A Brief Analysis of Lower Mississippi Valley Pottery

In Situ Issue 1 In Situ 2016 Article 7 5-14-2016 Time and Place at Smith Creek: A Brief Analysis of Lower Mississippi Valley Pottery Zhenia Bemko University of Pennsylvania This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/insitu/vol5/iss1/7 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Time and Place at Smith Creek: A Brief Analysis of Lower Mississippi Valley Pottery This article is available in In Situ: https://repository.upenn.edu/insitu/vol5/iss1/7 Bemko: Time and Place at Smith Creek: A Brief Analysis of Lower Mississi ty of Pennsylvania under the supervision of Dr. Time and Place at Smith Creek: Meg Kassabaum. Due the expert assistance of Sheridan Small, Ashely Terry, Arielle Person, Alex A Brief Analysis of Lower Mississippi King, Zhenia Bemko and Dr. Kassabaum’s Intro Valley Pottery to Archeology classes the lab work was completed in short order. Under the dedicated, careful Zhenia Bemko and watchful eye of Dr. Kassabaum much of the ceramic analysis and rim drawing is currently be- Abstract: ing completed through the assistance of Zhenia The Smith Creek Archeological Project offered Bemko, Alex King and Arielle Person. a perfect opportunity to study prehistoric Native Introduction: Americans. This particular mound site is located in the Lower Mississippi River Valley, and what Site is known from preliminary excavations is that the site was primarily occupied during the Coles The site is located roughly fourteen miles west of Creek period, roughly 700-1200 AD. It is also Woodville, Mississippi, where route 24 runs right known that this was a time of great transforma- through it. Smith Creek (22Wk526), named for tion in the prehistoric American South. According the small river that also runs through the site, is to scholar Ian Brown (1973), it is important to about four miles northeast of the Mississippi Riv- analyze undecorated sherds as well as decorat- er, which acts as one of the borders to Louisiana. ed because, “the combination of the period and The site was chosen because of previous inves- phase marker percentages tells the archeologist tigations led by the University of North Carolina what was occurring in the overall period.” Be- at Chapel Hill, during the Mississippi Mound Trail cause this project endeavors to strengthen and and the need for further information. extend current knowledge regarding this period I hope to add what knowledge and assistance I The site consists of three pre-historic Indian can. As a result, I have spent much time under mounds with a large plaza nestled in the center. the guidance of Dr. Meg Kassabaum, along with Mound A is roughly 10 m tall, located to west, YDULRXV¿QGLQJDLGVDQGSXEOLFDWLRQVDQDO\]LQJ and was damaged by construction of route 24 in the diagnostic or decorated pottery sherds re- 1960. Mound B is located to the north, surround- trieved during Smith Creek Archeological proj- ed by a moat and a stand of trees. It was exca- HFW¶VPRVWUHFHQW¿HOGVHDVRQ$IWHUGHYHORSLQJD vated in the 1960s by Mr. J Ashely Sibley and the VLPSOHDQDO\WLFDOPRGHOP\SUHOLPLQDU\¿QGLQJV Junior Archeological Society. Mound C is located support the prediction that cultural occupation to the East, and partially eroded by Smith Creek. was continuous despite its dynamic variation. The South Plaza located in the South is thought to have the latest occurrence of inhabitance. Preface and Acknowledgements: (Kassabaum 2014) During the summer of 2015 from late May to late Excavation and Laboratory Methods June I participated in the Smith Creek Archeolog- ical project. Having mainly focused on Historical Excavations took place, between May 25th and Native American ethnographic material from the June 20th 2015, at three separate locations on Northeast I found myself particularly out of my the site while various surface collections and depth during the expedition. However, I coveted 2DN¿HOGFRUHV JHQHUDOO\PDSSLQJRXWWKH1RUWK ¿HOGVFKRROH[SHULHQFHVR,MXPSHGDWWKHRS- 3OD]D ZHUHXVHGWRÀHVKRXWRXUGDWDVHW7KH portunity to unearth prehistoric materials from the mounds were excavated in 1 x 2 m units and the Lower Mississippi Valley. The abbreviated season Plaza in two adjacent 2 x 2 m units. All digging was completed in 4 weeks, and although quite a was conducted by hand using primarily shovels ELWRIZDVKLQJZDVGRQHLQWKH¿HOGWKHPDMRULW\ and trowels in arbitrary 20 cm levels, however, of the lab work was conducted at the Universi- due previous test excavations on Mound C stu- Published by ScholarlyCommons, 2016 35 1 In Situ, Vol. 5, Iss. 1 [2016], Art. 7 dents were able to follow two mound surfaces. or collapse of the previous culture, however, they Soils on Mound C and the South Plaza were dry DFNQRZOHGJHLQÀXHQFHVIURPUHJLRQDOH[SUHV- screened through half inch mesh where Mound A sion of subsequent cultures. (Jones 1989, Brown was eventually screened with quarter inch mesh. 1973, Ford 1936, Neuman 1984, Toth 1988) For Midden layers, features and surfaces were water example, the Poverty Point culture is said to have screened through sixteen-inch mesh and several degenerated and collapsed yet the introduc- OLWHUÀRWDWLRQVDPSOHVZHUHWDNHQ DOOFRQVLV- WLRQRILQÀXHQFHVIURPERWKWKH7FKHIXQFWHDQG tent with the Mississippi Mound Trail). Hopewellian cultures imply a level of continuity (Brown 1973). Processing and analysis of recovered materials takes place at the University of Pennsylvania. However, as a result of Hopewellian interactions, July to November 2015 was devoted to material which were known for a great deal of mobility processing, while material analysis is currently and trade, artifacts were transported widely. The being conducted. Also, an array of materials were Marksville culture is simply a southern regional recovered, including decorated and non decorat- expression of the Hopewell culture, represented HGFHUDPLFVERQHIUDJPHQWV¿UHGFOD\VWRQH in very distinctive decorative motifs on pottery. tools and lithics, shells, charcoal and various The Marksville culture is known for its complex concretions. However, for the purposes of this type of sites and characteristic conical mounds. GRFXPHQWVHUYLQJDVDSUHOLPLQDU\FRQ¿UPDWLRQ of site inhabitance, it was prudent to focus pri- But, interactions decreased as agriculture and PDULO\RQFHUDPLFV&ODVVL¿FDWLRQVZHUHEDVHG self reliance increased leading to innovation ush- on the nomenclature created by Phillips (1970) ering in what is known to be a transitional period and elaborated by Williams and Brain (1973) to called Troyville or Baytown. Platform mounds are identify ceramic types and varieties. common during this period. In spite of distinctive ceramic motifs Baytown leads to the Coles Creek Background: ÀRUHVFHQFH Culture Although, it is thought that the Coles Creek culture was agricultural there is no evidence of such )RUFRQWH[WXDOLQIRUPDWLRQLWLVEHQH¿FLDOWRSUR- at Smith Creek. This period is seen through the vide a brief discussion of characteristics of the widespread use of pyramidal mounds. Whose prehistoric cultures existing during Neo-Indian blending with the Plaquemine culture gave way HUD7KLVHUDFDQEHEURNHQLQWRVL[SHULRGV¿YH the Plaquemine culture. Coles Creek culture of which are thought to be represented at Smith eventually gives way to Plaquemine culture. Creek, seen in Figure 1.1. This knowledge is important because the breakdown of cultural The framework used for ceramic chronology of SHULRGVLQIRUPVSRWWHU\FODVVL¿FDWLRQDQGYLFH the Natchez Bluffs Region, shown in Figure 1.1 versa. First among them was Poverty Point was established by Brown (1998) in concert with which was more socio-politically complex than many other scholars. The basic foundation sug- bands of hunter gatherers as represented by their gests that: earthworks and extensive trade networks. These SHRSOHJUHDWO\XWLOL]HGWKHLUÀRUDDQGIDXQDO >F@ODVVL¿FDWLRQWKDWXVHVWKHW\SHYDULHW\FRQFHSW resources, and relied less on stone tools. During involves a taxonomic approach, wherein classes the Poverty point culture bone objects are rare of whole artifacts are hierarchically arranged and which greatly differs from the Tchefuncte culture. GH¿QH«>W@KHIXQGDPHQWDOFULWHULRQLQWKHIRUPD- tion of types is the “decorative idea” (technique Next the Tchefunte culture, although regarded DQGVW\OH «7KLVKHGJLQJLVDPDWWHURISUDFWL- as less complex than Poverty Point, is recogniz- cality, in order to establish parameters for the able by its proliferation and use of pottery. It’s rather limited range of decorative ideas and the interesting that most sources state that cultural reutilization of certain basic ones through time transitions occur due to a degeneration, decline and space. The underlying consideration, then, in https://repository.upenn.edu/insitu/vol5/iss1/7 36 2 Bemko: Time and Place at Smith Creek: A Brief Analysis of Lower Mississi the establishment of types is a certain decorative identity that may also be presumed to demon- strate a reasonable degree of spatial-temporal continuity and thus the dimensions of the same LGHD« :LOOLDPV This method also relies heavily on Philips’ (1970) work. Figure 1.1 Chronology Published by ScholarlyCommons, 2016 37 3 In Situ, Vol. 5, Iss. 1 [2016], Art. 7 Data: The chart below depicts the number of decorated Note: because many type-varieties span two or VKHUGVFODVVL¿HGLQWRWKHLUUHVSHFWLYHW\SHYDULHW- more phases the author has proportioned the ies based on the location of their recovery. Also, sherds accordingly. For example, Coles Creek, the totals have been placed with respect to which Incised var. Philips exists in the Hamilton Ridge, phase the type-variety is prevalent

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