Ralph Koziarski - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Ralph Koziarski
Bears
Archaeological excavations at the Bell Site, in eastern-central Wisconsin, have provided extensiv... more Archaeological excavations at the Bell Site, in eastern-central Wisconsin, have provided extensive insights into the culture of the Meskwaki Indians, whose principal village was located at the site circa 1680–1730. Among the many discoveries were several ritually buried bear skulls. This chapter uses ethnographic and ethnohistoric data to demonstrate the spiritual and nutritional importance of bears to the historic Meskwaki, and links the ritually buried skulls with food remains consumed during feasts. The feasts likely served an important role in the politics and economics of Meskwaki society at the time, and the central role played by bears at the feasts further underscores the importance they would have had to the Meskwaki.
Maryland Archeology, 2021
The following research is intended to be a baseline study of zooarcheological remains recovered f... more The following research is intended to be a baseline study of zooarcheological remains recovered from the Biggs Ford site. Faunal remains sampled from Montgomery and Keyser Complex features were examined and identified to ascertain basic subsistence data. The results confirm earlier studies of subsistence at Late Woodland village sites in the Middle Potomac Valley. Primarily that there was a notable shift in hunting patterns between the Montgomery and Keyser occupations, and that Late Woodland hunters from these villages appear to have developed hunting strategies which allowed them to take maximum advantage of the anthropogenic habitats created by clearing of woodlands and planting of fields around the settlements.
Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology
Bears
Archaeological excavations at the Bell Site, in eastern-central Wisconsin, have provided extensiv... more Archaeological excavations at the Bell Site, in eastern-central Wisconsin, have provided extensive insights into the culture of the Meskwaki Indians, whose principal village was located at the site circa 1680–1730. Among the many discoveries were several ritually buried bear skulls. This chapter uses ethnographic and ethnohistoric data to demonstrate the spiritual and nutritional importance of bears to the historic Meskwaki, and links the ritually buried skulls with food remains consumed during feasts. The feasts likely served an important role in the politics and economics of Meskwaki society at the time, and the central role played by bears at the feasts further underscores the importance they would have had to the Meskwaki.
Maryland Archeology, 2021
The following research is intended to be a baseline study of zooarcheological remains recovered f... more The following research is intended to be a baseline study of zooarcheological remains recovered from the Biggs Ford site. Faunal remains sampled from Montgomery and Keyser Complex features were examined and identified to ascertain basic subsistence data. The results confirm earlier studies of subsistence at Late Woodland village sites in the Middle Potomac Valley. Primarily that there was a notable shift in hunting patterns between the Montgomery and Keyser occupations, and that Late Woodland hunters from these villages appear to have developed hunting strategies which allowed them to take maximum advantage of the anthropogenic habitats created by clearing of woodlands and planting of fields around the settlements.
Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology