HIDDEN IN THE MATRIX: USING COMPOSITIONAL ANALYSES TO EXAMINE SOCIAL BOUNDARIES AT THE CHICKASAWHAY CREEK SITES by KEVIN PIERCE WRIGHT (original) (raw)
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Despite being identified as Apalachee by Europeans, Native Americans at Mission San Joseph de Escambe (1741-1761) produced a ceramic assemblage more reminiscent of the Creek Indians. Statistical comparisons of select sites occupied by the Creek and Apalachee demonstrate that these changes in ceramic surface treatments and tempers reflect adaptation to new social and geographical environments, rather than the emergence of a different ethnic group. This paper discusses the ramifications of Native ceramics more frequently representing varying communal responses, rather than only diffusion of new communities, during the frequently dramatic social changes the colonial Southeast.
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The identification of distinct social groups has been a long-standing concern throughout the history of Southwest U.S. archaeology. Boundaries in material culture patterning have commonly been described at scales that range from the "culture area" and "province" levels to those of regional "alliances" and "macrosystems." The culture areas known as Mogollon, Anasazi, and Hohokam, for example, are familiar to any archaeologist who has spent even a little time studying Southwest prehistory. Archaeologists have generally identified boundaries for these areas by trait distributions of key artifact types, selected behavioral practices, environmental adaptations, and architectural traditions. Cross-cultural research has made it increasingly clear that many (if not most) of these archaeological social boundaries exceed the scale of social boundaries in traditional small-scale societies. Reliance on particular types of data in Southwestern research, particularly on decorated ceramics and monumental architecture, has limited the range of social scales that are observable in the archaeological record. A conceptual paradigm, beginning in the earliest days of Southwestern research, emphasizing homogeneity and stressing the similarities within large, environmentally defined areas, has further influenced the nature of investigation. A critical -- if often overlooked scale of analysis -- lies at the local level. As used in this study, "local systems" refers to well-bounded, small-scale systems whose participants engaged in regular face-to-face interaction. Previous archaeologists have observed spatial discontinuities in ceramic patterning at subregional scales in the Southwest. However, few conceptual and methodological tools are available for examining social boundaries within this smaller framework. The idea of local traditions -- as these are manifested in technological variability -- is not unfamiliar to archaeologists. We concentrate our research on the Tonto Basin in east-central Arizona, using architectural and ceramic data from the Roosevelt Community Development Study to examine technical choices made by the prehistoric inhabitants. What our study provides are a conceptual framework and analytical methods for examining this type of material culture patterning. This conceptual framework emphasizes how differences in a wide range of technical choices made during the production process effect the final appearance of the manufactured goods. We attempt, following Lemonnier (1986:180), to view goods as the result of these choices and to place them into broader technical systems in which they participated in the prehistoric past. We examine changes in social boundaries at two critical points in the developmental sequence of a small local system located in the eastern portion of the Tonto Basin. The first is the Colonial period (beginning ca. A.D. 750), in which a technological approach illustrates processes of population movement into the study region. The second is the early Classic period (beginning ca. A.D. 1250) where technological attributes reflect patterns of co-residence between groups with different enculturative backgrounds that participated in the same local system. Use of this technological framework for the Colonial period confirms a previous model based on stylistic variation. Yet this same focus on technological variation in the Classic period also identifies previously undetected dimensions of social interaction.
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Thomas/Luckey's 13 th-15 th and Losey 3's 14 th-17 th century occupations in the Late Woodland Northeast contain assemblages with incongruous regional pottery types; Kelso Corded and an assumed non-local Shenks Ferry. I argue the presence of Shenks Ferry vessels at these two sites indicates the movement of people who reproduced their natal designs upon arrival, rather than trade. The question of whether identity and communities of practice can be discerned from pottery decorations and paste was answered by analyzing sherds with pXRF. While pottery types are based on visual attributes, pXRF looks at elemental composition. Decoration is mimicable, but paste is not; paste accurately illustrates a vessel's origin. Cultural groups are not static entities, and internal development or outgroup interaction indicates change. Communities of practice recreate themselves in a new environment and in relation to others. The results of this analysis add new depth to conceptions of group movement and identity construction. v For my family and for the potters who made the vessels that I studied. As research does not occur in a vacuum, there are a great many people who helped produce this work. I thank them all for their time, talents, materials, knowledge, and patience. Dr. Tim De Smet provided many good articles and helped with out-of-thebox thinking. Dr. Jeff Pietras and Josh Novello guided me through the pXRF, Geology Department and processing the data. Dr. Claire Horne, Sam Kudrle, and all of the Public Archaeology Facility staff for insight and the loan of equipment for getting clay and for the storage of artifacts. I would like to thank Dan Rhodes and his efforts and knowledge to get clay. Tim Knapp and Binghamton University's field school of days past deserve a special thanks, because without them, this thesis and the artifacts would not here. The highest level of thanks that I can give goes to my committee. Dr. Nina Versaggi deserves thanks for her tireless aid in making me a better archaeologist. I appreciate your wisdom, direction, and guidance and hope I have absorbed some of it. I especially thank Dr. Laurie Miroff for her insights into not only Thomas/Luckey itself, but her wealth of knowledge of pottery and Northeastern precontact archaeology. I thank Dr. BrieAnna Langlie for use of the Laboratory of Ancient Food and Farming facilities, and guidance when I needed it. I thank Sam Bourcy for his edits, perspective, and willingness to share some coffee. I thank my cohort in the Binghamton University Class of 2020 for distractions, stress relief, camaraderie, and constructive comments. My thanks go out to members of the State Museum of Pennsylvania; Jim Herbstritt, and Janet Johnson for helping along the Pennsylvania side of the border and providing access and aid for the collection of the Losey 3 artifacts. I thank the many members of Skelly and Loy, Inc.; the field crews for excavating the site and Thomas East and Chris Espenshade for their work iv in heading the report preparation. I would like to thank Lisa Anderson of the New York State Museum for her help with the pXRF when I needed it most. Additionally, Scott Shaffer deserves thanks for supplying a copy of the consultation video and final artifact catalogs from Skelly. I thank Mara for making me a better writer, despite my best attempts to the contrary. Finally, my family deserves thanks for everything, without whom I would not be where I am. v Table of Contents List of Tables .
2004
ii To Ellen iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a pleasure to put together the research reported herein-all the more so due to the help of a large number of friends and colleagues. I've benefited immensely from the advice, comments, and critiques of an extraordinarily helpful committee. As chair, Dick Ford left a strong mark on the research. From regular visits while the fieldwork was in progress, to extensive and patient consultation on matters of Pueblo ethnography during the writing period, Dick's guidance has been committed and unflagging. I am particularly indebted to Dick for bringing to my attention the existence of Stevenson's notes on Taos Pueblo, without which this study would have been seriously impoverished. And had he not taken the time to train me in the identification and interpretation of Pueblo shrines early on, this critical component of the study would be fully absent as well.
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The Fremont, a Formative culture located in the Eastern Great Basin and Colorado Plateau, have been primarily studied from an ecological perspective. This research addresses issues that are not ecological, the organization of production and exchange of ceramic vessels. Following criteria suggested by Brown et al. (1990), I argue that the following need to be addressed prior to a useful discussion of intergroup trade: the source of the raw materials of the exchanged objects, the associated pattern of distribution, the relative value of the objects, and their context of manufacture, use, and consumption. I specifically address three of these issues regarding the Snake Valley pottery series, asking what is the source of Snake Valley Black-on-gray pottery, what is the distribution of Snake Valley Gray, Snake Valley Black-on-gray, and Snake Valley Corrugated, and in what context was Snake Valley Black-on-gray manufactured? These questions are approached via two data sets -- a chemical assay and a distributional analysis. I argue that Snake Valley pottery was probably produced in a restricted area, the Parowan Valley, and that production was organized as community craft specialization, though I acknowledge that more research on this topic is ultimately required.
76 th Annual Plains Anthropological Conference
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Howe, Mark (International Boundary and Water Commission, US Section), Casey Hanson (Texas Historical Commission, Archeology Division) Session 1: Falcon Reservoir: Efforts to Preserve an Endangered Landscape. The cultural landscape of the Falcon Reservoir in Zapata County, Texas is defined by 1000s of years of occupation along theRio Grande River. Although some of the most enduring features of this cultural landscape can be traced to the Spanish Colonial period, the archaeological sites dating to this period are also the most endangered at the reservoir. The resources continue to be impacted due to the reservoir’s function as both the international boundary and a flood control reservoir. In this paper we report on a 2018 Environmental Assessment survey at Falcon Reservoir when the USIBWC and THC observed impacts at historic sites with roots in the Spanish Colonial period and other historic and prehistoric sites. The results suggest that erosion, looting, and development continue to impact the cultural landscape, and in this paper, we contextualize these processes to trace their roots and identify potential partnerships to mitigate future impacts.