IDENTIFYING HOUSEHOLD CLUSTER AND REFUSE DISPOSAL PATTERNS AT THE STRAIT SITE: A THIRD CENTURY A. D. NUCLEATED SETTLEMENT IN THE MIDDLE OHIO RIVER VALLEY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jarrod D. Burks, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2004 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. William S. Dancey, Advisor Dr. Kristen J. Gremillion Advisor Dr. Kevin J. Johnston Department of Anthropology Copyright by Jarrod Burks 2004 ABSTRACT In this dissertation I examine a problem in the study of Middle-Late Woodland period community re-organization in the Middle Ohio Valley through an analysis of the Strait site, a little known, third century A.D. archaeological deposit in central Ohio. Previous research in the region indicates that during a three-hundred-year period between A.D. 200 and A.D. 500 the organizational structure of settlements—the location and arrangement of households within communities—changed significantly through a process of household nucleation. I propose that artifact patterning at the Strait site resulted from the secondary refuse disposal behaviors of contemporaneously occupied household areas. To evaluate this proposition, I first develop a working model of household trash disposal patterns using principles of refuse disposal generated from ethnoarchaeological data. The expected pattern of refuse accumulation is then compared to the Strait site archaeological record through an analysis of debris collected during a shovel test survey. Artifact clusters are detected through a distributional analysis of four dimensions of artifact variability: size, function, density, and diversity. I conclude that the Strait site artifact patterning is consistent with the secondary refuse disposal patterns predicted by the ethnographically derived model. I then identify the possible locations of five to six households at the Strait site. Two of these locations ii are further examined using geophysical survey and block excavation. The partial remains of structures are identified at both. Assuming that these possible household clusters are contemporaneous, as I argue, the Strait site is the earliest known nucleated settlement in the region. The presence of a nucleated community at Strait during the third century A.D. indicates that the transition from dispersed to nucleated communities began at the peak time of Hopewell earthwork construction and use—sometime before the Hopewell decline. By the time this process of community re-organization was widespread in the sixth century A.D., the Hopewell ceremonial centers had been abandoned. The new settlement data presented in this dissertation are an important example of early household nucleation in the Middle Ohio River Valley. These data also support the proposition that household nucleation began in locations peripheral to core Hopewell areas. iii For my wife Susie, my wonderful parents, Judie and Don, and the rest of my family. Your support has made this possible. And though the years have slipped by and the distance has grown somewhat greater between us, you have always been right here with me. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I was initially enticed to come to The Ohio State University by a generous University Fellowship. I thank the Department of Anthropology for finding other ways to support me after that first year. The Ohio Archaeological Council also graciously provided the funds to purchase the four radiocarbon dates for the Strait site. No project can be successful without the supportive encouragement, patience, and generosity of the true stewards of the past—those who own and protect archaeological sites. The owners of the Strait site, John and Kathy Ridenour, have seen me through the whole way, though some years they did not see much of me. I promise to come back and fill in my holes! While I have taken many classes from a wide variety of teachers, none of my classes affected me more (in good ways!) than those taught by the members of my committee. Only with their guidance and encouragement was I able to see this project through to the end. A trip to Guatemala to conduct some household archaeology in 1998 with Kevin Johnston hardened my resolve to apply similar techniques and ideas in Ohio. Kris Gremillion’s hunter-gather and origins of food production classes honed my skills at absorbing broad bodies of literature. And, finally, one of the main reasons I chose The Ohio State University was to learn how to study settlement patterns under William Dancey; it was the right choice. v Many, many people helped out with the fieldwork at the Strait site. Twenty field school students in 1997 provided the first work crew. Their commitment to learning, despite the many horrific cases of poison ivy, was a great inspiration that has fueled my research for many years. Thereafter the list of weekend warrior’s is very long. If you were in central Ohio and/or had a bad case of poison ivy between 1994 and 2003, you just may have helped out on the Strait site project. A number of individuals were especially committed to helping with the search for meaning at the Strait site during this period, including Tom Ahlstrum, Donna Alvorado, Bob James, Chris Luchsinger, Kendrick McNamee, Brian Narbut, Nisha Patel, Jennifer Sandusky, Marsha Stadler, Dean Wheeler, and Larry Wickliff. A number of my fellow Ohio archaeologists gave up a day, or more, for me somewhere along the way during a visit to Ohio or in reciprocation for help on their projects: Bruce Aument, Kathy Brady-Rawlins, Chris Jennings, Craig Keener, Anne Lee, Tim Lloyd, Linda Pansing, Crystal Patel, Albert Pecora, Jennifer Pederson, Lauren Seig, Tori Seneda, John Schweikart, Ted Sunderhaus, Joe Wakeman, (and his Hocking college archaeology class), and Dawn Walter. Though some of you have since chosen different paths, my research benefited in so many ways thanks to your help and friendship. Like macheteros clearing a path through a Central American jungle, a few hardy soles consistently took up arms to help clear the lush vegetation at the Strait site, especially John Schweikart, Ryan Wertz, and Gilberto Sanchez. Thankfully I am the only one to suffer from an errant machete swing. vi Don Gehlbach and Barbara Motts were very kind in opening their home to me so that we could talk about past projects at the Strait site. It was their interest in and work at this important site, in part, that ultimately led to my research. Thank you! Two individuals have consistently supported my research through sharing information with me or providing me access to some of their own, unpublished research. Martha Otto made me feel right at home during a number of Saturday morning trips to the Ohio Historical Society to begin pulling together the Zencor/Scioto Trail materials and maps. Mark Seeman has discussed his work at Harness-28 with me on a number of occasions. Thanks to the both of you for sharing your knowledge and hard work. Additional thanks go to Liz Sheffer and Dr. Kristen Gremillion, who took time out of their busy schedules to look at some of the botanical samples. Erica Keener was kind enough to draw the objects in Figure B.31. Finally, my family must be thanked the most for their perseverance through this decade-long process from B.A. to Ph.D. My parents, Don and Judie, supported my crazy idea to change my major to anthropology—never once questioning my resolve. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the continuing support of my wife Susie. Thank you all for believing in my quest to better understand the Middle-Late Woodland period and that thing we call Hopewell. vii VITA November 13, 1972………………… Born-Aurora, Illinois 1994 B.A. Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana 1996 M.A. Anthropology, The Ohio State University 1994-1995 University Fellow, The Ohio State University 1995-1996 Research Associate, The Ohio State University 1996-1999 Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University 1999-present Archaeologist, Museum Collections Manager, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park 1999-present Adjunct Professor, Hocking College 2002-present Geophysical Survey, Research Archaeologist, Ohio Valley Archaeological Consultants PUBLICATIONS Burks, Jarrod 1999 Postmolds, Pit Features, and Prehistoric Architectural Remains in the Eastern Woodlands: Understanding Variability in Prehistoric Household Clusters. Journal of the Steward Anthropological Society 27(1&2):28-62. 1997 Of Birds and Bees: An Overview of Sexual Selection. Chicago Anthropology Exchange 25:38-52. 1995 An Interregional Comparison of the Surface Patterning of Two Western Kentucky Mississippian Sites. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 20:3-40. viii 1995 The Twin Mounds Surface Collection Lithic Assemblage: Intrasite and Regional Interpretations. Tennessee Anthropologist 20:35-57. Burks, Jarrod, and Charles Stout 1996 Controlled Surface Collection and Salvage Data Recovered from the Twin Mounds Site (15Ba2). In Current Archaeological Research in Kentucky, vol. 4, edited by S. L. Sanders, T. N. Sanders, and C. Stout, pp.234-262. Kentucky Heritage Council, Frankfort, Kentucky. Stout, Charles, Greg Walz, and Jarrod Burks 1996 Archaeological Investigations at the Canton Site (15Tr1), Trigg County, Kentucky. In Current Archaeological Research in Kentucky Archaeology, vol. 4, edited by S. L. Sanders, T. N. Sanders, and C. Stout. Kentucky Heritage Council, Frankfort, Kentucky. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Anthropology Minor Field: North American Prehistory—Eastern