Quaternary Vertebrate Paleoecology of the Central Mississippi Alluvial Valley; Implications for the Initial Human Occupation

University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 12-1999 Quaternary Vertebrate Paleoecology of the Central Mississippi Alluvial Valley; Implications for the Initial Human Occupation Michael William Ruddell University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Ruddell, Michael William, "Quaternary Vertebrate Paleoecology of the Central Mississippi Alluvial Valley; Implications for the Initial Human Occupation. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1999. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1660 This Dissertation 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 Doctoral Dissertations 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 dissertation written by Michael William Ruddell entitled "Quaternary Vertebrate Paleoecology of the Central Mississippi Alluvial Valley; Implications for the Initial Human Occupation." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Anthropology. Walter Klippel, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Paul W. Parmalee, Paul R. Delcourt, Andrew Kramer 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 dissertation written by Michael WilliamRuddell entitled "Quaternary Vertebrate Paleoecology of the Central Mississippi Alluvial Valley: Implications for the InitialHuman Occupation." I have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Anthropology. We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: � Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of The Graduate School QUATERNARY VERTEBRATE PALEOECOLOGYOF THE CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL VALLEY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE INITIAL HUMAN OCCUPATION A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Michael W. Ruddell December 1999 ii Dedication To my wife Eileen, whose support and love made this all possible. Ill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation represents my efforts and I will take credit for both the good and not so good aspects of the undertaking. Therefore, I assume full responsibility for any shortcomings that are present. However, the completed product exists because many colleagues have provided indispensable help in the process. I wish to express my genuine gratefulness to all of those who have helped. I would like to begin by acknowledging the members of my dissertation committee. First of all I would like to thank Dr. Walter E. Klippel for his insights and suggestions related to not only this dissertation, but also other career influencing matters. He has truly helped me to see the wide variety of applications of anthropology to faunal studies. Without Dr. Paul R. Delcourt, I would never have become involved with this project. His insightful knowledge of the paleoenvironments of the southeastern United States was indispensable in my research. I would further like to thank Dr. Paul W. Parmalee for his participation in my education experience. Conversations with Paul were very valuable in pursuing a logical direction in my research. I would like to thank Dr. Andrew Kramer for his role model like influence on myself. A combination of classroom experience and conversations with Andy has helped me to become a more organized and methodical researcher. I would also like to recognize the person most responsible for my interest in zooarchaeology, Stanley J. Olsen. Stan's enthusiasm and knowledge of faunal studies has been a driving force for my academic and career goals. I would like to continue by giving my thanks to John Connaway of the Mississippi Archaeological Survey, a professional archaeologist by trade and a thankfully an excellent amateur paleontologist as well. John is responsible for collecting and IV provenience of the bulk of the fossils in the collection that bears his name. Additional fossil material was collected at these sites by other amateur paleontologists; John gently persuaded these other amateurs to also donate their collections for scientific study. I would like to extend my thanks to other amateur collectors for their sacrifice for science. They include John Dakin, Joey and Jeff Holloway, Celeste Wise, Doug lamb, Larry Barrett, David McClelland, Steve Kaplan, Mike and Andalyn Doyle, Dennis Johnson, Robert Rawlinson, Maggie Monty, Dr. Van Burnham, Burt Jager, and Grady White. The staff at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum, Memphis, Tennessee has been essential in supporting this study, and to say that Ron Brister has been helpful and hospitable is a gross understatement. Ron and his wife Leticia were incredibly gracious hosts on my visits to Memphis. Thanks to Ron, I was given the red carpet treatment at the museum and introduced to Memphis "dry" barbecue. Other members of the staff at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum that were very helpful include Roy Young, Brian Hicks, Brian Argall, and Margaret McNutt. I would like to thank Chris Davenport for his assistance in analyzing the large number of bones in the collection. His help and insightfulcomments were greatly appreciated. The initial efforts to undertake this project were aided by Dr. Russell W. Graham. Later, Dr. Jerry N. McDonald provided helpful information and confirmation of some of the identifications made concerningthe different varieties of Bison in the collection. Thanks are necessary to Dr. H. Gregory McDonald for his help with the identification of some of the more problematic sloth material. I would like to acknowledge the notes and comments made by Earl Manning on parts of the Connaway v Collection and the Looper Collection. Dr. Jim Mead, Dr. C. S. Churcher, and George Jefferson also provided assistance in the identification of crucial faunal elements. I would like to acknowledge the staff at the Field Museum of Natural History for their help and cooperation. Dr. Everitt H. Lindsey kindly provided me access to the Quaternary vertebrate collections in the University of Arizona Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory. This dissertation was also aided with the staff and the use of the collections at the George C. Page Museum of Rancho La Brea Discoveries. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the insights into the geological context of collection based upon the quintessential work done by the late Roger Saucier. I benefited both from his excellent work on the geomorphology of the Mississippi valley and from numerous conversations and correspondence with Roger. He will be sadly missed. Lastly, I would like to thank my family. Without their support and love, this dissertation would never have been started, much less completed. I would like to thank my wife Eileen for all her confidence in a struggling idealist and my daughter Marissa for being my inspiration. I would like to also thank my adopted family, Nestor and Fay Roos, and Ernestine Levy for their support. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my parents, the late Harold Ruddell and Rosemary Lewis. I thank my father for my work ethic and my mother for my dogged determination. vi Abstract This study is based upon a Quaternary vertebrate assemblage from the Central Mississippi Alluvial Valley donated to the Memphis Pink Palace Museum, the Connaway Collection. A total of2288 skeletal elements were analyzed. Of the 2288 analyzed, 1097 were identified minimally to the generic level. Significantly, 610 (NISP) of the elements identified were attributed to animals with a grazing or open grassland adaptation and 431 (NISP) adapted to a woodland or forest edge adaptation. Paleoecological analysis of this fauna along with nearby river valley assemblages, paleovegetetation, geomorphology and microvertebrates assemblages of the Midsouth were analyzed in an attempt to understand the environments of the initial colonization by humans. Subsistence of aboriginal peoples during the Paleoindian period in the southeastern United States has been interpreted as representative of a generalized subsistence strategy, with minimal hunting of extinct megafauna in a closed woodland environment. The reason for this perception is enhanced because of the lack of classic kill sites in the eastern United States. It is important to note that this interpretation is not based upon paleoenvironments of the major river valleys of the East. However, archaeological data collected indicate that the strongest concentration of Early Paleoindian diagnostics and raw lithic material are found in these river valleys, not in the regions between them. Only after the last megafauna extinction event (10 ,800 yr B. P.) is there evidence of the emergence of the sub-regional cultures and subsistence on an impoverished Holocene fauna. The fauna represented in the Connaway Collection is compatible with the high concentrations of fluted points found in this region and is

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