Alice Muntz | Southern Illinois University (original) (raw)
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Conference Presentations by Alice Muntz
This research entails the comparison of two ceramic assemblages to understand whether and how rit... more This research entails the comparison of two ceramic assemblages to understand whether and how ritual manifests in ceramics of Late Mississippian (ca. late 1200s A.D. to A.D. 1500) southern Illinois. The sites at the center of this study are Millstone Bluff in Pope County (11Pp3) and Dillow’s Ridge in Union County (11U635). Millstone Bluff has been interpreted as a site of public ritual and unusual symbolic importance evidenced by its general location and topography, spatial organization, and distinctive rock art. Though Dillow’s Ridge was the locale for an inordinate level of chert tool production, in other ways the site is understood to be typical of Mississippian villages for this region and time. Statistical testing of data collected from the ceramic analysis reveals minimal variation between ceramics from the public and domestic ritual contexts, thus challenging the applicability of existing models of Mississippian ritualistic ceramics to this region and time.
This research entails the thorough analysis and comparison of two ceramic assemblages to understa... more This research entails the thorough analysis and comparison of two ceramic assemblages to understand whether and how ritual manifests in pottery of the Late Mississippian Southeast. The study focuses on ritual phenomena exhibited at two Late Mississippian Period (ca. late 1200s A.D. to A.D. 1500) settlements in southern Illinois, the Millstone Bluff site in Pope County (11Pp3) and the Dillow’s Ridge site in Union County (11U635). Millstone Bluff has been interpreted as a site of public ritual and unusual symbolic importance evidenced by its general location and topography, spatial organization, and distinctive rock art. Though Dillow’s Ridge was the locale for an inordinate level of chert tool production, in other ways the site is understood to be typical of Mississippian villages for this region and time. The sites serve, respectively, as proxies for high and low levels of public ritual phenomena. As a case study of the Late Mississippian cultures of the Ohio River Valley, this comparison of the Millstone Bluff and Dillow’s Ridge sites provides an opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of current ceramic analysis methods for identifying ritual and understanding the social motivators that underlie ritualized activity.
Recent archaeological research at the Late Archaic (3000-1800 B.C.) site of Huaricanga in the For... more Recent archaeological research at the Late Archaic (3000-1800 B.C.) site of Huaricanga in the Fortaleza Valley of Peru has focused on reconstructing the activities that took place within a series of temple structures. Interpretations of activity patterns are hampered by the lack of macro-artifacts in such ceremonial contexts; however, multi-elemental analysis allows for an alternative method of interpreting the archaeological record. This poster presents the results of soil analysis conducted using portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to identify possible activity areas and to investigate changes in ceremonial behaviors over time within a prehistoric context of dramatic cultural transformations. This research contributes not only to our understanding of a time period of emergent social complexity, but it also demonstrates the utility of an emerging methodology in archaeological site interpretation.
This research focuses on ritual phenomena exhibited at two Late Mississippian Period settlements ... more This research focuses on ritual phenomena exhibited at two Late Mississippian Period settlements in southern Illinois: Millstone Bluff (11PP3) and Dillow’s Ridge (11U635). Millstone Bluff has been interpreted as a site of public ritual and unusual symbolic importance evidenced by its topographic location, spatial organization, and distinctive rock art. Though Dillow’s Ridge was the locale for an inordinate level of chert tool production, in other ways the site is understood to be typical of Mississippian villages for this region and time. Ceramics from each site are analyzed to understand whether and how ritual manifests in Late Mississippian ceramic remains.
MA Thesis by Alice Muntz
This research aims to understand whether and how ritual manifests in ceramic objects dating to th... more This research aims to understand whether and how ritual manifests in ceramic objects dating to the Late Mississippian Period (ca. late 1200s A.D. to A.D. 1500) in southern Illinois. The study focuses on ritual phenomena that occurred at two village sites: Millstone Bluff (11Pp3) and Dillow’s Ridge (11U635). Millstone Bluff has been interpreted as a site of public ritual and unusual symbolic importance evidenced by its general location and topography, spatial organization, and distinctive rock art. Though Dillow’s Ridge was the locale for an inordinate level of lithic tool production, in other ways the site is understood to be typical of Mississippian villages for this region and time and unlikely to have accommodated large-scale public ritual activity. Through the analysis and comparison of ceramics from each site, this research seeks to identify the ceramic correlates of public ritual activity for this region and time. Statistical results suggest very little differentiation between the ceramic assemblages, suggesting the ritual activities that took place at either site may not have been substantially different from one another. Alternatively, the lack of differentiation may indicate ceramics do not play an active role in large-scale public ritual activity in this context.
This research entails the comparison of two ceramic assemblages to understand whether and how rit... more This research entails the comparison of two ceramic assemblages to understand whether and how ritual manifests in ceramics of Late Mississippian (ca. late 1200s A.D. to A.D. 1500) southern Illinois. The sites at the center of this study are Millstone Bluff in Pope County (11Pp3) and Dillow’s Ridge in Union County (11U635). Millstone Bluff has been interpreted as a site of public ritual and unusual symbolic importance evidenced by its general location and topography, spatial organization, and distinctive rock art. Though Dillow’s Ridge was the locale for an inordinate level of chert tool production, in other ways the site is understood to be typical of Mississippian villages for this region and time. Statistical testing of data collected from the ceramic analysis reveals minimal variation between ceramics from the public and domestic ritual contexts, thus challenging the applicability of existing models of Mississippian ritualistic ceramics to this region and time.
This research entails the thorough analysis and comparison of two ceramic assemblages to understa... more This research entails the thorough analysis and comparison of two ceramic assemblages to understand whether and how ritual manifests in pottery of the Late Mississippian Southeast. The study focuses on ritual phenomena exhibited at two Late Mississippian Period (ca. late 1200s A.D. to A.D. 1500) settlements in southern Illinois, the Millstone Bluff site in Pope County (11Pp3) and the Dillow’s Ridge site in Union County (11U635). Millstone Bluff has been interpreted as a site of public ritual and unusual symbolic importance evidenced by its general location and topography, spatial organization, and distinctive rock art. Though Dillow’s Ridge was the locale for an inordinate level of chert tool production, in other ways the site is understood to be typical of Mississippian villages for this region and time. The sites serve, respectively, as proxies for high and low levels of public ritual phenomena. As a case study of the Late Mississippian cultures of the Ohio River Valley, this comparison of the Millstone Bluff and Dillow’s Ridge sites provides an opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of current ceramic analysis methods for identifying ritual and understanding the social motivators that underlie ritualized activity.
Recent archaeological research at the Late Archaic (3000-1800 B.C.) site of Huaricanga in the For... more Recent archaeological research at the Late Archaic (3000-1800 B.C.) site of Huaricanga in the Fortaleza Valley of Peru has focused on reconstructing the activities that took place within a series of temple structures. Interpretations of activity patterns are hampered by the lack of macro-artifacts in such ceremonial contexts; however, multi-elemental analysis allows for an alternative method of interpreting the archaeological record. This poster presents the results of soil analysis conducted using portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to identify possible activity areas and to investigate changes in ceremonial behaviors over time within a prehistoric context of dramatic cultural transformations. This research contributes not only to our understanding of a time period of emergent social complexity, but it also demonstrates the utility of an emerging methodology in archaeological site interpretation.
This research focuses on ritual phenomena exhibited at two Late Mississippian Period settlements ... more This research focuses on ritual phenomena exhibited at two Late Mississippian Period settlements in southern Illinois: Millstone Bluff (11PP3) and Dillow’s Ridge (11U635). Millstone Bluff has been interpreted as a site of public ritual and unusual symbolic importance evidenced by its topographic location, spatial organization, and distinctive rock art. Though Dillow’s Ridge was the locale for an inordinate level of chert tool production, in other ways the site is understood to be typical of Mississippian villages for this region and time. Ceramics from each site are analyzed to understand whether and how ritual manifests in Late Mississippian ceramic remains.
This research aims to understand whether and how ritual manifests in ceramic objects dating to th... more This research aims to understand whether and how ritual manifests in ceramic objects dating to the Late Mississippian Period (ca. late 1200s A.D. to A.D. 1500) in southern Illinois. The study focuses on ritual phenomena that occurred at two village sites: Millstone Bluff (11Pp3) and Dillow’s Ridge (11U635). Millstone Bluff has been interpreted as a site of public ritual and unusual symbolic importance evidenced by its general location and topography, spatial organization, and distinctive rock art. Though Dillow’s Ridge was the locale for an inordinate level of lithic tool production, in other ways the site is understood to be typical of Mississippian villages for this region and time and unlikely to have accommodated large-scale public ritual activity. Through the analysis and comparison of ceramics from each site, this research seeks to identify the ceramic correlates of public ritual activity for this region and time. Statistical results suggest very little differentiation between the ceramic assemblages, suggesting the ritual activities that took place at either site may not have been substantially different from one another. Alternatively, the lack of differentiation may indicate ceramics do not play an active role in large-scale public ritual activity in this context.