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Mortuary Patterns in West-Central Tennessee: Contextualizing Historic Field Data from Nine Mississippian Period Sites

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Mortuary Patterns in West-Central Tennessee: Contextualizing Historic Field Data from Nine Mississippian Period Sites Illinois State University ISU ReD: Research and eData Theses and Dissertations 4-6-2018 Mortuary Patterns In West-Central Tennessee: Contextualizing Historic Field Data From Nine Mississippian Period Sites Brooke Adele Wamsley Illinois State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd Part of the Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Wamsley, Brooke Adele, "Mortuary Patterns In West-Central Tennessee: Contextualizing Historic Field Data From Nine Mississippian Period Sites" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 896. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/896 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MORTUARY PATTERNS IN WEST-CENTRAL TENNESSEE: CONTEXTUALIZING HISTORIC FIELD DATA FROM NINE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD SITES Brooke A. Wamsley 156 pages Middle Mississippian is a both a cultural and temporal (1200 CE – 1400 CE) archaeological context of Midwestern North America. This cultural tradition is associated with mound building, specific art motifs, arguably stratified societies, intensive agriculture, and specific ritual/mortuary practices. Burial sites can be very valuable to archaeologists because of the purposeful interaction between the living and the deceased and reconstruction of cultural elements such as social identity and group membership. While American archaeology continues to be fieldwork-focused, there are a considerable amount of cultural resources housed in museum collections that could provide data for research into pre-Columbian life-ways in North America. This project used archived excavation information from past fieldwork to ask modern contextual questions about sites that are archaeologically inaccessible. These field notes and reports as well as a recent inventory of the curated human osteological remains were used to analyze the mortuary patterns (e.g., grave accompaniments, burial orientation, burial location, segregation by age or sex) of nine Middle Mississippian period sites from what is now the Kentucky Lake reservoir of west-central Tennessee. Among the results of the mortuary assessment is the recognition that sex, rather than rank or social role, is a primary identity marker. KEYWORDS: Middle Mississippian, Middle Cumberland, Mortuary Context, Mortuary Analysis, Tennessee, Biological Archaeology MORTUARY PATTERNS IN WEST-CENTRAL TENNESSEE: CONTEXTUALIZING HISTORIC FIELD DATA FROM NINE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD SITES BROOKE A. WAMSLEY A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Sociology and Anthropology ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY 2018 Copyright 2018 Brooke A. Wamsley MORTUARY PATTERNS IN WEST-CENTRAL TENNESSEE: CONTEXTUALIZING HISTORIC FIELD DATA FROM NINE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD SITES BROOKE A. WAMSLEY COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Maria O. Smith, Chair James M. Skibo ACKNOWLEDGMENTS While there are many people that deserve my gratitude for their support with this project, the first person I must thank is my advisor and committee chair, Dr. Maria O. Smith. She has been invaluable to me with regards to guidance, encouragement, and support in finally finishing what felt like a never-ending project. Next, I must thank Dr. James M. Skibo for agreeing to be part of my committee and helping to remind me that no matter the data, I still needed to be a decent writer. I would also like to thank the Frank H. McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee for access to the archived field records, without which this project would have never been done. I want to sincerely thank all my fellow graduate cohort members for their support and advice. Specifically, Kelsey Hansen, who was always willing to provide another view point on theory, advice, edit suggestions, or even just a glass of wine and a good laugh. Also, Tiffany Hansen, Christopher Nicosia, and Dustin Lloyd, for their enthusiasm for our subfield and a shared love of pop culture that helped keep us all sane. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the two people that introduced me to physical anthropology and archaeology in the first place, Theresa Schober and Corbett Torrence. Lastly, I owe a great deal of thanks to my mother and sister for encouraging me to go back to school in the first place and never expecting me to settle for anything less than my best regardless of the frustration or the student loans. B.A.W. i CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i TABLES vii FIGURES x CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER II: BACKGROUND 4 The Middle Mississippian Culture Definition 6 The Middle Cumberland Culture Definition 7 Identified Mortuary Patterns and Material Culture 7 American Archaeology and the TVA 11 The Sites Included in this Study 11 The Danville Ferry Site 14 The Hobbs Site 15 The Indian Bluff Site 15 The Lick Creek Site 16 The Link Site /The Slayden Site 16 The Mound Bottom Site 17 The Patterson Site 18 The Thompson Village Site 18 CHAPTER III: MATERIALS AND METHODS 20 Materials 20 Source of Age-at-Death and Sex Information 21 ii Categories of Data 21 Research Questions 23 Contextual Criteria 27 Stone Box Use 27 Primary vs. Secondary Burials 28 Material Culture 29 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS 31 Description of Data Found: Individual Site Patterns 32 Danville Ferry Site 40Bn3 32 Age and Sex 33 Deposition and Positioning 34 Burial Orientation 35 Burial Sequence 36 Grave Goods 36 Dog Burials 37 Hobbs Site 40Hs44 38 Age and Sex 38 Deposition and Positioning 39 Burial Orientation 40 Burial Sequence 41 Grave Goods 41 Indian Bluff 40Sw20 43 Age and Sex 43 iii Deposition and Positioning 44 Burial Orientation 46 Burial Sequence 47 Grave Goods 47 Lick Creek Site 40Bn30 51 Age and Sex 51 Deposition and Positioning 52 Burial Orientation 53 Burial Sequence 54 Grave Goods 54 Link Site 40Hs6 56 Age and Sex 56 Deposition and Positioning 57 Burial Orientation 58 Burial Sequence 58 Grave Goods 59 Mound Bottom Site 40Ch8 61 Age and Sex 61 Deposition and Positioning 62 Burial Orientation 63 Burial Sequence 63 Grave Goods 64 Patterson Site 40Hs12 66 iv Age and Sex 66 Deposition and Positioning 67 Burial Orientation 68 Burial Sequence 68 Grave Goods 68 Slayden Site 40Hs1 69 Age and Sex 69 Deposition and Positioning 70 Burial Orientation 70 Burial Sequence 71 Grave Goods 71 Thompson Village Site 40Hy5 72 Age and Sex 72 Deposition and Positioning 73 Burial Orientation 75 Burial Sequence 75 Grave Goods 76 CHAPTER V: ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS 79 Analysis 79 Deposition and Positioning by Age Group 79 Deposition and Positioning by Sex 80 Burial Orientation by Age Group 81 Burial Orientation by Sex 83 v Artifact Categories by Age Group 84 Artifact Categories by Sex 86 Discussion and Conclusion 87 Burial Treatment by Sex and Age-at-Death 88 Burial Accompaniments by Sex and Age-at-Death 92 Culture Region Question 95 Future Research in this Area 96 REFERENCES 98 APPENDIX A: BURIAL INVENTORIES BY SITE 118 vi TABLES Table Page 1. 3.1 Investigative Categories 22 2. 3.2 Artifact Types and Descriptions of Categories 23 3. 4.1.1 Total Curated Individuals by Age and Sex, Danville Ferry 40Bn3 33 4. 4.1.2 Total Curated Individuals by Deposition and Position, Danville Ferry 40Bn3 35 5. 4.1.3 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Orientation, Danville Ferry 40Bn3 35 6. 4.1.4 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Sequence, Danville Ferry 40Bn3 37 7. 4.2.1 Total Curated Individuals by Age and Sex, Hobbs Site 40Hs44 39 8. 4.2.2 Total Curated Individuals by Deposition and Position, Hobbs Site 40Hs44 40 9. 4.2.3 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Orientation, Hobbs Site 40Hs44 41 10. 4.2.4 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Sequence, Hobbs Site 40Hs44 41 11. 4.2.5 Individuals with Artifact Description and Type, Hobbs Site 40Hs44 42 12. 4.3.1 Total Curated Individuals by Age and Sex, Indian Bluff 40Sw20 44 13. 4.3.2 Total Curated Individuals by Deposition and Position, Indian Bluff 40Sw20 45 14. 4.3.3 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Orientation, Indian Bluff 40Sw20 46 15. 4.3.4 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Sequence, Indian Bluff 40Sw20 47 16. 4.3.5 Individuals with Artifact Description and Type, Indian Bluff 40Sw20 49 17. 4.4.1 Total Curated Individuals by Age and Sex, Lick Creek 40Bn3 52 vii 18. 4.4.2 Total Curated Individuals by Deposition and Position, Lick Creek 40Bn3 53 17. 4.4.3 Total Curated Individuals by Orientation, Lick Creek 40Bn3 53 18. 4.4.4 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Sequence, Lick Creek 40Bn3 54 19. 4.4.5 Individuals with Artifact Description and Type, Lick Creek 40Bn3 55 20. 4.5.1 Total Curated Individuals by Age and Sex, Link Site 40Hs6 57 21. 4.5.2 Total Curated Individuals by Deposition and Position, Link Site 40Hs6 58 22. 4.5.3 Total Curated Individuals by Orientation, Link Site 40Hs6 58 23. 4.5.4 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Sequence, Link Site 40Hs6 59 24. 4.5.5 Individuals with Artifact Descriptions and Type, Link Site 40Hs6 60 25. 4.6.1 Total Curated Individuals by Age and Sex, Mound Bottom 40Ch8 62 26. 4.6.2 Total Curated Individuals by Deposition and Position, Mound Bottom 40Ch8 63 27. 4.6.3 Total Curated Individuals by Orientation, Mound Bottom 40Ch8 63 28. 4.6.4 Total Curated Individuals by Burial Sequence, Mound Bottom 40Ch8 64 29. 4.6.5 Individuals with Artifact Description and Type, Mound Bottom 40Ch8 65 30. 4.7.1 Total Curated Individuals by Age and Sex, Patterson 40Hs12 67 31. 4.7.2 Total Curated Individuals by Deposition and Position, Patterson 40Hs12 67 32.
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