LOOKING BEYOND THE OBVIOUS: IDENTIFYING PATTERNS IN COLES CREEK MORTUARY DATA

Abstract

While the lack of grave goods has been the focus of most scholarly discussion of Coles Creek burial practices, the mortuary analyses presented here focus on recognizing correspondences among sex, age, and burial position. Using assemblages from three Coles Creek sites (Greenhouse, Lake George, and Mount Nebo), I find that while there is significant intersite variability among Coles Creek mortuary programs, certain age groups are consistently treated differently from each other and from everyone else. Thus interments were being made with deliberate care and consideration for those involved and are not nearly as haphazard and disorderly as previously thought.