Papers by Shannon Hodge
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2012
ABSTRACT Biocultural patterns surrounding the emergence of agriculture from 11 sites in the centr... more ABSTRACT Biocultural patterns surrounding the emergence of agriculture from 11 sites in the central Tombigbee River valley (500–1200 AD), 50–100 km west of the emerging Moundville polity, suggest that while food production may have alleviated some ecological stress, it came at a cost. Markers of childhood arrest indicate earlier weaning, likely creating a cycle of rising fertility and competition, but surviving adults appear better off following intensification. Health disparities at farmsteads, including more prevalent anemia, growth defects, lower limb infections, and accidental trauma, are consistent with increasingly competing demands of domestic and corporate modes of production. Although these agricultural settlements in the hinterlands were not severely compromised as predicted by a strictly top down model of provisioning, health risks assumed by farmsteads may have resulted from provisioning to centers and/or corporate lineages while simultaneously mitigating larger risks (e.g., raiding). The greater health risks assumed by farmstead females suggest that they had less control over production and decision-making than women buried at centers, while height and upper body strength at mound centers, in addition to rare but extreme trauma, point to identities that were mapped not only onto the landscape, but onto the bodies of men and women occupying elite spaces.
The Myth of Syphilis: The Natural History of Treponematosis in North America. MARY LUCAS POWELL a... more The Myth of Syphilis: The Natural History of Treponematosis in North America. MARY LUCAS POWELL and DELLA COLLINS COOK (eds.). Florida Museum of Natural History, Ripley P. Bullen series; Jerald T. Milanich, series editor. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2005. xx + 528 pp., series editor's foreword, foreword, 49 tables, 125 figs., 15 maps, index. $85.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-8130-2794-2. Reviewed by Shannon Chappell Hodge Powell and Cook's Myth of Syphilis is a welcome addition to a recent and notable trend in the bioarchaeological literature of intensive and extensive exploration of a single disease, including studies such as Susan Kent and Patricia Stuart-Macadam's 1992 volume on anemia (Diet, Demography, and Disease: Changing Perspectives on Anemia [Hawthorne, N.Y.: Aldine de Gruyter]) and Charlotte A. Roberts and Jane E. Buikstra's 2003 volume on tuberculosis (The Bioarchaeology of Tuberculosis: A Global View on a Reemerging Disease [Gainesville: University Pr...
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2016
Fernvale (40WM51): A Late Archaic Occupation Along the South Harpeth River in Williamson County, Tennessee, 2013
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2012
Biocultural patterns surrounding the emergence of agriculture from 11 sites in the central Tombig... more Biocultural patterns surrounding the emergence of agriculture from 11 sites in the central Tombigbee River valley (500-1200 AD), 50-100 km west of the emerging Moundville polity, suggest that while food production may have alleviated some ecological stress, it came at a cost. Markers of childhood arrest indicate earlier weaning, likely creating a cycle of rising fertility and competition, but surviving adults appear better off following intensification. Health disparities at farmsteads, including more prevalent anemia, growth defects, lower limb infections, and accidental trauma, are consistent with increasingly competing demands of domestic and corporate modes of production. Although these agricultural settlements in the hinterlands were not severely compromised as predicted by a strictly top down model of provisioning, health risks assumed by farmsteads may have resulted from provisioning to centers and/or corporate lineages while simultaneously mitigating larger risks (e.g., raiding). The greater health risks assumed by farmstead females suggest that they had less control over production and decision-making than women buried at centers, while height and upper body strength at mound centers, in addition to rare but extreme trauma, point to identities that were mapped not only onto the landscape, but onto the bodies of men and women occupying elite spaces.
TENNESSEE ARCHAEOLOGY 3(2):139-156, 2008
We are pleased to welcome you to the sixth issue of Tennessee Archaeology. With the number of sub... more We are pleased to welcome you to the sixth issue of Tennessee Archaeology. With the number of submissions increasing, we are gaining ground on e-publishing an issue every six months -but we are always looking for new reports and articles, so please consider sending us the results of your research. As always, we extend our sincere appreciation to the contributing authors and the scholars who provide thorough (and timely!) reviews of submissions. This journal would not be possible without their support.
Conference Presentations by Shannon Hodge
The multicomponent Fernvale Site (40WM51), in Williamson County, Tennessee, yielded a small human... more The multicomponent Fernvale Site (40WM51), in Williamson County, Tennessee, yielded a small human skeletal sample from the partial excavation of an Archaic Period cemetery at the site. This bioarchaeological analysis examines nutritional health, pathology and disease, skeletal markers of occupational or lifestyle stress, and dental health. In particular, we assess: 1) trophy-taking in two adult individuals, 2) unusual dental wear and robust cranial muscle markings, and 3) strongly-developed lower extremities, unusual frequency of the cervical fossa of Allen, and degenerative joint disease of the spine. These results are contextualized as a representation of the living population of this prehistoric community.
The Thompson Village site (40HY5) in Henry County, TN was excavated in 1939 prior to its inundati... more The Thompson Village site (40HY5) in Henry County, TN was excavated in 1939 prior to its inundation by Kentucky Lake. Those investigations resulted in the recovery of one of Tennessee’s most unusual artifacts: the skull of an adult male embellished with a deliberately-carved pattern across the forehead. The skull has long enjoyed notoriety in the collection of the McClung Museum, and was published in /Tennessee Archaeologist/ in 1974. This presentation discusses new examinations of the Henry County skull, beginning with the results of a fresh skeletal assessment. We then use cross-cultural data to identify evidence and motivations for cranial carving. Finally, we present iconographic and historic evidence that may inform our understanding of this unique artifact.
Catastrophic flooding throughout Middle Tennessee in May of 2010 resulted in substantial damage t... more Catastrophic flooding throughout Middle Tennessee in May of 2010 resulted in substantial damage to the numerous prehistoric sites situated along the Cumberland River. The force of the flood waters eroded large sections of bank line, severely truncating and in some cases completely destroying many riverbank sites. Immediately after the floodwaters receded, a number of sites began to suffer from widespread and systematic looting activity targeting newly-exposed midden deposits. In June, MTSU and the Tennessee Division of Archaeology were awarded a Rapid Response Research Grant from the National Science Foundation to fund a survey and assessment of natural and anthropogenic damage to more than 120 previously recorded prehistoric sites located between Cheatham and Old Hickory Dams. In addition to documenting site disturbances and collecting critical and endangered site data, the survey and ongoing site monitoring have provided an opportunity to integrate undergraduates into an active research program.
Catastrophic flooding throughout Middle Tennessee in May of 2010 resulted in substantial damage t... more Catastrophic flooding throughout Middle Tennessee in May of 2010 resulted in substantial damage to archaeological sites situated along the Cumberland River bank. Following the floods, members of the Southeastern Shell Research Group conducted emergency field inspections of numerous sites with large shell midden components along the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee. These inspections, funded by a Rapid Response Research Grant through the National Science Foundation, resulted in documentation of increased looting activity and the identification of substantial shell deposits from the Archaic through Mississippian Periods. This paper presents preliminary findings of the ongoing survey effort.
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Papers by Shannon Hodge
Conference Presentations by Shannon Hodge