Round, Ground, and Stone: An Analysis of Groundstone Discoidals from Middle and Early Late Fort Ancient Sites (original) (raw)
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Engraved Discoidals/Chunkey Stones from Cahokia Region
Since the publication of Warren DeBoer's 1993 study on chunkey stones, it has been generally accepted that the chunkey game in Late Woodland and Mississippian societies was more than a recreational activity. Yet today researchers are still working to unearth the specific meanings of this community event. In this article, we document a second whole example of an engraved Cahokia-style discoidal and compare it to the only other whole example of an engraved Cahokia-style discoidal from the American Bottom region. Inferences about the specific meaning that the chunkey game had to Mississippians in the region are then made based on recent research, the engraved iconography on chunkey stones, and the sources of the lithic raw materials from which chunkey stones were manufactured.
Geoheritage
Historic Christ Church in Lancaster County, VA (1735), is one of America's best-preserved examples of colonial Georgian architecture. Among its many architectural highlights is the beautiful stone trim that adorns the brick church's doorways and windows. As it ages, conservation of original stone architectural elements is becoming necessary. The goal of this study is to determine the source of the exterior stones so appropriate matches can be acquired when repairs or replacement of some elements are needed. It will also help elucidate Christ Church's construction history. We compared stone samples from Christ Church's steps and keystones to samples taken from the famous Aquia Creek quarry on Government Island in Stafford County, VA, that provided the stone for America's first federal buildings (e.g., White House, Capital, Treasury). We used standard petrographic thin-section analysis to compare the samples' grain size, sorting, and mineralogy. Both stones are moderately sorted, medium sand sized, subarkose sandstones. Based on this as well as historical evidence, we suggest that the steps at the north, south, and west doors as well as the stone elements around the windows and doors of the church are made of the Cretaceous Aquia Creek sandstone quarried on Government Island. Within the quarry, the sandstone most likely came from the upper Patapsco Formation of the Potomac Group rather than the lower Patuxent Formation. This information should be kept in mind as Aquia Creek sandstone has a history of premature weathering and may require shorter term maintenance and longer term replacement.
Formal analyses and functional accounts of groundstone “plummets” from Poverty Point, Louisiana
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2018
The Mississippian time period is marked by cultural changes that occurred at the end of the Late Woodland period and generally concludes with European contact (A.D. 900-1600). Below is a summary of trends and characteristics from historical accounts and archaeological data of the Savannah River valley and beyond. Stratified Societies Evidence of stratification is seen in mortuary practices, specifically through grave goods, architecture, artifact types and materials, and skeletal remains. Anderson provides summary data for sites in the Savannah River valley showing burials in the mounds, while in the habitation areas they are usually under the domestic structure (Haven Home, Irene, Chauga, Beaverdam Creek, Hollywood, Rucker's Bottom, I.C. Few) (1994: 315). At Beaverdam Creek, Chauga, and I.C. Few, burial trends include a higher number of females buried in the habitation areas when compared to mound burials (Anderson 1994: 314). In addition, mound burials contained a higher number of grave goods with a higher proportion of these burials being male when compared to burials in the habitation areas (Anderson 1994: 314). Skeletal remains typically show that healthier individuals were interred in mounds when compared with the individuals interred in habitation areas (Anderson 1994: 314-316). These trends likely indicate a two-tier socio-political system with males as figureheads who had access to grave goods and culturally significant architecture (e.g. mounds). Platform mounds typically contain summit structures thought to be elite residences (Wood 2009: 1-5). These rectangular earthen mounds rise high above the ground surface physically and metaphorically separating the ruling party or chief from the remaining population. Usually accompanied by a habitation area and a large cleared and cleaned public gathering area, also known as a plaza, mound construction requires high energy costs and social organization (Hally 2006: 26). Rituals and beliefs are intertwined with this socio-political system, binding the nucleated mound sites with the smaller dispersed sites, subsequently confirming and supporting the elite. For example, Emerson discusses the dualistic nature of beliefs displayed in symbolic architecture and artifacts of power, such as mounds, vessels, and figurines at 20 Cahokia and the surrounding areas (1997). These symbols of power and stratification can also be seen at the smaller, dispersed sites, but at a smaller scale when compared to the larger nucleated mound sites. Emerson discusses how symbols of power created a "functional political unit whose internal cohesiveness may have been encouraged by kin ties as well as by the presence of elite control of supernatural and natural resources (1997: 249-250)." Domestic architecture reflects status through size and location comparable to other structures at the same site. For example, larger structures closer to or on the mound, partitioned by a wall or palisade, or isolated from other structures indicate differential status. Structures inhabited by the non-elite were usually similar in size and construction (Steere 2017). These structures were usually located in a particular area of the site, segregated from the larger buildings. Steere states that domestic structures are "usually constructed by social groups larger than households," indicating that evidence for socio-political organization (e.g. social stratification) is also seen at the household level (2017: 179). Domestic-related rituals and ceremonialism are also seen in house characteristics such as orientation, size, and shape as well as the presence of a certain number of posts, hearth, and types of artifacts (Steere 2017: 111). These kinds of patterns "may symbolically represent sacred locations or be models of cosmography" (Gougeon 2002: 78). Artifacts are often classified as domestic or ritualistic/ceremonial. Typical domestic artifacts include projectile points/knives (PP/Ks) and other functional tools (e.g. axes, scrapers, drills, needles), pottery, and debitage from stone tool and pottery production. These artifacts can illustrate gendered activity areas, such as male flint knapping and female pottery-making areas (Gougeon 2002: 79-80, Steere 2017: 112). Ritualistic and/or ceremonial items more elite in nature are typically made with ornate designs/carving from materials such as bone, clay, copper, or shell. These items can include effigy pipes, figures, and bowls, gorgets, beads, and elaborate pottery (King 2007). Some are religious in nature and are associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC), where these items were traded and Horticulture and domesticated crop varieties became more intensive and culturally important through time beginning in the Late Woodland period and culminated in use and importance during the Middle to Late Mississippian period (Anderson 1994: 317-322). The three main crops or the "three sisters" include corn, beans, and squash most likely grown by techniques like slash and burn in the floodplains. Other important crops include pumpkin, marsh elder, gourd, and sunflower (Smith 1978, Bowne 2013). Sites in the Savannah River valley (Rucker's Bottom, Clyde Gulley, and Beaverdam Creek) display evidence of corn and gourd (Anderson 1994: 228-230, 317-322). Another site in Coastal Plain South Carolina, 38BK235, also shows evidence of corn (Brooks et al. 1984). These sites display similar hunting and gathering practices and contain a wide variety of exploited resources, with less reliance on cultigen crops as evident in the flora specimens. Subsistence data not only shows what people ate and how they lived but sometimes exhibits evidence of social stratification and tribute activities. Rucker's Bottom, discussed previously, displays the intensive use of corn between A.D. 1200 and 1300, with a decline around A.D. 1400 likely due to a poor growing season (Anderson 1994: 319). A highly diversified subsistence strategy remained important from A.D. 1200 through A.D. 1400. But based on skeletal analysis, this evidence of a rich and diversified diet was not evident in the skeletal remains dating between A.D. 1200 and 1300 (Anderson 1994: 318-322). Anderson suggests that most of the corn was grown as a tribute to the political center during A.D. 1200-1300, contributing to the skeletal stress of the inhabitants (1994: 319). However, skeletal remains dating from around A.D. 1400 did not show any evidence of skeletal stress, suggesting that resources no longer left the site as tribute (Anderson 1994: 318-322). Social stratification and tribute activities can also be seen from A.D. 1200 to 1300 through the absence of hindquarter cuts of meats, with the presence of these prime cuts of meats reappearing around A.D. 1400 (Anderson 1994: 318-322). Anderson concludes that tribute practices likely occurred early on in the founding of the subservient Rucker's Bottom site (A.D. 1200-1300), with the site increasing in socio-political significance later on (around A.D. 1400), no longer required to contribute their resources to the political center (1994: 318-322).