Kristin Hedman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Kristin Hedman
American Antiquity, 2021
In the following response to Hart and colleagues (2021) we clarify our interpretations of the arc... more In the following response to Hart and colleagues (2021) we clarify our interpretations of the archaeological record for maize use from western Illinois. The robust archaeological record, newly obtained AMS dates, and evaluations of enamel apatite combine to support a late date for maize cultivation in this region. We reiterate that maize histories in the Eastern Woodlands may vary among different regions.
Wisconsin Archeologist, 2012
The 1928 excavation of the Upper Mississippian Oakwood Mound in Oakwood Cemetery, Joliet, Illinoi... more The 1928 excavation of the Upper Mississippian Oakwood Mound in Oakwood Cemetery, Joliet, Illinois, was one of the earliest projects undertaken by Fay-Cooper Cole’s fledgling Archaeological Survey of Illinois. Only brief summaries by Krogman (1928b) and Skinner (1953) report on those investigations. The importance of the Oakwood population to understanding late prehistoric lifeways encouraged the authors to undertake this study of the population’s chronological, cultural, osteological, and dietary attributes. AMS dates indicate the cemetery was used between the mid-eleventh and mid-thirteenth centuries A.D. The mound’s construction consisted of thin lenses of earth, often including fire and ash deposits, and the limited use of stone slab platforms. The artifact assemblage is scant but can generally be attributed to the Langford cultural pattern. The excavated population contains 150 individuals. Our examination and stable isotopes analysis of the human remains, although not comprehensive, provides preliminary information on health, diet, and levels of physical stress for both individuals and the population as a whole. These corn-fed farmers were generally healthy, with few signs of interpersonal violence. Burial practices are varied and do not seem restricted on the basis of sex, age, or status. Limited burial evidence suggests that juveniles were recognized as having attained adult status at ~10 years of age. The Oakwood Mound research provides another window into the significant variation present among late prehistoric populations in northeastern Illinois.
A World View of Bioculturally Modified Teeth, 2017
Intentionally modified teeth provide lasting evidence of cultural behavior and, when combined wit... more Intentionally modified teeth provide lasting evidence of cultural behavior and, when combined with archaeological, demographic, morphological and biochemical information, can provide significant insight into patterns of human behavior and interaction in prehistory. This chapter explores the origin and social context of modified teeth during the Mississippian period (AD 900–1400) in North America. The majority of examples are from sites associated with Cahokia, the preeminent Mississippian cultural center in eastern North America. New examples have increased the number of known cases of dental modification and the number of recognized modification styles. More important, they provide critical contextual and demographic information for the practice of dental modification and confirm a strong association of modified teeth with women. When considered in light of strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) data and evidence for biological relatedness, this chapter considers the movement of women and t...
Scientific Reports, 2021
Paleofeces or coprolites are often used to reconstruct diet at archaeological sites, usually usin... more Paleofeces or coprolites are often used to reconstruct diet at archaeological sites, usually using macroscopic analyses or targeted DNA amplification and sequencing. Here we present an integrative analysis of dog coprolites, combining macroscopic analyses, stable isotope measurements, and DNA shotgun sequencing to examine diet and health status. Dog coprolites used in this study were recovered from the Janey B. Goode and East Saint Louis archaeological sites, both of which are located in the American Bottom, an extensive Mississippi River floodplain in Southwestern Illinois. Based on the context of recovery, coprolites are assigned to the Late Woodland and Terminal Late Woodland periods (ca. 600–1050 AD). Given the scarcity of human remains from this time period, these dog coprolites can be useful as a proxy for understanding human diet during the Late Woodland period. We find that the Late Woodland dogs consumed a variety of fish as well as bird and plant taxa, possibly including m...
Southeastern Archaeology, 2006
Page 1. LATE CAHOKIAN SUBSISTENCE AND HEALTH: STABLE ISOTOPE AND DENTAL EVIDENCE Kristin M. Hedma... more Page 1. LATE CAHOKIAN SUBSISTENCE AND HEALTH: STABLE ISOTOPE AND DENTAL EVIDENCE Kristin M. Hedman ... settlements in the uplands and floodplain respectively (Emerson and Hargrave 2000; Hedman et al. 2002; Milner 1983, 1984b). ...
Page 1. Illinois Archaeology Vol. 22 (2), 2010 668 668 Health and Diet at the Drda Site (11MS32),... more Page 1. Illinois Archaeology Vol. 22 (2), 2010 668 668 Health and Diet at the Drda Site (11MS32), Madison County, Illinois Yu Dong, Kristin M. Hedman, and Eve A. Hargrave Human skeletal remains from multiple individuals ...
Following the Mississippian Spread
Wisconsin Archeologist, 2011
Scientific Reports, 2021
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the pa... more An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
American Antiquity, 2020
The history of maize (Zea mays L.) in the eastern Woodlands remains an important study topic. As ... more The history of maize (Zea mays L.) in the eastern Woodlands remains an important study topic. As currently understood, these histories appear to vary regionally and include scenarios positing an early introduction and an increase in use over hundreds of, if not a thousand, years. In this article, we address the history of maize in the American Bottom region of Illinois and its importance in the development of regional Mississippian societies, specifically in the Cahokian polity located in the central Mississippi River valley. We present new lines of evidence that confirm subsistence-level maize use at Cahokia was introduced rather abruptly at about AD 900 and increased rapidly over the following centuries. Directly dated archaeobotanical maize remains, human and dog skeletal carbon isotope values, and a revised interpretation of the archaeological record support this interpretation. Our results suggest that population increases and the nucleation associated with Cahokia were facilit...
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2019
Archaeological and isotopic evidence from Greater Cahokia and several prominent outlier sites arg... more Archaeological and isotopic evidence from Greater Cahokia and several prominent outlier sites argues against simple diaspora models either for the rise or fall of this pre-Columbian urban phenomenon. Besides indications that a culturally diverse population was associated with the city throughout its history, we argue that a spiritual vitality undergirded its origins such that many movements of people would have been two-way affairs. Some Cahokians who ultimately left the city may have been members of foreign lineages in the beginning.
Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, 2019
In 1940, Gretchen Cutter and a WPA crew conducted excavations in the Mound Wi o 5 at the Fisher s... more In 1940, Gretchen Cutter and a WPA crew conducted excavations in the Mound Wi o 5 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 14 C dates and Bayesian modeling place the Des Plaines phase as contemporary with the Mound Wi o 5 mortuary's primary use during the ninth to eleventh centuries. There is isotopic evidence of a mixed C 3 /C 4 diet with some maize consumption. Mound Wi o 5 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.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018
Archaeological research has highlighted the importance of population movement and interaction in ... more Archaeological research has highlighted the importance of population movement and interaction in promoting cultural change and interaction in past societies. Strontium isotope ratios (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) are used worldwide to track prehistoric human population movement, and recent studies have provided new insight into the role of population diversity in the pre-Columbian American midcontinent. To track such movement, we have analyzed enamel from 222 small nonmigratory terrestrial and semiaquatic fauna from a series of midcontinental geographic locations to provide initial baseline regional 87 Sr/ 86 Sr information. Results of this study reveal considerable overlap in the strontium isotope ranges within the midcontinent, but also identify important isotopic differences between regions. We conclude that sufficient Sr variation exists within the midcontinent to identify the movement of individuals, however, the lack of regional specificity in Sr currently limits our ability to identify specific place(s) of origin for these individuals using Sr alone. Continued isotopic research offers the potential to produce a more detailed midcontinental isoscape, which combined with other geochemical, biological, and archaeological data, allows us to refine our understanding of the movement of people in pre-Columbian America. In light of this new information, we revisited our earlier case study of Cahokian immigration, reassessing new samples (558 teeth representing 338 individuals), and confirmed that the Cahokian population included a large number of nonlocal residents.
American Antiquity, 2021
In the following response to Hart and colleagues (2021) we clarify our interpretations of the arc... more In the following response to Hart and colleagues (2021) we clarify our interpretations of the archaeological record for maize use from western Illinois. The robust archaeological record, newly obtained AMS dates, and evaluations of enamel apatite combine to support a late date for maize cultivation in this region. We reiterate that maize histories in the Eastern Woodlands may vary among different regions.
Wisconsin Archeologist, 2012
The 1928 excavation of the Upper Mississippian Oakwood Mound in Oakwood Cemetery, Joliet, Illinoi... more The 1928 excavation of the Upper Mississippian Oakwood Mound in Oakwood Cemetery, Joliet, Illinois, was one of the earliest projects undertaken by Fay-Cooper Cole’s fledgling Archaeological Survey of Illinois. Only brief summaries by Krogman (1928b) and Skinner (1953) report on those investigations. The importance of the Oakwood population to understanding late prehistoric lifeways encouraged the authors to undertake this study of the population’s chronological, cultural, osteological, and dietary attributes. AMS dates indicate the cemetery was used between the mid-eleventh and mid-thirteenth centuries A.D. The mound’s construction consisted of thin lenses of earth, often including fire and ash deposits, and the limited use of stone slab platforms. The artifact assemblage is scant but can generally be attributed to the Langford cultural pattern. The excavated population contains 150 individuals. Our examination and stable isotopes analysis of the human remains, although not comprehensive, provides preliminary information on health, diet, and levels of physical stress for both individuals and the population as a whole. These corn-fed farmers were generally healthy, with few signs of interpersonal violence. Burial practices are varied and do not seem restricted on the basis of sex, age, or status. Limited burial evidence suggests that juveniles were recognized as having attained adult status at ~10 years of age. The Oakwood Mound research provides another window into the significant variation present among late prehistoric populations in northeastern Illinois.
A World View of Bioculturally Modified Teeth, 2017
Intentionally modified teeth provide lasting evidence of cultural behavior and, when combined wit... more Intentionally modified teeth provide lasting evidence of cultural behavior and, when combined with archaeological, demographic, morphological and biochemical information, can provide significant insight into patterns of human behavior and interaction in prehistory. This chapter explores the origin and social context of modified teeth during the Mississippian period (AD 900–1400) in North America. The majority of examples are from sites associated with Cahokia, the preeminent Mississippian cultural center in eastern North America. New examples have increased the number of known cases of dental modification and the number of recognized modification styles. More important, they provide critical contextual and demographic information for the practice of dental modification and confirm a strong association of modified teeth with women. When considered in light of strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) data and evidence for biological relatedness, this chapter considers the movement of women and t...
Scientific Reports, 2021
Paleofeces or coprolites are often used to reconstruct diet at archaeological sites, usually usin... more Paleofeces or coprolites are often used to reconstruct diet at archaeological sites, usually using macroscopic analyses or targeted DNA amplification and sequencing. Here we present an integrative analysis of dog coprolites, combining macroscopic analyses, stable isotope measurements, and DNA shotgun sequencing to examine diet and health status. Dog coprolites used in this study were recovered from the Janey B. Goode and East Saint Louis archaeological sites, both of which are located in the American Bottom, an extensive Mississippi River floodplain in Southwestern Illinois. Based on the context of recovery, coprolites are assigned to the Late Woodland and Terminal Late Woodland periods (ca. 600–1050 AD). Given the scarcity of human remains from this time period, these dog coprolites can be useful as a proxy for understanding human diet during the Late Woodland period. We find that the Late Woodland dogs consumed a variety of fish as well as bird and plant taxa, possibly including m...
Southeastern Archaeology, 2006
Page 1. LATE CAHOKIAN SUBSISTENCE AND HEALTH: STABLE ISOTOPE AND DENTAL EVIDENCE Kristin M. Hedma... more Page 1. LATE CAHOKIAN SUBSISTENCE AND HEALTH: STABLE ISOTOPE AND DENTAL EVIDENCE Kristin M. Hedman ... settlements in the uplands and floodplain respectively (Emerson and Hargrave 2000; Hedman et al. 2002; Milner 1983, 1984b). ...
Page 1. Illinois Archaeology Vol. 22 (2), 2010 668 668 Health and Diet at the Drda Site (11MS32),... more Page 1. Illinois Archaeology Vol. 22 (2), 2010 668 668 Health and Diet at the Drda Site (11MS32), Madison County, Illinois Yu Dong, Kristin M. Hedman, and Eve A. Hargrave Human skeletal remains from multiple individuals ...
Following the Mississippian Spread
Wisconsin Archeologist, 2011
Scientific Reports, 2021
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the pa... more An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
American Antiquity, 2020
The history of maize (Zea mays L.) in the eastern Woodlands remains an important study topic. As ... more The history of maize (Zea mays L.) in the eastern Woodlands remains an important study topic. As currently understood, these histories appear to vary regionally and include scenarios positing an early introduction and an increase in use over hundreds of, if not a thousand, years. In this article, we address the history of maize in the American Bottom region of Illinois and its importance in the development of regional Mississippian societies, specifically in the Cahokian polity located in the central Mississippi River valley. We present new lines of evidence that confirm subsistence-level maize use at Cahokia was introduced rather abruptly at about AD 900 and increased rapidly over the following centuries. Directly dated archaeobotanical maize remains, human and dog skeletal carbon isotope values, and a revised interpretation of the archaeological record support this interpretation. Our results suggest that population increases and the nucleation associated with Cahokia were facilit...
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2019
Archaeological and isotopic evidence from Greater Cahokia and several prominent outlier sites arg... more Archaeological and isotopic evidence from Greater Cahokia and several prominent outlier sites argues against simple diaspora models either for the rise or fall of this pre-Columbian urban phenomenon. Besides indications that a culturally diverse population was associated with the city throughout its history, we argue that a spiritual vitality undergirded its origins such that many movements of people would have been two-way affairs. Some Cahokians who ultimately left the city may have been members of foreign lineages in the beginning.
Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, 2019
In 1940, Gretchen Cutter and a WPA crew conducted excavations in the Mound Wi o 5 at the Fisher s... more In 1940, Gretchen Cutter and a WPA crew conducted excavations in the Mound Wi o 5 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 14 C dates and Bayesian modeling place the Des Plaines phase as contemporary with the Mound Wi o 5 mortuary's primary use during the ninth to eleventh centuries. There is isotopic evidence of a mixed C 3 /C 4 diet with some maize consumption. Mound Wi o 5 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.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018
Archaeological research has highlighted the importance of population movement and interaction in ... more Archaeological research has highlighted the importance of population movement and interaction in promoting cultural change and interaction in past societies. Strontium isotope ratios (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) are used worldwide to track prehistoric human population movement, and recent studies have provided new insight into the role of population diversity in the pre-Columbian American midcontinent. To track such movement, we have analyzed enamel from 222 small nonmigratory terrestrial and semiaquatic fauna from a series of midcontinental geographic locations to provide initial baseline regional 87 Sr/ 86 Sr information. Results of this study reveal considerable overlap in the strontium isotope ranges within the midcontinent, but also identify important isotopic differences between regions. We conclude that sufficient Sr variation exists within the midcontinent to identify the movement of individuals, however, the lack of regional specificity in Sr currently limits our ability to identify specific place(s) of origin for these individuals using Sr alone. Continued isotopic research offers the potential to produce a more detailed midcontinental isoscape, which combined with other geochemical, biological, and archaeological data, allows us to refine our understanding of the movement of people in pre-Columbian America. In light of this new information, we revisited our earlier case study of Cahokian immigration, reassessing new samples (558 teeth representing 338 individuals), and confirmed that the Cahokian population included a large number of nonlocal residents.