NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Monumentality During the Mid-Holocene in the Upper and Middle St. Johns River Basins, Florida A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Field of Anthropology By Virgil Roy Beasley III EVANSTON, ILLINOIS December 2008 2 © Copyright by Virgil Roy Beasley III 2008 All Rights Reserved 3 ABSTRACT Monumentality During the Mid-Holocene in the Upper and Middle St. Johns River Basins, Florida Virgil Roy Beasley III This dissertation reviews the contexts and conditions for the appearance of monuments in the upper and middle St. Johns basins of peninsular during the Mt. Taylor period. Beginning with an attempt to determine if mortuary monuments built of shell could be distinguished from shell middens, the archaeology of four preceramic shell sites is analyzed using Harris matrices and summarized. It is argued that particular portions of these sites represent intentional constructions. A hermeneutical approach to the study of sacred architecture is employed to bridge understanding between particular archaeological signatures and behaviors. Finally, the development of monumentality is presented as a process of continuous feedback between ecological conditions, personal decisions, and community devotion. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I cannot express enough gratitude to all the people who have contributed to this journey. First, and most importantly, I thank my wife Marina and my son Marko. Without my family, this would not have happened. Marina has been unwavering in her support. Marko has reminded my many times that if I was finished, we could be outside playing baseball. You have made me a better man my son. To my mother and father, thank you for giving me a home. Mama, if I don’t show my love for you enough, just know how deep it really is. Daddy, you have been a real father. James Allison Brown, thank you. You are the finest mentor a student could have. Jim provided me the intellectual field where seeds could grow. Tim Earle and Bill Leonard served as the other members of my committee, and have always strived to make me a better scholar. Tim taught me so much about economy and complexity, and Bill made me explain myself without unneeded verbiage. Thank you both. To every teacher I’ve ever had, from Ms. Maxine in kindergarten to the faculties of Central Florida Community College, the University of Central Florida, the University of Alabama, and Northwestern, I thank you for your sharing and for your efforts. I learned from you all. I especially appreciate you Ian Brown. Many, many friends have contributed to the ideas in this dissertation. Rob Beck, it has been an honor to be your colleague. Doug, Sorenson, Schwartz, Rana, Andy; it was good to be your classmates. Keith Little, thanks for the coffee and smokes. You have made this a much better dissertation. Tom Lewis, it was fun running down the road with you; glad we didn’t wreck. To all my UA friends, thanks for listening to my ramblings. John Lieb and Myron Estes are true salt of the earth fellers, and have helped me so many times and in so many ways, I could never express the depth of my thanks. Michael Stallings, you said on a river bank in 1991 that you would stand by me to the end, and you have. You are the essence of a friend. I dedicate this to you. 5 TABLE OF CON T EN T S Chapter 1: Introduction 12 Organization of the Study 16 Future Research 17 Chapter 2: Theoretical Background 20 Conjectural History Perspectives 20 Culture‑Area Perspectives 23 Culture‑History Perspectives 24 Processual Perspectives 26 Contemporary Perspectives 27 Shell Heaps as Monuments 27 Hunter-Gatherer Social Complexity 29 Chapter 3: Theoretical Approach 31 Monumentality and Sacred Architecture 31 A Hermeneutical Approach to Sacred Architecture 32 Temporalities 35 The Making of Nanih Waiya 36 Discussion 41 Chapter 4: A History of Mt. Taylor Archaeology 44 Initial Formulation 44 Formalization 47 Maturation 55 Chapter 5: Mt. Taylor as a Temporal Construct 60 Mt. Taylor Period Specifics 60 Burial Modes 61 Grave Inclusions 62 Burial Strata Matrix 63 Non-local Stone 63 Shell Artifacts 64 6 Background to the Thornhill Lake Period 65 Thornhill Lake Period Specifics 68 Burial Modes 69 Grave Inclusions 70 Burial Strata Matrix 71 Non-local Stone 72 Shell Artifacts 73 Radiocarbon Chronology 74 Methodology 75 Results 76 Discussion and Conclusions 79 Chapter 6: Environment and Subsistence 81 General Characteristics 81 Geology 81 Soils 82 Sea-levels 83 Pollen 86 Temperature 88 Subsistence 89 Discussion 94 Chapter 7: Midden and Monument 96 Persistent and Transitory Surfaces 96 Chapter 8: Site Descriptions 100 Introduction 100 Methodology 101 Harris Creek (8Vo24) 102 Stratigraphy and Mortuary Deposits 106 Palmer‑Taylor Mound (8Se18) 112 Setting 112 Previous Research 114 7 Moore’s 1892 Excavations 116 Excavation I 116 Excavation II 117 Excavation III 117 Excavators’ Club Excavations 118 Rollins College 1975 Excavations 120 Rollins College 1976 Excavations 123 Author Visit 130 Construction of the Palmer‑Taylor Mound 130 Orange Mound (8Or1) 134 Setting 134 Previous Research 136 Moore’s 1892 Excavations 137 Excavation I 138 Excavation II 141 Excavation III 142 Excavation IV 143 Moore’s 1893 Excavations 144 Other Visits 145 Construction of the Orange Mound 146 Persimmon Mound (8VO4367) 151 Setting 151 Previous Research 152 Moore’s 1892 Excavations 155 Construction of Persimmon Mound 157 Persimmon Mound II 159 Moore’s 1892 Excavations 159 Construction of Persimmon Mound II 159 Shared Stratigraphic Attributes 160 8 Areally Extensive and Continuous Strata 160 Human Bone Entombed by Extensive Shell Strata 162 Grave Pits into Extant Strata 163 Group/Community Burial 166 Associations of Fire and Mortuary Contexts 167 Associations of Food and Mortuary Contexts 168 White Sand 169 Artifact Sparsity 170 Discussion 171 Chapter 9: A Basic Model of Midden Accumulation 173 Thompson=s Evolution of Place Model 175 Midden Matrix 179 Discussion 181 Chapter 10: Ritual-Architectural Reception Histories of the Upper St. Johns Mt. Taylor Burial Monuments 182 Review of the Stratigraphy of the Orange Mound 182 Review of the Stratigraphy of the Persimmon Mound 183 Review of the Stratigraphy of the Persimmon II Mound 184 A Ritual‑Architectural History of the Palmer‑Taylor Mound 184 A Ritual‑Architectural Sequence 188 Harvesting 188 Heirlooming 188 Siting 190 Initiating 191 Inciting 191 Reproducing 192 Discussion 193 Chapter 11: Conclusions 194 Palmer‑Taylor as Sacred Architecture 195 Discussion 196 9 Works Cited 201 Appendix A: The Creation of Nunih Waya 219 10 LIS T OF FIGURES Figure 1: Sites Discussed in Text 13 Figure 2: Ritual-Architectural Reception History of Nunih Waya 42 Figure 3: Bone Pins 63 Figure 5: Busycon Shell Tools 64 Figure 4: Archaic Stemmed Point, Buzzard’s Roost 64 Figure 6: Sketch Map of the Thornhill Lake Site 65 Figure 7: Shell Beads 70 Figure 8: Bannerstones, Thornhill Lake 71 Figure 9: Bluffton Burial Mound Section 72 Figure 10: Stone Beads 73 Figure 11: Strombus Celts 73 Figure 12: Microliths 74 Figure 13: Seriation of Radiocarbon Dates 78 Figure 14: Holocene Sea Levels 84 Figure 15: Windover Aboreal Pollen 87 Figure 16: Windover Non-aboreal Pollen 87 Figure 17: Mean July Temperature Anomaly of the Past 10,000 cal. yr. BP. 89 Figure 18: Sites on Tick Island 103 Figure 19: Harris Creek Sections 106 Figure 20: Area of Palmer-Taylor Mound 112 Figure 21: View East from Palmer-Taylor Mound 113 Figure 22: View from East towards Palmer-Taylor Mound and Suspected Spring 114 Figure 23: Excavations at Palmer-Taylor Mound 115 Figure 24: Moore Excavation I Section 116 Figure 25: Moore Excavation II Section 118 Figure 26: Excavators’ Club Section 119 Figure 27: 1975 Unit 6 West Section 121 Figure 28: 1975 Unit 2 West Section 122 11 Figure 29: 1976 Unit 4 North Section 124 Figure 30: 1976 Unit 9 North Section 125 Figure 32: 1976 Unit 3 West Section 127 Figure 31: 1976 Unit 2 North Section 127 Figure 33: 1976 Unit 5 North Section 128 Figure 34: 1976 Unit 6 North Section 128 Figure 35: Unit 7 West Section 129 Figure 36: Unit 8 North Section 129 Figure 37: Harris Matrix of Palmer-Taylor Mound 131 Figure 38: Area of Orange Mound, Persimmon Mound, and Persimmon II 134 Figure 39: Orange Mound 135 Figure 40: Location of Moore’s Excavations at Orange Mound 138 Figure 41: Moore’s Excavation I 139 Figure 42: Moore’s Excavation II 142 Figure 43: Moore’s Excavation III 143 Figure 44: Moore’s Excavation IV 144 Figure 45: Harris Matrix of Orange Mound 147 Figure 46: Sketch Map, Persimmon Mound and Persimmon II 152 Figure 47: Moore’s Excavation I, Persimmon Mound 156 Figure 48: Harris Matrix, Persimmon Mound 158 Figure 49: Moore’s Excavations, Persimmon Mound II 160 Figure 50: Burial Pit, Palmer-Taylor Mound 165 Figure 51: Time Slice Model of Resistance Profile, Ring III, Sapelo Shell Ring Complex 176 Figure 52: McGee’s Model of Mt. Taylor Site Configuration 177 Figure 53: Shell Crescents 178 Figure 54: Sassaman et al. Model of Mt. Taylor Site Structure 180 Figure 55: Mortuary Strata of Palmer-Taylor Mound 186 Figure 56: Palmer-Taylor Ritual-Architectural Reception History 189 12 LIS T OF TABLES Table 1: Chronology of the Mid-Holocene in the Upper St. Johns 61 Table 2: Selected Radiocarbon Dates from Mt. Taylor, Thornhill Lake, and Orange Period Contexts 77 Table 3: Comparisons between Mt. Taylor and Thornhill Lake Periods 79 Table 4: Shared Structural Attributes of Mt. Taylor Mounds 161 13 CHAP T ER 1: IN T RODU ct ION AI would like to add as a proviso here that in matters of religion, as of art, there are no >simpler' peoples, only some peoples with simpler technologies than our own.