The Interrelationship of Status and Health in the Tellico Reservoir: a Biocultural Analysis
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2002 The Interrelationship of Status and Health in the Tellico Reservoir: A Biocultural Analysis Tracy K. Betsinger University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Betsinger, Tracy K., "The Interrelationship of Status and Health in the Tellico Reservoir: A Biocultural Analysis. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2002. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3322 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Tracy K. Betsinger entitled "The Interrelationship of Status and Health in the Tellico Reservoir: A Biocultural Analysis." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Richard L. Jantz, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Faye Harrison, Charles Faulkner Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Tracy K. Betsinger entitled "The Interrelationship of Status and Health in the Tellico Reservoir: A Biocultural Analysis." I have examined the finalpaper copy of this thesis fo r fo rm and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Acceptance fo r the Council: THE INTERRELATIONSIDP OF STATUS AND HEALTH IN THE TELLICO RESERVOIR: A BIOCULTUR AL ANALYSIS A Thesis Presented fo r the Master of Arts Degree The University of T ennessee, Knoxville Tracy K. Betsinger August 2002 II DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Gary and Judith Betsinger, whose love and support has surpassed all my hopes and expectations; their guidance and encouragement has helped me to set and achieve my goals. This thesis is also dedicated in loving memory of my grandparents, Warren and Signa Betsinger and George and Pelegia Eckert, who could not be here to share in this milestone. Ill ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank all those who have helped me in completing this thesis. First and fo remost I would like to thank Dr. Maria Smith, who, although she could not be an official member of my thesis committee, offered suggestions and assistance throughout this process. I owe a great debt of gratitude to the members of my committee: Dr. Richard Jantz, who chaired the committee and aided in the statistical analysis, Dr. Faye Harrison, who offered insightful biocultural questions, and Dr. Charles Faulkner, who assisted in the archaeological background. Their guidance and comments have been invaluable. I would also like to thank members of the staffat McClung Museum fo r access to the skeletal collections and archaeological fieldnotes, including Dr. Lynne Sullivan, Bob Penninron, and Kristina Arnold. I am indebted to several other graduate students, especi�ly Nicole Kuemin-Drews fo r sharing her time and knowledge, Jennifer Synstelien I fo r assisting me with the statistical analysis, and Jennifer Barber and Robyn Miller for comm�ting on drafts of this thesis. Finally, I would like to thank my family and fri ends fo r their suggestions and encouragement. IV ABSTRACT Anthropologists have been interested in the interaction of health and status in prehistoric populations fo r many years. Utilizing a biocultural perspective, this paper will investigate how social stratification affected health at sites fromthe Tellico Reservoir in eastern Tennessee. These sites, Citico (40MR7), Toqua (40MR6), and Tomotley (40MR5), were occupied in the late Mississippian period in Tennessee, during the Dallas phase (A.D . 1300-1 600) (Schroedl, 1998). Skeletal indicators of stress were used to determine the health of the people interred at the three sites, and burial location was utilized to establish the status of these people. Intra-site and inter-site analyses were conducted on the data collected from 649 skeletal remains fr om the three sites. The intra-site analysis compared the occurrence of stress markers between mound burials and village burials at Citico and at Toqua, while the inter-site analysis compared stress indicator incidence between the two mounds, among the three villages, and between combined mound data and combined village data. A comparison of stress marker occurrence was also performed between males and females to determine whether gender differences affected the amount of stress endured. The determination of status was another area of fo cus fo r this paper. Analyses were conducted in order to ascertain whether classes ofburial goods based on raw material were correlated in any manner with the stress indicators. Positive and negative correlations could then be used to establish the status of an individual. Correlation tests were also used to analyze the association between periostitis and anemia. The two are v thought to have a synergistic relationship, in which the presence of one stress increases the susceptibility to the other stress. The results of these various analyses indicate that there are differences in the incidence of stress markers based on status� individuals buried in mounds were less affected than individuals buried in villages. This outcome is probably due to differential distribution of fo od. Individuals in the Toqua mound were more stressed than those in the Citico mound, which may be the result of population size, and, therefore, fo od availability. Toqua village had the most stress ofthe three villages, which is possibly a function of political structure and fo od distribution. The results of the gender analysis suggest that both fe males and males were comparably stressed. The correlation tests reveal that no significant relationship exists between stress markers and the classes ofburial goods. As a result, the class of burial goods based on raw material cannot be used to determine the status of an individual. Finally, the correlation tests indicate that there is, indeed, a synergistic relationship between anemia and periostitis. Vl TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ............. ... ..... ................. ................. ....... 1 Mississippian Culture ...................... ......................................4 Dallas Phase ... ......... ............... ... ... ..... ............. ... ...............12 Stress ......... ... ... ... ............ ......... ...... ... ... ... ......... ... ............15 Status ....................... ....... ... ......... ... ... ... ...........................22 Archaeological Investigations . .. ... .................. ... ... ... ... ... ... .......23 The Sites ............... ... ............ ....... ... ... ... ... .............. ......... 25 Previous Research ..... ...... ...... ... ... ...... ... ........................... ....29 Summary ..................... .................... ... ... ... .................. ....34 II. MATERIALS AND METHODS... ...... .................. .......................35 III. RESULTS ............ ............................. .................................... 41 Comparisons ............................................. .. ......... ........ ....41 Correlations .................. .... ................... ... ............... ... ...51 IV. DISCUSSION ... ............... ........................... ...... ............ ........ 60 Comparisons .............. ............................... ......... ......... ......60 Correlations ... ............ ...... ... ... ... ... ............... ... ...... ............73 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ... .................. ............... .........78 REFERENCES ................................................................................83 VITA .............................. ......... ........................... ..................... ..... 89 Vll LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Sex Distribution of the Three Sites ..............................................36 2. Age Distribution of the Three Sites ................................. ............36 3. Mound versus Village Comparisons at Toqua (40MR6).... .................42 4. Mound versus Village Comparisons at Citico (40MR7) .. ...................4 3 5. Mound versus Village Comparisons of Combined Data ...... ...............45 6. Mound Comparisons of Toqua (40MR6) and Citico (40MR7) ..............46 7. Village Comparisons of Tomotley (40MR5), Toqua (40MR6), and Citico (40MR7) ...... ... ................................. ...... ... .................. .......48 8. Sex-Based Comparisons at Toqua (40MR6)....... ...................... ......4 9 9. Sex-Based Comparisons at Citico (40MR7).. ...... .... ..... .................. 49 10. Sex-Based Comparisons at Tomotley (40MR5).. ............................50 11. Sex-Based Comparisons of Combined Data.. .......... ................. ......50 12. Correlation (Phi) Coefficients of Citico (40MR7) Data ....................