MIDCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Of Masks and Myths
James R. Duncan and Carol Diaz-Granados
pp. 1-26
A rare Missouri pictograph provides the first two-color, two-dimensional example of a regional artifact group--the long-nosed god maskettes. These ear ornaments have been found in an area encompassing at least 10 states. The pictograph and related myths (oral traditions) offer new insight into the symbolism that surrounds these ear ornaments. We also describe a long-sequestered pair of copper maskettes and other relevant artifacts and suggest how these representations may have figured into the general socioeconomics of western Mississippian groups. We explore the interrelationships of artifact attributes with a common theme found in the oral traditions of the central Mississippi and Missouri river valleys and southeastern areas where the ear ornaments have been found. Correlations connect the masks, the myths, and the economic structure, all of which worked together to play a major role in the development of complex societies and their far-reaching exchange networks.

Charred, Non-Maize Seed Concentrations in the American Bottom Area: Examples from the Westpark Site (11-MO-96), Monroe County, Illinois
Gina S. Powell
pp. 27-48
Analysis of charred seed concentrations from the Westpark site (11-MO-96), in the American Bottom, Illinois, contributes to the understanding of the domesticated status and deposition patterns of sunflower (Helianthus annuus var. macrocarpus) and chenopod (Chenopodium berlandieri var. jonesianum) during the Late Woodland Patrick phase and of erect knotweed (Polygonum erectum) during the Emergent Mississippian Dohack phase. For the Patrick phase, the sunflower seeds are the expected size, but the large sample reveals the unreliability of the standard achene size correction formula. One or possibly two types of domesticated chenopod were used at the site during the Patrick phase. The placement of a later seed concentration in the center of an Emergent Mississippian Dohack phase community at the site suggests a public or ceremonial component to seed deposition. In addition, seed concentrations from other sites and time periods in the American Bottom area show that seed concentration deposits seem to be segregated by taxa or by season of harvest.

New Data on the Late Woodland Use of Wild Rice in Northern Wisconsin
Charles R. Moffat and Constance M. Arzigian
pp. 49-81
Test excavations at the Robinson site, a large multicomponent village and mound complex in the upper Wisconsin River drainage, identified a Late Woodland Lakes phase midden and four features. An uncalibrated eighth-century A.D. radiocarbon date was obtained on charcoal from a feature that contained carbonized wild rice. This find is consistent with the previously postulated expansion of wild rice collecting during the early Lakes phase. Additional pit features containing wild rice were excavated at two small campsites located nearby. An eleventh-century radiocarbon date is associated with wild rice and maize from the Fishers Island site, and three twelfth-century dates were obtained from the Ghost Shirt Island V site, indicating the continuing importance of wild rice through the late Lakes phase.

Elemental Composition Studies of Lithic Materials from Western Kentucky and Tennessee
Jack D. Nance
pp. 83-100
Neutron activation analyses of cherts from McCormick Creek in Livingston County, Kentucky, the Dover Quarry in Stewart County, Tennessee, and the Morrisroe site (15-Lv-156) in Livingston County, Kentucky are reported. Data on concentrations in ppm for 26 elements are presented for 50 samples from Dover, 45 samples for McCormick Creek, and 50 archaeological samples from the Morrisroe Site. These data are utilized in a series of analyses aimed at discriminating between the two source samples (Dover and McCormick Creek) and assessing the similarity of the archaeological sample to these two sources. Two different approaches are utilized in studying the data: simple classification trees and multiple linear discriminant functions analysis. Results indicate that employing these two techniques, the two visually similar source samples can be discriminated with a high degree of accuracy. Application of the techniques to the archaeological sample suggests that overall the archaeological material is more similar to the local source (McCormick Creek) than the Dover material, but that some of the specimens do not appear to be very similar to either source.

Functional and Stylistic Analyses of Ceramic Vessels from Mortuary Features at a 15th and 16th Century Caddo Site in Northeast Texas
Timothy K. Perttula
pp. 101-151
I discuss the function, form, style, and technology of a 15th and 16th century Titus phase Caddo vessel assemblage from the Mockingbird site (41TT550) in northeast Texas. Differences exist between vessel forms in firing methods, size, and volume, probable use (as discerned from use wear, sooting, and charred organic remains adhering to vessel surfaces), and whether they were decorated, undecorated, and/or covered with a clay-rich slip. Analysis of engraved rims on carinated bowls and compound bowls compares the representation of different motifs at the site to nearby Titus phase cemeteries, as well as to other Titus phase cemeteries on Big Cypress Creek, to examine the broader affiliation of the Caddo peoples living at the Mockingbird site. This vessel assemblage, and others from contemporaneous Caddo societies, hint at regional differences between Caddo peoples in the treatment of the dead and in Late Caddo (post-A.D. 1400) views on life and death.