THE 1974–75 EXCAVATIONS AT MOUND BOTTOM,A PALISADED MISSISSIPPIAN CENTER IN CHEATHAM COUNTY,TENNESSEE

Abstract

Mound Bottom (40CH8) is a large complex of 14 prehistoric mounds located in a horseshoe-shaped bend of the Harpeth River, a tributary of the Cumberland, in Cheatham County, Tennessee. It, together with another mound group 3 km to the south known as the Pack site (40CH1), received sporadic archaeological attention during the first half of the twentieth century, but it was not until 1974 that systematic work was carried out at either mound center. Over portions of that and the following year, Mound Bottom was mapped in detail and excavations were carried out to document the range in variability of mound construction and community structure. Six mounds were tested and 19 houses were partially or totally excavated. House types included both single-set-post structures and wall-trench structures. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from Mound Bottom span about a 600-year period from the eighth through the fourteenth centuries.     

Radiocarbon Dates on Textile and Bark Samples from the Central Grave of the Adena Mound (33RO1), Chillicothe,Ohio

The Adena Mound (33RO1) is the type site of the Adena culture, yet there have been no radiocarbon dates to place it reliably within a temporal framework. Fortunately, the artifact collection, curated by the Ohio Historical Society, includes objects that are highly suitable for radiocarbon dating, including fragments of textiles and tree bark associated with the central burial. We selected a textile fragment and two bark fragments for radiocarbon dating. The textile exhibits alternate pair twine with very fine yarns probably composed of cellulose bast fibers. The bark is from a black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) tree. The results of the radiocarbon dating indicate that the Adena Mound was constructed between the end of the second century B.C. and the beginning of the first century A.D., placing it near the midpoint in the sequence of radiocarbon-dated Adena culture sites. This study demonstrates the value of museum collections for gleaning new data from curated materials.     

Returning to the Kamp Mound Group (11C12): Results from Geomagnetic Survey and High-Density Topographic Mapping in Calhoun County,Illinois

This article addresses the use of high-density topographic mapping and geomagnetic fieldwork as part of an ongoing research program focused on evaluating the role of monumental architecture in the construction and maintenance of differing scales of community during Middle (ca. 50 cal B.C.–cal A.D. 400) and Late (ca. cal A.D. 400–1000) Woodland periods in the Lower Illinois River Valley. At the 2013 Center for American Archeology and Arizona State University field school, a 2.46-ha area at the Kamp Mound Group (11C12) containing Mounds 1, 6, 7, 8, and 9 was surveyed using magnetic fluxgate gradiometry and mapped using a high-density robotic total station. Our survey results demonstrate that highly disturbed mounds have significant interpretable structure that can be used as primary data to better understand spatial attributes related to evaluating site organization, distribution of activity areas in nonmounded space, and internal mound structure and composition.     

THE BILTMORE MOUND AND HOPEWELLIAN MOUND USE IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS

Abstract

Biltmore Mound, located on the Swannanoa River in Asheville, North Carolina, was constructed over a Connestee phase habitation, the earliest evidence dating to about A.D. 300. Mound construction began sometime between A.D. 400 and 550, with the second to last mound stage constructed about A.D. 580–600. Because of the diverse contexts and the excellent preservation of faunal remains, we are able to provide some insights into Connestee ritualism at Biltmore Mound. The Biltmore Mound was a platform used to support large public structures for ritual and ceremonial activities. It was constructed of varying colored and textured soils from a variety of source areas that arguably had symbolic importance. The mound was primarily built out (rather than up) with several mantles that may have comprised a complete ritual cycle of mound construction.     

THE CHRONOLOGY OF MONKS MOUND

Abstract

Monks Mound is the largest single Native American construction in North America. The mound sits at the center of the Cahokia site, and interpretations of its construction and use are fundamental for understanding how Mississippian peoples created mounds and landscapes. In the past, researchers speculated that Monks Mound was both one of the oldest and longest-lived monuments at Cahokia. Using a Bayesian computer model that incorporates both archaeological information and radiocarbon dates, I argue the mound is younger and was built more rapidly than previously thought. The mound likely was built in two very rapid efforts spanning fewer than twenty years. This analysis shows Cahokian society could mobilize vast quantities of labor for short periods, which may have inhibited institutionalized, transgenerational sociopolitical hierarchies.     

Geochemical methods for inferring seasonal occupation of an estuarine shellmound: a case study from San Francisco Bay

Seasonal patterns of Native American residence and use of shell mounds of the San Francisco Bay area, California are of great interest. This work investigates seasonal occupation by means of a new method for interpretation of geochemical data from Mytilus trossulus specimens recovered from one of these structures, the Ellis Landing Shell Mound (CA-CCO-295). The approach, which is suitable for relatively small shell fragments from a variety of archaeological contexts, is used to infer the environmental conditions (temperature and salinity of ambient water) at harvest time, compared with average conditions for the period, and thus estimate the season during which the shells were harvested. This information, in turn, is employed to evaluate current models about the growth and construction of prehistoric shell mounds in San Francisco Bay. The method was applied to seven different lenses in the shell mound ranging in age from ∼240 cal yr BP to ∼3510 cal yr BP. We found that, although seasonal occupation varied over time, it generally was confined to summer through late fall, with little indication of winter gathering. Our findings suggest that California shell mounds, such as Ellis Landing, were constructed in a very different manner than some other mounded places used by contemporaneous hunter-gatherers elsewhere in North America.     

Assessing the influence of agrochemicals on the rate of copper corrosion in the vadose zone of arable land Part 2: Laboratory simulations

Abstract

Gordion was the capital of ancient Phrygia and reputed home of King Midas (c. 700 BC). Its monuments include the Midas Tumulus, nearly a hundred smaller burial mounds and the ancient city of Gordion itself. Agricultural development and the natural forces of wind and water erosion threaten the integrity of these mounds. In order to preserve the monuments, the Gordion Project is attempting to create a solid cover of grasses and flowers on the Midas Mound. Both archaeological conservation and the preservation of biological diversity are served best by encouraging native plants to grow. To that end, a fence was erected in 1996, and lining the erosion channels with unbaked mudbrick has proved a successful experiment.     

The Myrick Park Mounds (47Lc10), an Effigy Mound Site in Western Wisconsin

The earliest documented excavation of an effigy mound group by a professional archaeologist occurred in 1883 when Frederic Ward Putnam and local acquaintances excavated portions of four mounds at the Myrick Park site (47Lc10) in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Putnam worked on one effigy (similar to the short-tailed turtle form) and three conical mounds. Theodore H. Lewis visited the site in 1885 and mapped one additional conical mound. We examined documentation and collections housed at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Artifacts include a portion of a Madison Cord Impressed jar (a common Effigy Mound offering) and a trailed rim sherd similar to terminal Late Woodland types. Human remains represent a minimum of 23 individuals: 18 adults and 5 subadults. Dental and skeletal evidence indicates a relatively healthy population with low levels of nutritional deficiency, early life stress, and trauma, similar to other regional Late Woodland populations.     

Mortuary Practices,Cultural Context,Bayesian Chronology,and Maize Consumption among Terminal Late Woodland Societies in Northeastern Illinois

In 1940, Gretchen Cutter and a WPA crew conducted excavations in the Mound Wi^o5 at the Fisher site in Will County, Illinois. We examined those materials as part of our reanalysis of the Fisher site excavations by George Langford and the University of Chicago. The mound’s material culture correlates with the Des Plaines phase but contains strong connections to the east, especially with Albee phase mortuary practices. Calibrated ¹⁴C dates and Bayesian modeling place the Des Plaines phase as contemporary with the Mound Wi^o5 mortuary’s primary use during the ninth to eleventh centuries. There is isotopic evidence of a mixed C₃/C₄ diet with some maize consumption. Mound Wi^o5 represents the only Terminal Late Woodland collective mortuary facility currently known in northeastern Illinois. The identification of such multigenerational communal Terminal Late Woodland mortuary practices lends support to the contention that they provided the cultural base for the emergence of the distinctive Langford Tradition accretional mortuary mounds.     

The Construction and Use of Cahokia’s Grand Plaza

Abstract

Excavations were conducted in 1997 and 2004 along a 1200 m-long waterline corridor through the middle of the central plaza at Cahokia, the largest and possibly earliest Mississippian period (A.D. 1050–1350) population center in North America. These excavations provide a unique window into previously unknown aspects of the construction and use history of this singular monumental space. Built as the centerpiece of Cahokia’s city plan in the middle of the 11th century A.D., the plaza appears to have been more spacious than the most generous previous estimate. The labor needed to build one-quarter to one-third of this plaza may have exceeded 10,000 person-days. Once built, evidence points to the possible existence of a gallery of upright posts and small buildings in front of Monks Mound, the largest earthen pyramid in the center of the site complex. By the 13th century, domestic buildings appear to have lined the plaza edges.     

Description of the Interior of a Chamber in a Castle

Excavation of a mound at the meeting place of Secklow Hundred, Bucks., suggested that it was built in the tenth century; the evidence from twelve other excavated meeting place mounds is discussed and it is suggested that mounds were often built specifically for that purpose.     

CONTINUING THE RESEARCH: ARCHAEOGEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT THE BATTLE MOUND SITE (3LA1) IN LAFAYETTE COUNTY,ARKANSAS

Abstract

The continuing use of archaeogeophysical methods at the Battle Mound site (3LA1) exemplifies the power of geophysics as a non-invasive, preservation-oriented, and economically feasible way to pursue the exploration of settlement patterning at the Middle and Late Caddo (ca. A.D. 1200–1680) mound site. Using these methods, a 1-ha (2.47 acres) area directly east of the large mound was surveyed using magnetic gradiometry and concatenated to the existing survey area. Results from the 1-ha survey provide further elucidation of the spatial structure and internal organization of the Caddo Indian occupation at the Battle Mound site.     

Provenance of Weeden Island “sacred” and “prestige” vessels: implications for specialized ritual craft production

ABSTRACT

Weeden Island mortuary ceremonialism united distinct cultures across the Late Woodland social landscape. The Weeden Island pottery series is central to recognizing regional ceremonial parity, with prestige (elite) and sacred (cult) wares showing strong similarities among distant sites. Finely made vessels and their ostensibly shamanistic themes led archaeologists to consider the liturgical and political roles of ritual specialists, whose tasks might have included vessel manufacture in centralized locations. This research evaluates the prospect of craft specialization and centralized production of sacred and prestige wares through comparisons of the provenance of vessels from three Florida localities: Palmetto Mound (8LV2), the mounds at Melton (8AL5, 8AL7), and McKeithen (8CO17). Results of Neutron Activation Analysis and petrographic analysis show that the majority of the sampled vessels were made far from the mounds in which they were deposited, from a variety of locations but especially within the area between Kolomoki and the Tallahassee Hills. We argue that production was not centralized but may have been specialized to the extent that an integrated ritual network was necessary to coordinate rules of manufacture and use that were evidently observed by all participants.     

The Case of the Caldwell Mound: A Woodland Period Mound in the Central Scioto River Valley

ABSTRACT

This article presents a reconstruction and analysis of the Caldwell Mound located in the central Scioto River valley of southern Ohio. The mound contained a log tomb, at least four burials, and associated funerary objects. Four AMS radiocarbon dates place the Caldwell Mound within the last century BC and first century AD, and the mound contains evidence of practices historically associated with “Adena” and “Hopewell.” Few other records exist from this period in the region despite it experiencing perhaps some of the most dramatic socioreligious transformations in precolumbian North America. This analysis documents early evidence for the diversification and segregation of leadership roles based on the interpretation of three buried individuals. It also demonstrates the utility and efficacy of working with amateur-produced records and collections, even when incomplete, to reconstruct and glean insight from important Woodland period sites.     

The Digital Reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo ship

This article describes the digital reconstruction of the ship remains from Mound 1, at the early 7th‐century Anglo‐Saxon burial ground at Sutton Hoo, East Anglia, UK. This research provides a critical component of the wider project to build a full‐scale reconstruction of the Sutton Hoo ship. The nature of the archaeological record relating to the Sutton Hoo ship is outlined, and the subsequent assumptions underpinning the digital reconstruction explained, followed by a step‐by‐step account of that work. Hydrostatic testing of the resulting digitally reconstructed hull is then presented, allowing new insight into the capacity and capability of the vessel.     

Brief encounters: Tatham Mound and the evidence for Spanish and Native American confrontation

Skeletal trauma often has been utilized to examine facets of inter- and intragroup violence. Eighteen skeletal elements from Tatham Mound are considered in this study, which exhibit wounds similar to documented cases of trauma caused by edged metal weapons. Tatham Mound is a sixteenth century mortuary site in central Gulf Coast Florida and is located within the reconstructed zone of contact with the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Macroscopic and microscopic analyses of skeletal elements are conducted in order to distinguish trauma due to edged metal weapons from other perimortem and post-mortem bone modification. The damage on elements from Tatham Mound is compared with documented cases of trauma from edged metal weapons as well as medieval European skeletal remains exhibiting trauma due to edged metal weapons. It is concluded that some of the observed cases are probably due to metal weapon wounds inflicted by the Spanish explorers.     

Evaluating the Reliability of Fluoride Dating at Two Prehistoric Mound Sites in Mississippi

Abstract

Ion-selective electrode fluoride dating is used to address chronological problems at two mound sites located in Mississippi. At the Mississippian period (A.D. 900–1520) Lyon's Bluff site, 220K520, the fluoride content of deer and human bone is compared with radiocarbon dates and stratigraphic levels to evaluate the reliability of the fluoride dating method for understanding relative burial chronology. At a second site, Pocahontas Mound A (22HI500), fluoride content of deer bone is used to corroborate radiocarbon dates and to establish the proper chronology of levels associated with two distinct occupations (Archaic and Coles Creek/Plaquemine) identified in a large midden area. Fluoride analysis also is used to date a second midden area at this site. For Lyon's Bluff; fluoride dates did not correspond with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)-dated burials and midden strata. In contrast, fluoride dating proved very useful in determining chronological placement of midden levels and dating other areas at Pocahontas Mound A. Sample age, site location, soil, and bone preservation are considered as possible causes for the negative results at Lyon's Bluff.     

On the Age of Serpent Mound: A Reply to Romain and Colleagues

Radiocarbon dates reported by Romain and colleagues (2017) suggesting that Serpent Mound (33AD1) is an Adena effigy mound are problematic because they cannot be linked reliably to cultural activities associated with the original construction of the effigy mound. Additional arguments offered by Romain and colleagues (2017) in support of an Early Woodland age for Serpent Mound also are unconvincing. A Late Prehistoric age for Serpent Mound is supported by the radiocarbon dates reported previously, new radiocarbon dates, the relative abundance of serpent imagery in the Fort Ancient culture and the contemporaneous Mississippian Tradition, the virtual absence of serpent imagery in the Adena culture, and the fact that, whereas effigy-mound building is otherwise unknown in the Early Woodland period, it is well documented, if rare, for the Fort Ancient culture and in the not-so-terribly-far-away upper Midwest it is so common that it defines the broadly contemporaneous Effigy Mound culture.     

Middle Woodland Hopewellian Cache Blades: Blanks or Finished Tools?

Abstract

Cache blades are usually interpreted as blanks that are curated for later production of finished tools or projectile points. A cache of 54 leaf-shaped blades was recovered from Middle Woodland Hopewellian Burial 14 at Sugar Run Mound in northwestern Pennsylvania. Macro and microscopic examination of the cache blades indicates they were used as tools prior to use as burial goods. The study shows that at least the Sugar Run Mound cache was not merely a batch of blanks awaiting further reduction into finished tools.     

韩国坟丘墓社会的性质

在古代韩国,马韩盛行过坟丘墓,其主要特征是在地上的坟丘中,由多个埋葬主体通过追加葬形式形成。坟丘墓最晚到公元前1世纪开始出现,其存在从方形木棺向圆形石室的变迁过程。韩国坟丘墓社会中只有百济国发展成为国家百济,因其与先进地区临近,容易接收先进文化,其它小国在酋长社会状态下被吞并,因其农业共同体性质过强,并且与周边国家对等交流困难。