2002 Theses and Dissertation Abstracts

Late Woodland Settlement Dynamics and Social Interaction in the American Bottom Uplands, A.D. 650-900

by Joseph M. Galloy

Abstract of Dissertation
Department of Anthropology
Harvard University
November 2002


Late Woodland settlement dynamics and social interaction are explored through a comparative analysis of three Patrick phase (A.D. 650-900) habitation sites (Dugan Airfield, Sprague, and Rhonda) located on adjacent portions of the Dupo-Waterloo Anticline in the southern American Bottom uplands. Detailed analyses of the structures, pit features, and ceramic vessels from these sites are presented, followed by comparisons of selected attributes using data from more than 20 roughly contemporaneous regional sites.

The dominant characterization of the Patrick phase settlement system is one in which large, permanent, year-round villages were supplemented by smaller, seasonally occupied subsistence camps. A contrasting portrayal
envisions frequent scheduled movement between separate residential locations of varying sizes. Support for the latter model is found in feature fill patterns at the Dupo-Waterloo Anticline sites, which indicate periodic abandonment and reoccupation of activity areas. Additional indicators of residential mobility, apparent at these and other Patrick phase sites, include a strong reliance on concealed storage, the destruction of dwellings through neglect, and settlement plans characterized by relatively little internal order or signs of accretional community growth.

Issues regarding intraregional social interaction are addressed through the distribution of small-scale, non-functional variation in feature and vessel morphology. Such variation appears to reflect learned traditions of technical choice, which in turn correspond to the size and structure of social networks. For example, divergent technical choices made during the construction of dwellings at Dugan Airfield and Sprague stand in sharp contrast to the generally strong similarities in the size and shape of pots and pits from the same sites. A combination of patrilocal residence rules and gender roles is a possible explanation for this pattern.

Regionally, intersite relationships appear strongest at distances of less than 5 km, reflecting compact yet somewhat porous social networks. Barely detectable local traditions appear to have developed due to relatively low levels of interaction between distant groups. This supports an interpretation that the broad regional similarities in Patrick phase material culture may not reflect large social networks and intense interaction, but the rapid expansion of ancestrally related groups across a sparsely populated region.

A Comparative Study of Oneota and Langford Traditions

by Chrisie L. Hunter

Abstract of Master’s Thesis
Department of Anthropology
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2002

This study is a comparative analysis of two contemporaneous sites from two related cultural systems, Oneota and Langford. Similarities and differences between the sites were examined through analysis of technology, faunal and floral remains, and environmental variables. A catchment analysis was completed to understand environmental factors affecting agricultural practices and resource utilization between the two sites. The issue of agricultural production and the extent this subsistence strategy was utilized at two sites was examined. The Crescent Bay Hunt Club site (Oneota) and Washington Irving site (Langford) are shown to be similar in lithic technology but significantly different in ceramic technology, and subsistence strategies. The Oneota Crescent Bay Hunt Club site occupants were more dependant upon wetland resources than were the Langford occupants of the Washington Irving site.

A Diachronic Study of Animal Exploitation at Aztalan, A Late Prehistoric Village in Southeast Wisconsin

by Matthew Warwick

Abstract of Master’s Thesis
Department of Anthropology
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2002

Animal bone from the Aztalan site (47-Je-1), a late prehistoric village in southeastern Wisconsin, was analyzed and documented. This site served as the location of a Late Woodland settlement and a subsequent Late Woodland / Middle Mississippian village. Faunal remains from two stratigraphic layers, recovered by the 1984 UW-Milwaukee excavations of the ravine midden, were included in this analysis—Stratum 11 and Stratum 5. The focus of this study was the analysis of diet and diet change over time between the Late Woodland settlement (Stratum 11) and the subsequent Late Woodland / Mississippian village (Stratum 5).

Analysis of the faunal remains considered the two primary topics: (1) the role of mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles within the diet and (2) the procurement strategies and dietary role of white-tailed deer. The former topic of analysis investigated use of these four taxonomic groups, mammalian taxa by body size, and resource emphasis by habitat. Deer use was analyzed by body part representation and bone fragmentation rate. The results of these two analyses were compared between the two cultural occupations at Aztalan.

Results of this analysis suggest similar subsistence patterns were practiced by site occupants of the Late Woodland occupation and the Late Woodland / Mississippian occupation. Exploitation of game from local terrestrial and aquatic habitats was equally important for both. Over time, however, a slightly more generalized diet, which included more fish and small mammals, is documented. Deer were important to the diet for both occupations. Deer limbs were the most important deer carcass transport / consumption unit documented. Feasting was not represented at this part of the site during either occupation. Instead, domestic consumption and processing activities are indicated by the body part representation and bone fragmentation data within the two strata.

Delineating the Spatial and Temporal Boundaries of Late Woodland Collared Wares from Wisconsin and Illinois

by John Kelly

Abstract of Master’s Thesis
Department of Anthropology
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2002

The focus of this thesis is the temporal, spatial distributions of five different collared ware varieties from northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. These five collared varieties include Starved Rock Collared, Aztalan Collared, Point Sauble Collared, Hahn Cord Impressed, and a fifth category reserved for unassigned collared wares. In addition, issues of cultural association of ceramic wares to specific groups will be explored.

Since there is no consensus among archaeologists about how collared wares are related to the ubiquitous Madison wares found in the northern Prairie Peninsula, the focus of this study is to delineate boundaries across both time and space for each of the ware varieties from Wisconsin and Illinois. The analysis of this study, therefore, is designed to: (a) provide baseline descriptions of collared wares based on the current literature and collections; (b) describe the depositional context in which these materials were found; (c) construct frequency distributions of wares found at each of the sites identified in this thesis; and (d) construct chronological frequency distributions for each ware type from radiocarbon-dated samples derived from those sites listed in this thesis.

Whether through in situ change, diffusion, or migration, determining how collared wares were introduced to this region is beyond the scope of this study. Rather, the analysis outlined above tests two hypotheses. The first hypothesis claims that Late Woodland groups introduced collared wares into southern Wisconsin from Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. The alternative hypothesis holds that collared wares developed in situ in Wisconsin out of the local Effigy Mound Tradition. Given the limitations of the current radiocarbon database for collared wares, there is not enough evidence to support either hypothesis. Rather, collared wares appear between ca. A.D. 900 and 1000 in both Wisconsin and Illinois. This ceramic tradition is estimated to end between ca. A.D. 1100 and 1200 when Upper Mississippian ceramics are generally believed to have replaced many of the earlier Late Woodland wares.