brings the total number of prehistoric scalping victims reported from the Southwest to 15 individuals. Perimortem depressed fractures in two of the crania, and the presence of a stone arrow point within the chest of one of the skeletons, indicates that the scalping of these individuals was the result of violence rather than medicinal or ritual treatment.     

10,000 Years in the Rocky Mountains: The Helen Lookingbill Site

Abstract

Located in a spring-fed meadow at 2620 masl, Helen Lookingbill is a stratified, high-altitude open site in the Washakie Range of the Absaroka Mountains in NW Wyoming. The site contains cultural material ranging in age from Paleoindian through Late Prehistoric periods. Although the densest cultural deposits date to the Early Archaic (8000–5000 b.p., uncalibrated), other time periods are well represented. A 10,400 year old layer comprises the earliest component (Haskett/Hell Gap) in the main excavation area; above it is a series of Late Paleoindian, Early Archaic, later Archaic, and Late Prehistoric components. The major materials at the site are chipped stone and bone, while a deer bone bed dating between 6500 and 6800 b.p. is contained within the main excavation block. In addition to deet; the site contains the remains of mountain sheep, bison, porcupine, and other mammals. Located on and near both quartzite and chert stone sources, the mountain meadow served as a prehistoric camp site and yielded evidence of tool production, heat treatment, refurbishing, and use. Interdisciplinary research provides much information pertinent to understanding the nature of site occupation with implications for regional cultural dynamics, high altitude hunter-gatherer adaptations, and site formation processes.     

A possible massacre at Early Bronze Age Titriş Höyük,Anatolia

Trauma is among the most important sources of data providing information related to systematic violence, battles and massacres among ancient populations. In this study, a mass grave from Titriş Höyük in the Southeast Anatolia was examined in terms of cranial traumas. Skeletal remains of minimum 19 individuals were placed on a plaster basin as a secondary interment. The frequency of cranial trauma was 81.3% among 16 available adult crania. The fact that the perimortem traumas were observed on both sex groups and the presence of two children and an infant on the basin suggest the possibility of these individuals being subjected to an attack or a massacre. It has been determined that the frequency of traumas in the common burials increased more than twofold from Early‐Mid EBA (6.7%) to Late EBA (14.3%). While all of the injuries observed in Early‐Mid EBA were in the form of healed depressed trauma, penetrated traumas were also encountered in Late EBA. The increased frequency of cranial trauma with unusual interment on a plaster basin indicated that a social stress might have taken place in Titriş Höyük. It is concluded that the collapse of the Akkadian Empire, the deterioration of the trade‐based economy and resource stress might have been possible factors that played a role in the excessive violence, or a massacre in Titriş Höyük. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Analysis of Textile Fragments from the Janey B. Goode Site

Abstract

Excavations at the Janey B.Goode site (11S1232), located in the American Bottom region of Illinois, yielded carbonized textile remains from two pit features dating to the Terminal Late Woodland period and from one pit feature dating to the Mississippian period. The remains comprise both twisted or braided cordage pieces and actual twined textile fragments ranging in size from 2×3 cm to over 9×9 cm. Four different twining techniques are represented: two types of compact twining and two types of space twining. All textiles appear to be constructed of bast fibers, probably from the outer part of herbaceous plant stems. The textiles are similar to those described from other Midwestern sites dating to the Woodland and Mississippian periods, reflecting the existence of a widespread fiber industry. In this paper, the textiles from the Janey B. Goode site and the production technology used to produce them are described.     

Determining the Age of GLO-mapped Trail Networks: A GIS Analysis of Northern Iowa

Abstract

Between 1833 and 1861, the Government Land Office (GLO) mapped almost 11,000 km of trails in Iowa. It is unknown if substantial portions of this GLO-mapped trail system predate the arrival of Euro-Americans; it is possible they were established in prehistory and used into the historical period. This Geographical Information Systems study compares a sample of archaeological sites within 1 km of the GLO trails in northern Iowa with a control sample. It was expected that GLO trails would be more common near Late Prehistoric sites if much of the GLO trail system was established before Euro-American arrival. Analysis indicates a relationship between GLO-mapped trails and Late Prehistoric, early historic Indian, and early historic Euro-American sites. Statistically, the connection between GLO trails and early historic Euro-American sites is by far the strongest; however, biases in the data suggest the association between Late Prehistoric and early historic Indian sites and GLO trails is underestimated.     

‘Parry’ fractures and female-directed interpersonal violence: Implications from the Late Archaic Period of west Tennessee

The recognition of a high frequency of ‘parry’ fractures in the females from the Late Archaic Period (2500–1000/500 BC ) west Tennessee site of Eva prompted a more thorough examination of female-directed interpersonal violence in prehistoric Tennessee sites. The study examined forearm fractures in eight (N = 308) Late Archaic Period hunter-gatherer sites and five (N = 501) Mississippian Period (c. AD 1200–1600) agriculturalist sites. On the basis of chi-square test results, there does not appear to be any gender bias in forearm fracture occurrence in the Archaic Period. The high frequency of female ‘parry’ fractures at Eva was an artefact of the ratio of females to males. More importantly, craniofacial trauma data do not support an aetiology that would explain mid-shaft forearm fractures as a result of interpersonal violence.     

A Bioarchaeological and Biogeochemical Study of Warfare and Mobility in Andahuaylas,Peru (ca. ad 1160–1260)

Warfare impacts how people and populations can move about the landscape. Ethnographers have posited that internal warfare, conflict that takes place within a single society, is strongly associated with female abduction. In contrast, external warfare, combat between different societies, is often accompanied by the in‐migration of men for purposes of defence. To test this assertion, we evaluate human remains from one of the most violent eras in Andean prehistory, the Late Intermediate Period (ad 1000–1400). In the south‐central highlands of Andahuaylas, Peru, this era witnessed the coalescence of two formidable polities, the Chanka and the Quichua. Ethnohistoric accounts describe internal warfare among the Chanka and external warfare between the Quichua and their neighbours. In this study, bioarchaeological and biogeochemical methods are marshalled to elucidate ancient patterns of violence and mobility with greater nuance. We employ strontium isotope analysis of tooth enamel apatite to inform on residential origin, and we reconstruct patterns of violent conflict through analysis of cranial trauma. In all, 265 crania were excavated from 17 cave ossuaries at two Chanka sites and one Quichua site. Data were collected on age, sex and cranial modification—an indicator of social identity and cranial trauma. A representative subsample of molars from 34 individuals subjected to strontium isotope analysis demonstrates that among the Chanka, violence was significantly directed towards social groups within society, marked by modified crania. The presence of two nonlocal women with signs of increased morbidity and mistreatment points to possible mobility‐by‐abduction. In contrast, among the Quichua, men have significantly more trauma, and wounds are concentrated on the anterior. Trauma on women is lower, nonlethal, and concentrated on the posterior. This divergent pattern is commonly observed in external warfare (raids and community defence), where men face attackers and women escape them. The presence of two nonlocal men supports a mobility model of strategic in‐migration. In sum, osteological and isotopic data sets are shown to reveal divergent life‐course experiences not captured by the archaeological data or historic records alone. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal trends in violence during the Mississippian period in the Middle Cumberland Region of Tennessee

This study utilizes a biocultural approach to investigate skeletal evidence for violence among Mississippian communities in the Middle Cumberland Region (MCR) of Tennessee. Bioarchaeological evidence for violence is placed within the local environmental and cultural context in order to better understand temporal trends in regional conflict. Bioarchaeological analyses were conducted on the crania of 599 adult individuals from 13 sites in the MCR. Approximately 7.2 percent of the sample (43/599) showed evidence of violent cranial injuries in the form of scalping, sharp force trauma, and blunt force trauma. While overall trauma frequencies appear to increase during the later Mississippian period, this may reflect a shift in the nature of violence, rather than simply an intensification of intergroup conflict. More fine-grained temporal comparisons are made for samples from the late Mississippian Averbuch site. The variability in the frequencies and types of violence observed within the MCR demonstrates the issues inherent in the reliance on broad generalizations about human behavior in the past and highlights the importance of utilizing both a regional and diachronic approach.     

Molecular evidence of changing foodways across the Mississippian transition at the George Reeves site (11S650)

ABSTRACT

The George Reeves site (11S650) is a multicomponent village on the bluffs in the central American Bottom, Illinois. The site was occupied from the Late Woodland Rosewood phase through the Mississippian Lohmann phase. Pottery use and dietary variation between the Late Woodland and Emergent Mississippian occupations at the site were explored through stylistic analysis, pottery residue analysis, and compound-specific carbon isotopic analysis of pottery residues. Although more samples should be analyzed, diet and pottery use at George Reeves seems to have been varied, with maize present by cal AD 900–1000, but comprising a relatively small portion of lipid residues in pottery. Residue analysis indicates a C₄ presence in 5 of 16 sampled pots from the early Emergent Mississippian deriving from either maize or from meat from animals consuming maize. Pottery residues were mixed, showing C₃ and C₄ plants as well as meat and fish or shellfish. One residue showed a high incidence of C₄ contribution, most likely from Portulaca oleracea (common purslane), as well as large amounts of fish or shellfish and another C₃ plant. Residue from a ceramic pipestem indicates that maize may have been smoked, probably in the form of maize silk mixed with other nontobacco plants.     

The Land of Morgan

A number of injuries were observed in a recent examination of 150 Thames ‘river skulls’. Eight of these, exhibiting both healed and unhealed blunt force trauma, were sampled for AMS ¹⁴C dating. The results span the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age/Romano-British period, with the majority falling within the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age. Given the potential time-span involved, this clustering is striking—particularly as it is consistent with the results of other dating programmes on Thames crania—and appears to confirm the likelihood of an association between human remains and weaponry entering the Thames over this period. In this regard, it is intriguing that the majority of the injuries are the result of blows with a blunt instrument, raising questions over the nature of conflict at this time. Other crania do show sharp force injuries, but have yet to be systematically dated. We discuss these results in the broader context of recent discoveries of human remains and weapons associated with watery places in later prehistory across northern Europe, reinforcing the idea that both are best seen within a context of ritual deposition, though the details vary across time and space.     

DENTAL ATTRITION AT THE INDIAN KNOLL (15OH2) AND BLACK EARTH (11SA87) SITES: EXTREME WEAR AS A STRESSOR IN LATE ARCHAIC POPULATIONS OF THE OHIO VALLEY

Abstract

This study investigates comparatively the prospect that excessive dental wear in certain Late Archaic populations in eastern North America was caused by extensive shellfish consumption and the associated ingestion of grit. Specifically, the amount and rate of dental wear at Indian Knoll, a large shell midden site in western Kentucky, are compared to those at the Black Earth site, a contemporary occupation in southern Illinois with no evidence of shellfish utilization. Results show no significant differences in dental wear between Indian Knoll and Black Earth and point correspondingly toward the alternative prospect that the intensification of Late Archaic food-processing technology using stone-grinding and hot-rock cooking was the proximate cause. Such technologies provided short-term caloric benefits, but long-term disease consequences for adults of child-bearing age. A decrease in young adult dental wear correlates with the adoption of both food production and pottery in the subsequent Woodland period.     

Animal Remains from the Carter Creek Site: Late Woodland Adaptive Strategies in the Upland Frontier of West Central Illinois

Abstract

The Carter Creek site (11-Md-817) was a village located at the prairie edge in west central Illinois during the early Late Woodland Weaver phase (Esarey et al. 1984). This occupation represents a frontier upland community (Green 1987, 1993). Animal remains recovered from the Carter Creek site are compared to contemporaneous samples from the region in order to test hypotheses proposed by Green (1987, 1993) and Styles (2000). It is found that the “pioneers” at Carter Creek continued to hunt and fish as their ancestors had (cf. Green 1987, 1993), but with some adjustments to optimize local resources (cf. Styles 2000). There is no evidence of venison trading or tribute found at this or any contemporaneous sites.     

Consequences of conquest? The analysis and interpretation of subadult trauma at Puruchuco-Huaquerones, Peru

This paper examines bioarchaeological evidence of violence and traumatic injury on subadult skeletal remains from two Late Horizon (A.D. 1470-1540) cemeteries within the archaeological zone of Puruchuco-Huaquerones, Peru. Here we present the frequency and types of traumatic lesions on the 242 subadults analyzed. We observed significant increases in the frequency of subadult trauma, particularly among the burials associated with Spanish Conquest. Specifically, we noted a statistically significant increase in the frequency of cranial trauma in a subsample of individuals from one of two cemeteries at the site, 57AS03. These perimortem cranial injuries suggest an intensification of violence and lethality that may have affected the children from this community. We then discuss the biocultural implications of this analysis within the context of Spanish invasion and conquest.     

Warfare and mortality at Koger's Island,Alabama

Koger's Island, a late prehistoric agricultural community in the southeastern USA, is the site of a cemetery containing four mass graves of individuals with perimortem trauma and scalping cutmarks. Although the site as a whole has a demographic profile typical for a society of this kind (with high infant mortality), the mass graves contain relatively few infants or children, and an abundance of adult males. It is suggested that the skeletons found in the multiple burials represent the victims of raiding or warfare. The disproportionate number of males in the mass graves may be related to the fact that relatively few males at the site are older than 50 years, presumably because they are dying at an early age from violence.     

Patterns of Cranial Trauma in a Prehistoric Population from Central California

Evidence of cranial trauma was investigated in a skeletal sample from the site CA-Ala-329 located on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay, Central California. The sample included 365 crania, including 134 adult males, 104 adult females, 22 adults of indeterminate sex and 105 subadults. Evidence of cranio-facial fracture was found in eight individuals, one of whom is an adolescent. Thus, the frequency in adult crania of traumatic injury is 7/260 (2.7 per cent). Of the seven individuals of known sex displaying such cranial trauma, all are male. The injuries are generally suggestive of some form of interpersonal aggression, with five healed vault fractures, one lesion with an embedded obsidian fragment (a probable projectile point) and two healed facial fractures. Further clear evidence of interpersonal aggression has been previously determined in this sample and has been reported at even higher levels elsewhere in California. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contested archaeological approaches to mass grave exhumations in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT

Within the last 50 years, present day Zimbabwe, (Figure 1), formerly Rhodesia, a Southern African country, has gone through various pogroms resulting in the death of over 50,000 people in total both within and outside the country. The massacres consist of the Liberation War (1966–1979); political violence characterized by every election since 1980; the Matabeleland Democide (1982–1987); and the diamond conflict in Marange, Eastern Zimbabwe (2006–2018). These various episodes of violence have produced a myriad of human body depositional sites which include mine shafts, mass graves at schools and hospitals, burials at detention centres, pit latrines, and caves. This paper will analyse the disagreements and antagonism between professional archaeologists and vernacular exhumers that emerged during various limited exhumation of mass graves within the country. The paper will conclude by offering avenues of approaches to mass graves exhumation as the material evidence might in future, subject to judicial inquiries, contribute towards truth telling and peace and reconciliation.     

Settlement networks and the organization of lithic tool production in the Late Prehistoric period (a.d. 1000–1780), Lower Nueces River Valley,South Texas

Abstract

Evidence from one of several Late Prehistoric settlement networks in the Lower Nueces River Valley in Texas demonstrates that base camps were surrounded by smaller-sized temporary camps. Local groups utilized nearby stone quarries, moved raw material to their settlements and reduced cores, preforms, and bifaces into tools for domestic use and portable toolkits. The Lower Nueces River Valley settlement organization and tool production during this period suggest restricted mobility, base camp sedentism, and abundant resource supply. This organizational structure promoted a complex foraging economy and perhaps the emergence of territorial clustering.     

Women's Participation in Prehistoric Warfare: A Central Illinois River Valley Case Study

Considerations of Native American warriorhood are likely to conjure images of male‐bodied, masculine individuals. While the majority of formally recognized warriors may have indeed fit this mould, it is also true that female‐bodied/feminine warriors have been historically documented in many places, including North America. Further, even in cases where women were not formally recognized as such, it seems likely that they played offensive and defensive roles on an ‘as needed’ basis, such as on subsistence outings or when their homes and families were under attack. In this paper, we seek to explore the intersection of womanhood and warfare‐related violence at Morton Village (11 F2) and the associated Norris Farms #36 cemetery. This late prehistoric community in the Central Illinois River Valley has been the subject of extensive bioarchaeological interest regarding high levels of skeletally indicated violent trauma. We review this osteological evidence in addition to incorporating mortuary and subsistence perspectives on the ideology and practice of warfare at this time and place. A tripartite approach considering osteological trauma patterns, mortuary commemoration, and new interpretations of community life leads us to suggest an alternate interpretation—one in which Morton Village women are, in at least some instances, considered as active defenders of their community and lifeways rather than passive victims of violence. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.