A review of War Paths, Peace Paths: an Archaeology of Cooperation and Conflict in Native Eastern ... more A review of War Paths, Peace Paths: an Archaeology of Cooperation and Conflict in Native Eastern North America, by David H. Dye
Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yield... more Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yielded numerous examples of metal artifacts of European origin. Our study suggests that they derive from contact between the AD 1540–1541 winter encampment of the Spanish Hernando de Soto expedition and the local Indigenous polity. The artifacts display a wide range of modifications, uses, and depositional contexts congruent with hybrid practices. We argue that the early colonial setting of Stark Farms requires a different perspective on cultural mixing than is often applied in studies of European colonialism. This is highlighted by the strongly improvisational nature of the modification of the metal objects, embodying a political climate in which European incursions were precarious and in which hybridity and power were heterogeneous and fluid.
The contributions to the thematic issue of this journal address archaeological approaches to Jesu... more The contributions to the thematic issue of this journal address archaeological approaches to Jesuit missionizing in three contexts in the colonial Americas: substantial missions that also served as plantations, missions lacking full-time clergy, and short-term outposts on the edges of colonial empires. By relying on evidence from the landscape, the built environment, and objects, these studies demonstrate that the Jesuit enterprise was not subservient to, or a simple accomplice of, European colonial ambitions. Instead, missionizing by all Christian orders was intertwined with an evolution of both secular and religious philosophies that gave rise to modernity.
Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human dep... more Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human depopulation event during the Mississippian period (AD 1000–1600) known as the Vacant Quarter phenomenon. The Middle Cumberland region (MCR) of Tennessee is within the Vacant Quarter area, and six villages from the final phase of Mississippian activity in the MCR have been subjected to radiocarbon dating. Complete radiocarbon datasets from these sites are presented within an interpretative Bayesian statistical framework. The results provide a unique history of each settlement and demonstrate that Mississippian occupations at each site likely terminated in the mid- to late fifteenth and possibly early sixteenth centuries AD, which is 50 to 100 years later than the most recent estimate for the timing of the Vacant Quarter. Mississippian abandonment in the MCR was relatively quick, likely occurring over less than a century. The exact reasons for abandonment are not entirely clear but appear to...
Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance... more Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance of European artifacts that largely date to the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries CE. On other sites in the region, such objects have been documented in mortuary and special-use contexts. However, the volume and provenience of these recent finds, many of which were recovered in apparently domestic loci, are suggestive of a more secular context than is typical. These assemblages indicate that, even in the early era of Contact, Native Americans had developed a variety of ways to obtain European goods that were equally important as gifting. Despite strides that are being made in research on European commodities in Indigenous contexts, comparative studies continue to be hampered by lack of consistency in recovery techniques.
English forts in the Carolina Colony embodied the ongoing struggle between the ambitions of imper... more English forts in the Carolina Colony embodied the ongoing struggle between the ambitions of imperial impositions and the aspirations of frontier autonomy. This tension is acutely reflected in the spatial organization of forts. Whereas colonial authorities sought to separate Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans through the formal segregation of the built environment, life on the frontier encouraged a fluidity in space and identity. The theoretical construct of flat ontologies can be used to explore how frontier forts were a catalyst for complex and emergent spatial relations that subverted hierarchical space. Archaeological data from early 18th-century forts on the Carolina frontier exemplify the connective processes of flat ontologies that blurred space and identity.ExtractoLos fuertes ingleses en la colonia de Carolina encarnaban la lucha continua entre las ambiciones de imposiciones imperiales y las aspiraciones de autonomía en la frontera. Esta tensión se refleja agudamente en la organización del espacio en las fortalezas. Mientras que las autoridades coloniales buscaban separar a los europeos, africanos y americanos nativos a través de la segregación formal del entorno construido, la vida en la frontera alentaba una fluidez en el espacio y la identidad. La construcción teórica de ontologías planas puede utilizarse para explorar de qué manera los fuertes fronterizos fueron un catalizador para las relaciones espaciales complejas emergentes que subvertían el espacio jerárquico. Los datos arqueológicos de las fortalezas en la frontera de Carolina desde principios del siglo XVIII ejemplifican los procesos conectivos de ontologías planas que desdibujaban el espacio y la identidad.RésuméLes forts anglais de la colonie de la Caroline personnifient l’opposition continue entre les ambitions des impositions impériales et les aspirations de l’autonomie pionnière. Cette tension est très bien représentée dans l’organisation spatiale desdits forts. Tandis que les autorités coloniales tentaient de diviser les Européens, Africains et Amérindiens en scindant formellement leur environnement construit, la vie au front pionnier favorisait une fluidité d’espace et d’identité. La trame théorique des ontologies linéaires peut être utilisée pour explorer la façon dont les forts des fronts pionniers furent des catalyseurs pour l’émergence de relations spatiales complexes ayant renversé l’espace hiérarchique. Des données archéologiques provenant des forts de la Caroline du début du 18e siècle démontrent les processus de connexion desdites ontologies linéaires qui obscurcissent à la fois l’espace et l’identité.
Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human dep... more Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human depopulation event during the Mississippian period (AD 1000–1600) known as the Vacant Quarter phenomenon. The Middle Cumberland region (MCR) of Tennessee is within the Vacant Quarter area, and six villages from the final phase of Mississippian activity in the MCR have been subjected to radiocarbon dating. Complete radiocarbon datasets from these sites are presented within an interpretative Bayesian statistical framework. The results provide a unique history of each settlement and demonstrate that Mississippian occupations at each site likely terminated in the mid- to late fifteenth and possibly early sixteenth centuries AD, which is 50 to 100 years later than the most recent estimate for the timing of the Vacant Quarter. Mississippian abandonment in the MCR was relatively quick, likely occurring over less than a century. The exact reasons for abandonment are not entirely clear but appear to...
Although plazas have a lengthy and variable history in southeastern North America, by the Mississ... more Although plazas have a lengthy and variable history in southeastern North America, by the Mississippian period (ca. 1000–1500 CE), they had assumed some degree of conformity: they were square to rectangular in shape, anchored the approximate center of a settlement, often had additional inclusions such as public buildings or earthen monuments, and were the arenas of secular and religious public activities. We suggest that the importance of these architectural features to Mississippian life ways can be attributed to two characteristics that are widely shared with other cultures that also employed plazas as a form of axis mundi. First, their construction represents an event that arrests temporality and draws attention to their pivotal role in synchronizing ritual life. Second, their relatively open architecture confers them a relational flexibility that allows for the linkage of a wide variety of spaces, things, and beings. A quantitative and qualitative study of 35 Mississippian plazas demonstrates discrepancies from a linear relationship between plaza size and site size that may be related to variation in the kinds of performances that were conducted in these public places at different types of settlements. Despite this variation, the ubiquity of plazas suggests that they were pivotal to the founding of Mississippian places, and may have been important for reestablishing a sense of cosmological order for migrating communities.
ABSTRACT Investigations into the location of two battles related to the Chickasaw and French Wars... more ABSTRACT Investigations into the location of two battles related to the Chickasaw and French Wars of the 1700s in Mississippi, USA, show the value of a multi-pronged strategy for identifying and delineating military sites. We used metal detecting, shovel test pits, surface collections, local informant interviews, historical maps, LiDAR-based topography, and air photographs to locate Ogoula Tchetoka and Ackia, two Chickasaw towns where French forces were defeated in 1736. Despite the ambiguity introduced by overlapping domestic occupations and other complicating factors, the weight of our complementary approaches demonstrates that Ogoula Tchetoka and surrounding battle features have been modestly impacted by modern developments, whereas Ackia has been largely obliterated by the construction of a residential neighborhood. Our ability to identify major landscape features related to the military history of these sites contributes to our understanding of the tactics and consequences of warfare between European powers and Native Americans in the Colonial era.
A review of War Paths, Peace Paths: an Archaeology of Cooperation and Conflict in Native Eastern ... more A review of War Paths, Peace Paths: an Archaeology of Cooperation and Conflict in Native Eastern North America, by David H. Dye
Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yield... more Investigations at the Native American site complex of Stark Farms in Mississippi, USA, have yielded numerous examples of metal artifacts of European origin. Our study suggests that they derive from contact between the AD 1540–1541 winter encampment of the Spanish Hernando de Soto expedition and the local Indigenous polity. The artifacts display a wide range of modifications, uses, and depositional contexts congruent with hybrid practices. We argue that the early colonial setting of Stark Farms requires a different perspective on cultural mixing than is often applied in studies of European colonialism. This is highlighted by the strongly improvisational nature of the modification of the metal objects, embodying a political climate in which European incursions were precarious and in which hybridity and power were heterogeneous and fluid.
The contributions to the thematic issue of this journal address archaeological approaches to Jesu... more The contributions to the thematic issue of this journal address archaeological approaches to Jesuit missionizing in three contexts in the colonial Americas: substantial missions that also served as plantations, missions lacking full-time clergy, and short-term outposts on the edges of colonial empires. By relying on evidence from the landscape, the built environment, and objects, these studies demonstrate that the Jesuit enterprise was not subservient to, or a simple accomplice of, European colonial ambitions. Instead, missionizing by all Christian orders was intertwined with an evolution of both secular and religious philosophies that gave rise to modernity.
Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human dep... more Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human depopulation event during the Mississippian period (AD 1000–1600) known as the Vacant Quarter phenomenon. The Middle Cumberland region (MCR) of Tennessee is within the Vacant Quarter area, and six villages from the final phase of Mississippian activity in the MCR have been subjected to radiocarbon dating. Complete radiocarbon datasets from these sites are presented within an interpretative Bayesian statistical framework. The results provide a unique history of each settlement and demonstrate that Mississippian occupations at each site likely terminated in the mid- to late fifteenth and possibly early sixteenth centuries AD, which is 50 to 100 years later than the most recent estimate for the timing of the Vacant Quarter. Mississippian abandonment in the MCR was relatively quick, likely occurring over less than a century. The exact reasons for abandonment are not entirely clear but appear to...
Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance... more Investigations at two sites in southeastern North America have yielded an unanticipated abundance of European artifacts that largely date to the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries CE. On other sites in the region, such objects have been documented in mortuary and special-use contexts. However, the volume and provenience of these recent finds, many of which were recovered in apparently domestic loci, are suggestive of a more secular context than is typical. These assemblages indicate that, even in the early era of Contact, Native Americans had developed a variety of ways to obtain European goods that were equally important as gifting. Despite strides that are being made in research on European commodities in Indigenous contexts, comparative studies continue to be hampered by lack of consistency in recovery techniques.
English forts in the Carolina Colony embodied the ongoing struggle between the ambitions of imper... more English forts in the Carolina Colony embodied the ongoing struggle between the ambitions of imperial impositions and the aspirations of frontier autonomy. This tension is acutely reflected in the spatial organization of forts. Whereas colonial authorities sought to separate Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans through the formal segregation of the built environment, life on the frontier encouraged a fluidity in space and identity. The theoretical construct of flat ontologies can be used to explore how frontier forts were a catalyst for complex and emergent spatial relations that subverted hierarchical space. Archaeological data from early 18th-century forts on the Carolina frontier exemplify the connective processes of flat ontologies that blurred space and identity.ExtractoLos fuertes ingleses en la colonia de Carolina encarnaban la lucha continua entre las ambiciones de imposiciones imperiales y las aspiraciones de autonomía en la frontera. Esta tensión se refleja agudamente en la organización del espacio en las fortalezas. Mientras que las autoridades coloniales buscaban separar a los europeos, africanos y americanos nativos a través de la segregación formal del entorno construido, la vida en la frontera alentaba una fluidez en el espacio y la identidad. La construcción teórica de ontologías planas puede utilizarse para explorar de qué manera los fuertes fronterizos fueron un catalizador para las relaciones espaciales complejas emergentes que subvertían el espacio jerárquico. Los datos arqueológicos de las fortalezas en la frontera de Carolina desde principios del siglo XVIII ejemplifican los procesos conectivos de ontologías planas que desdibujaban el espacio y la identidad.RésuméLes forts anglais de la colonie de la Caroline personnifient l’opposition continue entre les ambitions des impositions impériales et les aspirations de l’autonomie pionnière. Cette tension est très bien représentée dans l’organisation spatiale desdits forts. Tandis que les autorités coloniales tentaient de diviser les Européens, Africains et Amérindiens en scindant formellement leur environnement construit, la vie au front pionnier favorisait une fluidité d’espace et d’identité. La trame théorique des ontologies linéaires peut être utilisée pour explorer la façon dont les forts des fronts pionniers furent des catalyseurs pour l’émergence de relations spatiales complexes ayant renversé l’espace hiérarchique. Des données archéologiques provenant des forts de la Caroline du début du 18e siècle démontrent les processus de connexion desdites ontologies linéaires qui obscurcissent à la fois l’espace et l’identité.
Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human dep... more Bayesian chronological modeling is used to investigate the chronology for a large-scale human depopulation event during the Mississippian period (AD 1000–1600) known as the Vacant Quarter phenomenon. The Middle Cumberland region (MCR) of Tennessee is within the Vacant Quarter area, and six villages from the final phase of Mississippian activity in the MCR have been subjected to radiocarbon dating. Complete radiocarbon datasets from these sites are presented within an interpretative Bayesian statistical framework. The results provide a unique history of each settlement and demonstrate that Mississippian occupations at each site likely terminated in the mid- to late fifteenth and possibly early sixteenth centuries AD, which is 50 to 100 years later than the most recent estimate for the timing of the Vacant Quarter. Mississippian abandonment in the MCR was relatively quick, likely occurring over less than a century. The exact reasons for abandonment are not entirely clear but appear to...
Although plazas have a lengthy and variable history in southeastern North America, by the Mississ... more Although plazas have a lengthy and variable history in southeastern North America, by the Mississippian period (ca. 1000–1500 CE), they had assumed some degree of conformity: they were square to rectangular in shape, anchored the approximate center of a settlement, often had additional inclusions such as public buildings or earthen monuments, and were the arenas of secular and religious public activities. We suggest that the importance of these architectural features to Mississippian life ways can be attributed to two characteristics that are widely shared with other cultures that also employed plazas as a form of axis mundi. First, their construction represents an event that arrests temporality and draws attention to their pivotal role in synchronizing ritual life. Second, their relatively open architecture confers them a relational flexibility that allows for the linkage of a wide variety of spaces, things, and beings. A quantitative and qualitative study of 35 Mississippian plazas demonstrates discrepancies from a linear relationship between plaza size and site size that may be related to variation in the kinds of performances that were conducted in these public places at different types of settlements. Despite this variation, the ubiquity of plazas suggests that they were pivotal to the founding of Mississippian places, and may have been important for reestablishing a sense of cosmological order for migrating communities.
ABSTRACT Investigations into the location of two battles related to the Chickasaw and French Wars... more ABSTRACT Investigations into the location of two battles related to the Chickasaw and French Wars of the 1700s in Mississippi, USA, show the value of a multi-pronged strategy for identifying and delineating military sites. We used metal detecting, shovel test pits, surface collections, local informant interviews, historical maps, LiDAR-based topography, and air photographs to locate Ogoula Tchetoka and Ackia, two Chickasaw towns where French forces were defeated in 1736. Despite the ambiguity introduced by overlapping domestic occupations and other complicating factors, the weight of our complementary approaches demonstrates that Ogoula Tchetoka and surrounding battle features have been modestly impacted by modern developments, whereas Ackia has been largely obliterated by the construction of a residential neighborhood. Our ability to identify major landscape features related to the military history of these sites contributes to our understanding of the tactics and consequences of warfare between European powers and Native Americans in the Colonial era.
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Papers by Charles Cobb