Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T23:35:32.320Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Characterizing Elite Midden Deposits at Moundville

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Vernon James Knight Jr.
Vernon James Knight Jr.*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Box 870210, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0210
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Insufficient attention has been paid to differences among elite archaeological contexts in middle-range or chiefdom societies. At Moundville, a major Mississippian center in Alabama, midden and feature-fill deposits attributed to elite behavior have been excavated in several areas. Deposits on Mounds Q and G dating to the Moundville II and III phases (ca. A.D. 1260–1450) are similar in that they incorporate abundant domestic debris associated with structures on mound summits. On both mounds, food remains show evidence of provisioning and the consumption of small-scale meals rather than feasting. However, the two contexts differ in the occurrence of evidence for skilled crafting and the display of human skeletal remains. At Mound Q, skilled crafting is abundantly attested, employing local and nonlocal raw materials. Display goods were routinely handled, and pigment processing and use were important. Burials were rarely made, but fragmentary human bone is scattered throughout, emphasizing portions of the skeleton consistent with display. In contrast, elite contexts on Mound G show little or no evidence of crafting, pigment use, and bone handling.

Resumen

Resumen

Se ha prestado limitada atención a las diferencias entre los contextos arqueológicos de elite en las sociedades de rango medio o cacicales. En Moundville, un centro mississipiense importante en Alabama, se han excavado depósitos culturales atribuidos a actividad de elite en varias áreas. Los depósitos en los Monticulos Q y G pertenecientes a las fases Moundville II y III (ca. 1260–1450 d.C.) son semejantes pues incorporan abundantes desechos de actividades domésticas asociados con estructuras en la parte superior de los montículos. En ambos montíiculos, los restos de alimentos, plantas y animales, muestran evidencias del abastecimiento y el consumo de comidas ocasionales en vez defestines. Sin embargo, hay diferencias en estos dos contextos respecto a la ocurrencia de evidencias de artesanías especializadas y de la exhibición de restos óseos humanos. En el Montículo Q, hay evidencias abundantes de artesanías producidas tanto con materias primas locales comoforáneas. Fueron empleados objetos de ostentación rutinariamente, y el procesamiento y uso de pigmentos fue importante. Había pocos enter-ramientos, pero se encuentran fragmentos de huesos humanos esparcidos por doquier, enfatizando porciones de los esqueletos consistente con exhibición. En contraste, en los contextos de elite en el Montículo G hay pocas evidencias de artesanías, uso de pigmentos y manipulación de huesos.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 69 , Issue 2 , April 2004 , pp. 304 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Anderson, David G. 1994 The Savannah River Chiefdoms: Political Change in the Late Prehistoric Southeast. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa. Google Scholar
Astin, Robyn M. 1996 Mound M: Chronology and Function at Moundville. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Barker, Alex W., and Pauketat, Timothy R. 1992 Introduction: Social Inequality and the Native Elites of Southeastern North America. In Lords of the Southeast: Social Inequality and the Native Elites of Southeastern North America, edited by Barker, Alex W. and Pauketat, Timothy R., pp. 1–10. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association No. 3. American Anthropological Association, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Emerson, Thomas E. 1997 Cahokia and the Archaeology of Power. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Helms, Mary W. 1993 Craft and the Kingly Ideal: Art, Trade, and Power. University of Texas Press, Austin. Google Scholar
Jackson, H. Edwin, and L. Scott, Susan 1995 The Faunal Record of the Southeastern Elite: The Implications of Economy, Social Relations, and Ideology. Southeastern Archaeology 14:103–119.Google Scholar
Jackson, H. Edwin, and L. Scott, Susan 1998 Faunal Utilization by the Moundville Elite: Zooarchaeology of Mounds Q, G, E, F, and R. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Jackson, H. Edwin, and L. Scott, Susan 2003 Patterns of Elite Faunal Utilization at Moundville, Alabama. American Antiquity 68:552–572.Google Scholar
Knight, Vernon James Jr., 1992 Preliminary Report on Excavations at Mound Q, Moundville. Paper presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Little Rock.Google Scholar
Knight, Vernon James Jr., 1995 Chronology and Use of Public Architecture at the Moundville Site: Excavations in Mounds R, E, F, and G. Second interim report, National Science Foundation Award 9220568. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Knight, Vernon James Jr., 1998 Moundville as a Diagrammatic Ceremonial Center. In Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom, edited by Knight, Vernon James Jr. and Steponaitis, Vincas P., pp. 44–62. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Knight, Vernon James Jr., and Steponaitis, Vincas P. 1998 A New History of Moundville. In Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom, edited by Knight, Vernon James Jr., and Steponaitis, Vincas P., pp. 1–25. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Lindauer, Owen, and John H., Blitz 1997 Higher Ground: The Archaeology of North American Platform Mounds. Journal of Archaeological Research 5:169–207.Google Scholar
Markin, Julie G. 1997 Elite Stoneworking and the Function of Mounds at Moundville. Mississippi Archaeology 32:117–135.Google Scholar
Maxham, Mintcy 2000 Rural Communities in the Black Warrior Valley, Alabama: The Role of Commoners in the Creation of the Moundville I Landscape. American Antiquity 65:337–354.Google Scholar
Mehrer, Mark W. 1995 Cahokia's Countryside: Household Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, and Social Power Northern Illinois University Press, DeKalb. Google Scholar
Michals, Lauren M. 1992 The Nature of Faunal Exploitation in Mississippian Societies. Paper presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Moore, Clarence B. 1905 Certain Aboriginal Remains of the Black Warrior River. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 13:125–224.Google Scholar
Muller, Jon 1997 Mississippian Political Economy. Plenum Press, New York.Google Scholar
Pauketat, Timothy R. 1993 Temples for Cahokia's Lords: Excavations of the Kimnemann Mound. Memoir No. 26. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Pauketat, Timothy R. 1994 The Ascent of Chiefs: Cahokia and Mississippian Politics in Native North America. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa. Google Scholar
Pauketat, Timothy R. 1997 Specialization, Political Symbols, and the Crafty Elite of Cahokia. Southeastern Archaeology 16:1–15.Google Scholar
Peebles, Christopher S. 1971 Moundville and Surrounding Sites: Some Structural Considerations of Mortuary Practices. In Approaches to the Social Dimension of Mortuary Practices, edited by Brown, James A., pp. 68–91. Memoirs No. 25. Society for American Archaeology, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Peebles, Christopher S. 1974 Moundville: The Organization of a Prehistoric Community and Culture. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara. University Microfilms. Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Peebles, Christopher S., and Kus, Susan M. 1977 Some Archaeological Correlates of Ranked Societies. American Antiquity 42:421–448.Google Scholar
Ryba, Elizabeth A. 1997 Summit Architecture on Mound E at Moundville. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Scarry, C. Margaret 1996 Archaeobotanical Analysis. In Chronology and Use of Public Architecture at the Moundville Site: Excavations in Mounds R, E, F, and G, by Knight, Vernon James Jr., Second interim report, National Science Foundation Award 9220568. Manuscript on file, Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Scarry, C. Margaret 2003 The Use of Plants and Mound-Related Activities at Bottle Creek and Moundville. In Bottle Creek: A Pensacola Culture Site in South Alabama, edited by Brown, Ian W., pp. 114–129. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Scarry, C. Margaret, and P. Steponaitis, Vincas 1997 Between Farmstead and Center: The Natural and Social Landscape of Moundville. In People, Plants, and Landscapes: Studies in Paleoethnobotany, edited by Gremillion, Kristen J., pp. 107–122. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Seeman, Mark F. 1988 Ohio Hopewell Trophy-Skull Artifacts as Evidence for Competition in Middle Woodland Societies circa 50 B.C.–A.D. 350. American Antiquity 53:565–577.Google Scholar
Smith, Marvin T., and Williams, Mark 1994 Mississippian Mound Refuse Disposal Patterns and Implications for Archaeological Research. Southeastern Archaeology 13:27–35.Google Scholar
Steponaitis, Vincas P. 1998 Population Trends at Moundville. In Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom, edited by Knight, Vernon James Jr., and Steponaitis, Vincas P., pp. 26–43. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Taft, Kristi E. 1996 Functionally Relevant Classes of Pottery at Moundville. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Walthall, John A. 1981 Galena and Aboriginal Trade in Eastern North America. Scientific Papers, Vol. 17. Illinois State Museum, Springfield.Google Scholar
Welch, Paul D. 1991 Moundville's Economy. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Welch, Paul D. 1996 Control over Goods and the Political Stability of the Moundville Chiefdom. In Political Structure and Change in the Prehistoric Southeastern United States, edited by Scarry, John F., pp. 69–91. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Welch, Paul D., and Scarry, C. Margaret 1995 Status-Related Variation in Foodways in the Moundville Chiefdom. American Antiquity 60:397–419.Google Scholar
Wilson, Gregory D. 2001 Crafting Control and the Control of Crafts: Rethinking the Moundville Greenstone Industry. Southeastern Archaeology 20:118–128.Google Scholar
Wright, Henry T. 1984 Prestate Political Formations. In On the Evolution of Complex Societies: Essays in Honor of Harry Hoijer, 1982, edited by Earle, Timothy K., pp. 43–77. Undena, Malibu.Google Scholar