Faunal Remains from the Turpin Site (33Hal9), Hamilton County, Ohio

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271645658 Faunal Remains from the Turpin Site (33Hal9), Hamilton County, Ohio Article · January 1988 CITATION READS 1 220 2 authors, including: James L Theler University of Wisconsin - La Crosse 47 PUBLICATIONS 426 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Mill Coulee View project All content following this page was uploaded by James L Theler on 01 February 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Faunal Remains from the Turpin Site (33Hal9), Hamilton County, Ohio. by James L. Theler and Suzanne M. Harris* Abstract Excavations during 1981 at the Turpin site produced abundant faunal remains from stratified Late Woodland andFortAncient components. This report presents the results ofanalysis for the unmodified and modified Turpin fauna. Emphasis is placed on the interpretation ofanimal taxa in aboriginal diet. The effects of carnivore (dog) scavenging on the structure ofthe faunal assemblages are also evaluated. The frequency ofweathered mammal bone is used to assess the rate ofmidden deposition.lt is suggestedfrom the presence ofrice rat (Oryzomys palustris) remains that winterswere warmer at some time in the late prehistoric past (circa AD. 800-1250) when compared with those of today. Introduction with levels 1 through 5 representing a Fort Ancient midden and pit features with radiocarbon dates indicating an occu The lower Little Miami River valley of south pation betweenA.D.1100andA.D.1400. Directly beneath western Ohio has been known for more than a century as a the Fort Ancient occupation debris was a "Newtown" Late region rich in prehistoric sites (Metz, 1881). Although a Woodland component with associated radiocarbon deter number of extensive excavations were undertaken in this minations suggesting this occupation occurred between region (Hooton and Willoughby, 1920; Oehler, 1950), A.D. 500-A.D. 800 (for a detailed description see Riggs, little emphasis has been plac¢ on the recovery or analysis 1986:4-5). The faunal remains from the 1981 excavations of human subsistence remains. The lack of specific dam on are the subject of the present report. animal resource utilization by late prehistoric peoples of the lower Little Miami valley was in part responsible for Methods and Materials efforts at the Sand Ridge site (33Hal7) during the mid- 1970's (Theler, 1978; Riggs, 1986). Located less than a The faunal remains recovered by use of 1/4 inch mile from Sand Ridge is the Turpin site (33Ha19). dry screening during the 1981 excavations at Turpin re Turpin is situated on a low terrace along the ceived initial cleaning and sorting by R.E. Riggs. This southern margin of the Little Miami River valley some 3.5 material was deposited with the senior author along with miles above its confluence with the Ohio River (Figure 1). First described by Charles Metz (1881:301), he subse quently excavated portions of Turpin in 1885 (Griffin, 1943:146; Riggs, 1986:1-2). The Cincinnati Museum of Natural History undertook extensive archeological work at Turpin between 1946 and 1949 (Oehler, 1950). During 1981, R.E. Riggs excavated two 5 foot squares at Turpin seeking to refine the Late Woodland and Fort Ancient ce ramic sequence and to secure charcoal for radiocarbon dating (Riggs, 1986). The two 5 foot squares were desig nated units A and B and were excavated in arbitrary four tenths of a foot levels. Both units had similar stratigraphy *Dr. James L. Theler, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, LaCrosse, WI 54601. Ms. Suzanne M. HarJ"is, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53906 Figure 1. Location of the Turpin and Sand Ridge sites. Page 2 THE WEST VIRGINIA ARCHEOLOGIST Volume 40(2) the unsorted "heavy fraction" residue that resulted from 1/ human mammal bones were identifiable to the family, 16 inch waterscreening of site matrix. genus or species level (Tables 1 and 2); nine mammal The analytical procedures involved an initial bones <1/4" were also identified (Table 3). This includes sorting of each provenience lot of 1/4 inch screened bone 14 non-human mammalian taxa, of which 11 are consid into potentially identifiable (family, genus or species) ered dietary items. grouping and unidentifiable (class level, class unidenti The majority of identifiable mammal bones are fied) categories. These two primary divisions were treated those of the white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, separately. The unidentifiable bone was then sorted into a with 443 (83.9%) of the 528 > 1/4" identifiable specimens. class level or unidentifiable class status, and furthersubdi TheFortAncientcomponentcontainedaMinimumNumber vided into type or degree of modification, e.g., burned, of Individuals (MNI) of five deer and the Late Woodland weathered, carnivore modified, etc_, and then recorded. component an MNI of six deer. Deer contributed the larg Identifiable bone was sorted into class and tfien an est percentage of usable meat of any species in each com attempt was made to specifically identify each specimen ponentwith 39.7 and45.8% fortheFortAncient and Late by direct comparison with modem synoptic materials Woodland components respectively_ One elk (Cervus ca housed at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. Identi nadensis) and one black bear (Ursus americanus) are fied specimens were recorded individually and pertinent represented in each component. The estimated yield from characteristics listed. deer, elk and bear combined represents circa 90% of the The heavy fraction residue from 365 liters of mammal meat in each component at Turpin (Table 3). waterscreened site matrix was sieved into fractions greater Among the remaining eight mammal taxa that than and less than 1/4 inch. All faunal material greater than were presumably a dietary source, only raccoon (Fort 1/4 inch was tabulated with the dry screened 1/4 inch bone Ancient 3 MNI; Late Woodland 4 MNI) and gray/fox by provenience. The debris fraction less than 1/4 inch was squirrel (Fort Ancient 3 MNI; Late Woodland I MNI) were systematically scanned for identifiable faunal specimens. represented by more than a single individual in a compo Additionally, all fish bone was removed and subjected to nent (Table 3). analytical procedures identical to those for 1/4 inch dry The deer bone at Turpin had been greatly modi screened bone. fied by carnivore activity with 44% of the Fort Ancient and Finally, a summary of represented taxa are listed 37.6% of the Late Woodland component deer bone having by total number of elements/fragments, minimum number been ingested or gnawed (see Figure 2 and Table 4). Due of individuals (MNI), kilograms and percentage of usable to heavy carnivore scavenging, and humanly induced break meat for the Fort Ancient and Late Woodland components age for bone marrow extraction, element distribution is at Turpin. The MNI for each component was determined skewed toward dense bone or bone sections that contain by calculating the greatest number of unique elements for little bone marrow, e.g., astragali, calcanea, etc. (Table 5). combined levels in units A and B, and features in each White-tailed deer elements having butchering/ component. The kilograms of usable meat for mammals skinning cuts (Figure 3g) are listed in Table 5. A detailed and turtles was estimated to be 50% of the live weight and discussion of these cut marks on the surviving bones in this 70% of the live weight for birds and fish. The live weight heavily carnivore modified assemblage has perhaps little for fish was estimated through comparison of the prehis relevance towards understanding aboriginal skinning/butch toric element with an identical element from an individual ering patterns. of known weight housed in the SYJ.lOptic collection. Two specifically identified mammal elements other than deer exhibited cut marks. The right mandible of Results an opossum from feature 1 has skinning cuts at the base of Mammals the horizontal ramus. The left mandible ofa gray fox recov ered in unit B, level 5 has cuts at the mandibular angle. The 1981 excavations at Turpin produced 10,192 oseus remains larger than 1/4 inch, and of this number, Seasonal Data 8668 (85%) were mammal bones/fragments. This included 241 relatively small mammal bones/fragments that were A small number of white-tailed deer elements classified as human from a previously disturbed burial in provide evidence for seasonality at Turpin. In the Late levels one and two of unit B. The human remains are not Woodland component (unit B, L-6) a right deer mandible considered in this report In all, 528 (6.3%) of the 8427 non- with deciduous premolars and a permanent first molar is Page3 Fall1988 FAUNAL REMAINS AT 33HA19 Table 1. The Distribution of Faunal Remains (>114") by Level at Turpin (33Ha19) 1981 Excavation UNITB UNIT A Late Woodliand Fort Ancient Late Woodland Fort Ancient Unc. 5 7 Unc. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Taxa Level: 1 2 3 4 6 Mammalia (Mammals) Didelphis virginiana (Opussum) Sylvilagus sp. (Rabbit) 3 cf. Tamias stria/us (Chipmunk) Marmota monax (Woodchuck) 2 Sciurus sp. 4 (Tree squirrel) 2 Castor canadensis I (Beaver) Oryzomys palustris (Rice rat) Canis sp. (Dog -sized canid) Urocyon ciMreoargenteus (Grey fox) cf. U. cinereoargenteus Ursus americanus (Black bear) 3 7 Procyon lotor 3 3 4 (Raccoou) 2 cf. P.lotor 2 Cervus canadensis 2 (Elk) 12 25 16 9 20 59 20 25 Odocoileus virginianus 16 35 24 16 9 56 20 2 (White-tailed deer) 178 36 4 5 Homo sapiens 5 (Human) 246 592 232 83 494 626 309 518 Unidentifiable mammal 311 501 289 511 193 959 480 bones/fragments Unc. =Uncertain or disturbed level (Table 1 continued on next page) Page 4 THE WEST VIRGINIA ARCHEOLOGIST Volume 40(2) Table 1 continued.

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