Papers by Corin Pursell
The Routledge Handbook of Sensory Archaeology, 2019
Recent research has demonstrated that colorful sediments were frequently used to surface Mississi... more Recent research has demonstrated that colorful sediments were frequently used to surface Mississippian earthworks. This paper interprets one such colorful monumental space, Shiloh Mounds in southwestern Tennessee. Engagement with the sensuous past of Shiloh changes our understanding of the site, inverting assumptions about the power dynamics in the construction of two of the main mounds. Shiloh was constructed using red and white sediments, which were deposited in discrete areas of the site and distinctly cap the two mounds in question. Many southeastern Native Americans characteristically split both their ideological and social realities into the dichotomous categories of Red or White, which were key symbols for a suite of related concepts—including clan, directional, and animal symbolism—tied to various personal or social attributes. This paper shows that broad ethnographic generalizations about power do violence to the locally contextual, historically contingent metaphors of Shiloh, in which monumental Red and White, in quotidian and ritual experience, were used to accomplish surprising social goals. The manipulation of color and perspective create the powerful impact of a small white burial mound and modify that of a large red “chief’s” mound.
Brian M. Butler and Paul D. Welch, senior authors
Dissertation by Corin Pursell
This research will address how the monumental organization of Kincaid Mounds was put together thr... more This research will address how the monumental organization of Kincaid Mounds was put together through time. The measurable variability in the potential performative presentation of the mounds and structures of Kincaid will be treated as an archaeological dataset for the exploration of social change. This dataset will emphasize the topological relationships among earthworks, structures, and the ancient Native Americans living within and actively constructing the site and their society. The dynamics of change in the public presentation of these earthworks will relate to public practice and changing political strategies, a local history indicative of Kincaid’s internal social processes and political trajectory in the broader Ohio Valley and Mississippian culture.
Master's Thesis by Corin Pursell
Excavation Reports by Corin Pursell
Books by Corin Pursell
Drafts by Corin Pursell
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Papers by Corin Pursell
Dissertation by Corin Pursell
Master's Thesis by Corin Pursell
Excavation Reports by Corin Pursell
Books by Corin Pursell
Drafts by Corin Pursell