Great Lakes Archaeology Research Papers (original) (raw)

Although it is now commonplace for archaeologists to study use-alteration patterns on ceramics, the same cannot be said of one of the most ubiquitous classes of hunter-gatherer artifacts, fire-cracked rocks (FCR). It can be shown,... more

Although it is now commonplace for archaeologists to study use-alteration patterns on ceramics, the same cannot be said of one of the most ubiquitous classes of hunter-gatherer artifacts, fire-cracked rocks (FCR). It can be shown, however, that many of the same methods and theories applied to the study of cooking ceramics are also relevant to the investigation of rocks used as heating elements. Because use alteration analyses of FCR are so scarce, I describe a range of attributes with the goal of helping researchers identify use alterations (e.g., sooting, reddening, various fracturing patterns) on lithic artifacts from sites worldwide and evaluate their potential function in various cultural practices. These attributes are also outlined in order to create a standardized terminology for describing FCR use-alteration patterns. I discuss my analysis of FCR from three Late Archaic sites (Duck Lake, 913, and 914) on Grand Island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, followed by an interpretation of their cooking contexts, as a case study. The results indicate great intersite variability among FCR characteristics, cooking methods, and cooking facilities (earth oven, stone boiling, and rock griddle). This use alteration analysis can be applied in archaeological contexts worldwide where similar materials are recovered.

We employ social network analysis of collar decoration on Iroquoian vessels to conduct a multiscalar analysis of signaling practices among ancestral Huron-Wendat communities on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Our analysis focuses on the... more

We employ social network analysis of collar decoration on Iroquoian vessels to conduct a multiscalar analysis of signaling practices among ancestral Huron-Wendat communities on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Our analysis focuses on the microscale of the West Duffins Creek community relocation sequence as well as the mesoscale, incorporating several populations to the west. The data demonstrate that network ties were stronger among populations in adjacent drainages as opposed to within drainage-specific sequences, providing evidence for west-to-east population movement, especially as conflict between Wendat and Haudenosaunee populations escalated in the sixteenth century. These results suggest that although coalescence may have initially involved the incorporation of peoples from microscale (local) networks, populations originating among wider mesoscale (subregional) networks contributed to later coalescent communities. These findings challenge previous models of village relocation and settlement aggregation that oversimplified these processes.

During the Late Archaic to Early Woodland transition, caches of blue gray chert bifaces were deposited throughout the Midwest, often in association with burials. The types of analyses that can be conducted on these bifaces are restricted... more

During the Late Archaic to Early Woodland transition, caches of blue gray chert bifaces were deposited throughout the Midwest, often in association with burials. The types of analyses that can be conducted on these bifaces are restricted by NAGPRA. Specifically, cleaning of artifacts deemed necessary to conduct high power use-wear analysis is prohibited. An experiment testing three progressive levels of washing demonstrates that Wyandotte chert is fine-grained enough to display surface polishes from use even without intensive washing. The positive results of this experiment are then applied a sample of bifaces from the Riverside site in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The surface record of cultural boulder features constructed by Inland Inuit caribou hunting families who lived year-round on the arctic tundra west of Hudson Bay for much of the 19th and 20th centuries provides guidance in the search for... more

The surface record of cultural boulder features constructed by Inland Inuit caribou hunting families who lived year-round on the arctic tundra west of Hudson Bay for much of the 19th and 20th centuries provides guidance in the search for archaeological features on the now-submerged Alpena-Amberley ridge, where caribou likely contributed to the subsistence of hunting societies that occupied this region during the early Holocene. The form, scale and prominence of these features in the archaeological record of this part of the Canadian tundra, where the most common rock forms are standing stones, stone rings, boulder clusters/clearings, cobble/boulder field depressions, and continuous stone rings or arcs, suggest patterns that might be useful in focusing attention away from natural and onto cultural distributions of rocks on the ridge, on the bed of Lake Huron.

Evidence from house structures, artifacts and fauna are used to infer political and economic changes at the Benson site, a late sixteenth century Huron village near Balsam Lake, Ontario. It is suggested that one household acquired trade... more

Evidence from house structures, artifacts and fauna are used to infer political and economic changes at the Benson site, a late sixteenth century Huron village near Balsam Lake, Ontario. It is suggested that one household acquired trade links to Europeans in the St. Lawrence valley, and as a result became the largest and most prestigious household in the community. Subsequently, a second household expanded to a comparable size, but did so in opposition to the first house, and represented the “traditionalist” faction. Ultimately, the traditionalist faction prevailed, and the more progressive house was dismantled, and its inhabitants moved elsewhere.

During the Late Archaic to Early Woodland transition, caches of blue gray chert bifaces were deposited throughout the Midwest, often in association with burials. Their utility between manufacture and deposition has long been the subject... more

During the Late Archaic to Early Woodland transition, caches of blue gray chert bifaces were deposited throughout the Midwest, often in association with burials. Their utility between manufacture and deposition has long been the subject of speculation, but never compellingly demonstrated. Comprehensive use-wear analysis of these bifaces demonstrates that they were, in fact, used prior to deposition. Unfortunately, use-wear data in isolation tells us little about the actual role these bifaces played in the lives of the people who produced, used, and deposited them. Relatively few of these caches have been recovered as a result of systematic excavation, so other datasets that can be used to contextualize use-wear data are scarce. The Riverside Site is a Red Ochre affiliated burial and habitation site in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, excavated by the University of Michigan, the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Oshkosh Public Museum. Excavations in the 1950s and 60s uncovered a total of 83 bipointed bifaces. Use-wear analysis of a sample of these bifaces allows us to expand the conversation about their significance to include not only information about their depositional context but their active social and economic context as well.

A basic premise of archaeology is that the more frequently two human populations interacted with one another the more similar was their material culture. A corollary of this is that the closer two human populations are to one another... more

A basic premise of archaeology is that the more frequently two human populations interacted with one another the more similar was their material culture. A corollary of this is that the closer two human populations are to one another geographically, the more frequently they will interact. This corollary has been expressed in the archaeological study of northern Iroquoia since the 1950s on the basis of historical ethnic territories. The expectation has been that after ca. A.D. 1000 to 1300 there was more interaction between village populations within these historical territories than between village populations located in different historical territories. Here I test this corollary with pottery decoration data from 114 northern Iroquoian village sites dating from c. A.D. 1350 to 1640. Results indicate that geographic distance has little effect on pottery assemblage similarity.

A compilation of known sites from the upper reaches of the Trent valley and the Gull River extending into the Haliburton Highlands indicates that throughout much of prehistory the area witnessed little, if any, human occupation. Two... more

A compilation of known sites from the upper reaches of the Trent valley and the Gull River extending into the Haliburton Highlands indicates that throughout much of prehistory the area witnessed little, if any, human occupation. Two episodes of significant occupation are the Middle Archaic and the Late Iroquoian period. The Middle Archaic is represented by a number of early Laurentian occupation sites and later Laurentian find spots, suggesting a brief colonization of the area during the earlier period, followed by a period of less intensive use. Parallels between the Archaic and Iroquoian episodes of occupation prompt the suggestion that while climate may have been a factor in both cases, other less archaeologically tangible factors are equally likely to have been at work.

Analysis was performed on absorbed and visible residues from 21 New York State prehistoric pottery sherds dating from 2905 ± 35 bp (Intcal04) (1256–998 cal bc) to 425 ± 40 bp (Intcal04) (1417–1626 cal ad). The use of pine resin was... more

Analysis was performed on absorbed and visible residues from 21 New York State prehistoric pottery sherds dating from 2905 ± 35 bp (Intcal04) (1256–998 cal bc) to 425 ± 40 bp (Intcal04) (1417–1626 cal ad). The use of pine resin was detected in 10 of 12 absorbed residue samples and 11 of 17 sherds subjected to visible residue analysis. It seems likely that the pots were resin-sealed to make them more impermeable, constituting the first chemical evidence of extensive resin-sealing in North America. A comparison of the results of absorbed and visible residues from eight of the sherds indicates that the two kinds of residue provide complementary evidence of vessel use.

The Screaming Loon site is a Late Archaic site located on the Inland Waterway of northern lower Michigan. The site is radiocarbon dated to 3600 years B.P. and is situated at post-Nipissing elevations of ca. 183-184.4 m 1600-605 feet)... more

The Screaming Loon site is a Late Archaic site located on the Inland Waterway of northern lower Michigan. The site is radiocarbon dated to 3600 years B.P. and is situated at post-Nipissing elevations of ca. 183-184.4 m 1600-605 feet) above sea level. Fauna! remains reveal a spring/summer occupation with a broad spectrum foraging strategy. Features and lithics indicate a wide range of occupation activities suggestive of either a residential camp or repeated logistic activity sets. Assemblage composition and chert types suggest cultural affiliations with the northeast coast of Lake Michigan and the northern Lake Huron basin.

The high density of Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric Period habitation sites in northwest Ohio, south of the Western Basin of Lake Erie, suggests that this area experienced a period of significant human activity in late prehistory. It... more

The high density of Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric Period habitation sites in northwest Ohio, south of the Western Basin of Lake Erie, suggests that this area experienced a period of significant human activity in late prehistory. It has generally been accepted that in this area the intensification of maize subsistence and a subsequent transition to a more sedentary, agrarian-based settlement pattern occurred during the transition between the Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric Periods (750AD-1450AD). This proposed settlement shift has been described by many as a transition from short-term, often seasonal occupations of lakeshore-oriented sand spits, prairies and major downstream drainages to more sedentary agricultural village settlements located upstream at secondary river confluences, well-drained ancient beach ridges, and/or defensible river bluff locations. While this proposed change in settlement patterns is frequently cited in academic literature, the primary data supporting this change is largely qualitative and anecdotal in nature. Geographical Information System (GIS) Technology provides a new approach to conduct a regional settlement pattern analysis of this area in order to substantiate, quantify, and characterize any proposed change in habitation patterns that may have occurred during this time period, subsequent to the intensification of maize subsistence. The settlement analyses presented in this thesis represent a first attempt to not only aggregate the necessary habitation site data to permit a comprehensive settlement analysis in this region, but also the first to utilize GIS technology combined with environmental data to do so. It is believed that a better understanding of changes in settlement patterns – spatially, chronologically and qualitatively – can help to provide new insight regarding the cultural change that was likely occurring during this transitional time period, as archaeologists are still in its early stages of developing a more comprehensive understanding of the late prehistory of this region.

A re-examination of the SLI presence at the late 15th century Parsons Site and at the mid-15th century Picard Site in Whitby

The Wendat (Huron) and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) confederacies of northeastern North America are often presented as functionally equivalent political formations despite their having distinct cultural traits and unique geopolitical and... more

The Wendat (Huron) and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) confederacies of northeastern North America are often presented as functionally equivalent political formations despite their having distinct cultural traits and unique geopolitical and developmental histories. In this article we employ social network analysis of collar decoration on ceramic vessels both to examine organizational differences in the social network that composed each group and to evaluate women’s participation in political activities as potters who produced and transmitted social and political signals. The concept of social capital and the dimensions along which it varies are employed to understand variability in network statistics and topologies. Our results indicate that the Wendat confederacy formed a “complete” network characterized by bonding ties of social capital, whereas the Haudenosaunee confederacy was a “coalitional” network characterized by bridging ties. The results suggest that women’s signaling networks were integral to how each confederacy functioned and the norms of reciprocity, trust, and information-sharing that defined each political formation.

Published in Ontario Archaeology No. 93, 2013, pp. 219-223

The Nelson stone tool cache was discovered in 2008 in Mount Vernon, Ohio. The cache does not include any diagnostic materials, and independent age control is unavailable. Although aspects of its 164 bifaces are suggestive of a Clovis... more

The Nelson stone tool cache was discovered in 2008 in Mount Vernon, Ohio. The cache does not include any diagnostic materials, and independent age control is unavailable. Although aspects of its 164 bifaces are suggestive of a Clovis affiliationincluding the occasional occurrence of unmistakable flute scarsnearly all are in the early-to mid-stages of production, there are no definitive finished Clovis fluted points that would make it possible to assign the cache to that time period. To ascertain its cultural affiliation, we undertook a detailed qualitative and quantitative comparison of the Nelson cache bifaces with ones known to be both Clovis and post-Clovis in age. We also conducted geochemical sourcing, ochre analyses, and microwear analysis to understand the context of the cache, regardless of its age and cultural affinity. By some key measures it is consistent with Clovis caches in this region and elsewhere, but the case remains unproven. Nonetheless, if the Nelson cache is from the Clovis period, it is significant that most of its bifaces appear to be made on large flakes, in keeping with Clovis technology in the Lower Great Lakes, and an economically conservative, risk-mitigating strategy that conforms to predictions of human foragers colonizing the area in late Pleistocene times.

A description is provided of a small fluted point site test excavated in 1979.

The East Bay Site is a late Middle Woodland site in the Grand Traverse region of Michigan. The article presents the results of Phase II testing and Phase III data recovery excavations carried out at the site between 1990 and 1992. These... more

The East Bay Site is a late Middle Woodland site in the Grand Traverse region of Michigan. The article presents the results of Phase II testing and Phase III data recovery excavations carried out at the site between 1990 and 1992. These excavations provide significant new information concerning the Middle to Late Woodland transition in northwest lower Michigan.

Birdstones are an enigmatic and diverse group of objects found across eastern North America with concentrations around the Great Lakes region. Via specula- tive interpretations of form, analogical comparison with other regions, and... more

Birdstones are an enigmatic and diverse group of objects found across eastern North America with concentrations around the Great Lakes region. Via specula- tive interpretations of form, analogical comparison with other regions, and consideration of basic contextual information, archaeologists think of birdstones as parts of canoes, flutes, unspecified ceremonial assemblages, and, most fre- quently, atlatls. Discourse and debate about birdstones largely neglects issues of material vibrancy and semiotic process, including the processes by which archae- ologists and others began to name and typify these objects in the late nineteenth century. This paper rethinks birdstones through a ‘more than representational’ approach that combines assemblage theory with Peircean semiotics. Although both lines of thought align with relational ontologies, non-representational critiques, and post-anthropocentrism, archaeologists rarely consider the two together. This approach helps us chart how birdstones emerged and evolved through a complicated set of human-nonhuman interactions that continue into the present.

An artifact-accompanied Early Woodland burial on a low plateau overlooking a bay of Lake Michigan was excavated and reinterred during the early fifth century CE. During that ritual unparched grains of wild rice (Ziziana aquatic) were... more

An artifact-accompanied Early Woodland burial on a low plateau overlooking a bay of Lake Michigan was excavated and reinterred during the early fifth century CE. During that ritual unparched grains of wild rice (Ziziana aquatic) were accidentally included with the earlier cremation

Excavations occurred following bank erosion of a NW Michigan logging roard evealed a ceremonial Late Middle Woodland (5th Century) reburial of an Early Middle Woodland cremation with incidental inclusions of charred wild rice. The report... more

Excavations occurred following bank erosion of a NW Michigan logging roard evealed a ceremonial Late Middle Woodland (5th Century) reburial of an Early Middle Woodland cremation with incidental inclusions of charred wild rice. The report documents the millennial persistence of place-making rituals in the Lake Forest ecotone.

Foraging societies with low population densities would seem an unlikely context in which to find extensive, continental scale, exchange systems featuring formal and standardized methods and materials of interaction. Yet, in the Late... more

Foraging societies with low population densities would seem an unlikely context in which to find extensive, continental scale, exchange systems featuring formal and standardized methods and materials of interaction. Yet, in the Late Archaic of the North American Midcontinent, this situation unfolds. How does formalized exchange function in such dispersed, small scale foraging societies? How does it help to create larger social entities and increasing sociopolitical complexity? How do such systems develop, what do they do, and why? In this study, a synthesis of anthropological theory on exchange and evolutionary theory of cooperative behavior is developed to produce a model of exchange with several testable predictions. These predictions include that differential access to exchange benefits will exist within and between communities, that exchange is inherently risky to participants and their communities, the frequency and scale of exchange will increase as trust is established and validated, exchange of material goods creates opportunities and incentives for social change, and conflict between communities is expected when trust is lost or undermined. These are then examined through a methodologically diverse set of studies involving analysis of lithic and copper artifacts to examine changes affecting Late Archaic societies in the western Great Lakes between 4000 and 2000 years ago. Data from the Late Archaic Riverside site, Middle Archaic Reigh site, and sites of the Late Archaic Burnt Rollways phase are examined to understand the production and movement of copper and lithic exchange materials, access to and benefits from exchange networks, and social changes accompanying the development of such systems of interaction. This study demonstrates that the Burnt Rollways phase is socially distinct from, and not interacting with, their downstream neighbors at Reigh and Riverside, while Riverside is engaged in a formal system of interaction and ritual with communities as distant as the lower Ohio River valley. As a consequence of this interaction network, Riverside exhibits differential access to benefits, standardization and ritualization of materials of interaction including formalized bifaces of Wyandotte chert and copper beads, intensification of exchange through time, significant social
changes emphasizing the growing importance of women and children, and conflict.

The foundations for modern scholarship concerning Wendat history and archaeology were laid in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by researchers, such as Andrew Hunter and Arthur Jones, investigating hundreds of sites and... more

The foundations for modern scholarship concerning Wendat history and archaeology were laid in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by researchers, such as Andrew Hunter and Arthur Jones, investigating
hundreds of sites and ossuaries that had been reported to provincial authorities. The focus of their work and
of the work of many of those who followed was the search for places that could be related to villages and missions
mentioned in early documentary accounts. Avocational, academic, and government agency archaeologists
working in the mid-twentieth century had only these early archaeological studies to inform their investigations
ofWendat sites. During the past 30 years, however, a revolution in archaeological data collection has occurred.
Some of these data are published and thus accessible to current researchers, but much of it remains unpublished
and some of it has not even been reported on. This paper is an overview of most of this work, especially of those
sites where substantial excavations have occurred. It is intended to provide a guide for those who wish to use
these studies to delve deeper into various aspects of the history of historic-period or ancestralWendat communities.

In this presentation, I delve into later prehistory and explore the relationship between people and their physical environment using an example derived from Late Woodland (A.D. 700 to A.D. 1600) settlement and subsistence patterns... more

In this presentation, I delve into later prehistory and explore the relationship between people and their physical environment using an example derived from Late Woodland (A.D. 700 to A.D. 1600) settlement and subsistence patterns from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The dominant model for this region derives from a relatively small number of coastal Great Lakes archaeological sites and is linked to the development of the Inland Shores Fishery and especially to the advent of deep water fall fishing.
Recent research examines data from both coastal and interior archaeological sites resulting in a more complete picture of Late Woodland settlement dynamics. The results show that Late Woodland peoples exploited certain site settings and habitats more extensively than others. Some site settings appear to change over time, and others exhibit characteristics of culturally modified landscapes. While it can be assumed that the distribution of Late Woodland sites reflects the location of resources used by Late Woodland peoples, their distribution is not entirely random and suggests that other cultural factors played a role in the selection of site locations.

The current state of research allows stating that the idea of sacrificial lake/bog sites is in no way limited to northern Europe. To the south of the Baltic Sea one can name lake sites (some of them evolved into bogs – like Czaszkowo – or... more

The current state of research allows stating that the idea of sacrificial lake/bog sites is in no way limited to northern Europe. To the south of the Baltic Sea one can name lake sites (some of them evolved into bogs – like Czaszkowo – or were dried – like Wólka; some have preserved as lakes – Lubanowo, probably Krępsk), numerous bog sites, depots in the vicinity of certain rivers (Czarnków, Stare Dłusko, maybe Żarnowiec) and, in the end, riverine sites (appearing at least in two horizons). They were surely more numerous than it is known at this moment. The underrepresentation results from the general lack of long-lasting and systematic underwater surveys. Another important factor stems from the fact that a great majority of the lakes in the European Lowland is covered in their littoral zone by organic sediments, at least 0.5–1.0 m thick. This significantly limits the use of metal detectors even in case of large-sized items buried beneath. Lake Lubanowo presents itself unique as its bottom is solid (sandy-stony-clayish) in the vicinity of the shore. Only future archaeological studies may lead to an answer whether the swords found in rivers are overrated in their number or other categories of weapons were thrown into the flowing waters as well, and what regularities may be traced in the sacrificial activity characteristic for the lake sites in certain periods. Also the phenomenon of depots should be studied in detail, as it seems as the least recognized one. Only after the thorough research one may try to connect such sites with the supra-regional phenomena like the Marcomannic Wars or
the Crisis of the Third Century. Therefore – let’s dive!

The cache pits at the Ne-con-ne-pe-wah-se site (20NE331) are noteworthy, as this class of features is a poorly understood phenomenon in Michigan archaeology. The recovery of a wide range of botanical materials representing a variety of... more

The cache pits at the Ne-con-ne-pe-wah-se site (20NE331) are noteworthy, as this class of features is a poorly understood phenomenon in Michigan archaeology. The recovery of a wide range of botanical materials representing a variety of food and other cultural taxa is compelling testimony that the features tested at 20NE331 were used for the storage of dried nuts and fruits in the late nineteenth century. The Ne-con-ne-pe-wah-se site was formed as a result of the activities of nineteenth century Native American women and children. This observation was greatly clarified through the interpolation of ethnohistoric and archaeological data that provided a cultural context or model to illuminate the archaeological data. Without such cultural context, the site would simply represent a storage site and not a locale reflecting gendered space and activity.