MIDCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Message from the President
William Green


Editorial – The Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology: Continuity and Change in the Heartland
William A. Lovis

X-RAY POWDER DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS OF EARLY AND MIDDLE WOODLAND RED PIPES FROM WISCONSIN
Robert F. Boszhardt and James N. Gundersen

Red tube and platform pipes have been found across the Upper Midwest and Upper Great Lakes. Platform pipes from the Midwest are confidently associated with the Middle Woodland Hopewell phenomenon, while tube pipes in the Great Lakes Region are generally attributed to Early Woodland (Adena related) manifestations. Most descriptions of these artifacts attribute the red material to Ohio pipestone or "fire-clay.” Although Sigstad's (1973) neutron activation analysis revealed that western pipestone sources were utilized for red Adena and Hopewell pipes, the Ohio source interpretation has retained popular favor among archaeologists. X-ray powder diffraction analysis of six red Adena/Hopewell pipes from Wisconsin correlated five to catlinite from southwestern Minnesota and one to Kansas pipestone. The implications of these findings verify the use of catlinite back to ca. 2,500 B.P. and enhance models of western lithic import during this period of interregional exchange.

DATING THE MIDDLE TO LATE WOODLAND TRANSITION IN THE ILLINOIS VALLEY: RADIOCARBON AND TL DATES FROM THE BAEHR-GUST SITE
Julie Zimmermann Holt and James Feathers

The Baehr-Gust (Baehr) site (11BR2) is known as a Middle Woodland mound center based on results of 19th century excavations. More recent excavations by New York University outside the mounds revealed one feature filled with Middle Woodland Havana and Hopewell sherds and several dozen features filled primarily with White Hall sherds, which are widely considered early Late Woodland. NYU excavators hypothesized that the site was occupied ca. A.D. 400-500, and that Havana, Hopewell, and White Hall pottery were contemporaneous at the site. An alternative hypothesis is that two occupations occurred at the site, an earlier Havana occupation and a subsequent White Hall occupation. These hypotheses are tested with a combination of radiocarbon dating and TL dating. Results indicate that Baehr-Gust was occupied ca. 50 B.C. - A.D. 530, and that Havana and Hopewell pottery predate White Hall pottery at the site. TL dating is shown to be useful in directly dating ceramic types where the integrity of the context is ambiguous. Methodological problems and implications for Illinois Valley culture history are discussed.


MORTON MOUND 14 AND MORTUARY CEREMONIALISM IN THE CENTRAL ILLINOIS RIVER VALLEY
Michael Strezewski

Morton mound 14, a Larson phase (A.D. 1250-1300) Mississippian mortuary site in the central Illinois River valley, was completely excavated in 1930, with approximately 100 Mississippian burials recovered. Although the excavation techniques utilized were innovative for the time, the published site report lacks information on primary data, limiting its usefulness in current research. Re-examination of these data has revealed the presence of charnel features consisting of a pair of stone-lined pits and a layer of ash. These features are associated with secondary remains, suggesting a role in corpse processing. It is argued, based on archaeological and ethnohistoric data, that the layout of the mound, burials, and charnel features is patterned after Native American notions of the cosmos. This layout may have acted as a means to establish links to a sacred order, legitimize tribal organization, and sustain links to the ancestors.


TEMPORAL VARIATION IN LATE MIDDLE ARCHAIC BONE PINS
Andrew A. White

Temporal variation in the morphology and decoration of late Middle Archaic (ca. 6000-5000 BP) bone pins from the middle Mississippi and lower Ohio River valleys is explored. A preliminary chronology of pin morphology and decoration is proposed based on seriation, radiocarbon dates, stratigraphy, associations between engraved decoration and head morphology, and similarities in head shape and cross-section. Square-top pins appear to be the earliest forms, occurring prior to 5500 BP. Square-top pins are followed by fishtail/fishtail-cruciform, double-expanded, spade-top, blunt-top, T-top, and crutch-top pins. Pin cross-section changes from flat and broad to narrow and oval during this succession of forms. Engraved decoration varies in frequency and form, with straight line decorations peaking in popularity earlier than concentric line designs.


Midwest Archaeological Conference Articles of Incorporation


Midwest Archaeological Conference Bylaws