University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 3-1987 Socioeconomic Variability in Federal Period Overhill Cherokee Archaeological Assemblages Brett High Riggs University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Riggs, Brett High, "Socioeconomic Variability in Federal Period Overhill Cherokee Archaeological Assemblages. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1987. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3543 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 Brett High Riggs entitled "Socioeconomic Variability in Federal Period Overhill Cherokee Archaeological Assemblages." 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. Gerald F. Schroedl, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Paul Parmalee, Jefferson Chapman 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 Brett High Riggs entitled "Socioeconomic Variability in Federal Period Overbill Cherokee Archeological Assemblages." I have examined the final copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts , with a maj or in Anthropology. , terald F. Schroedl, Maj or Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Vice Provost and·Dean of The.:;Gradul:!.te School STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulf ill.ment of the requirements for a Master's degree at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under the rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of the source is made . Permission for extensive quotation from or reproduction of this thesis may be granted by my maj or professor, or in his absence, by the Head of Interlibrary Services when , in the opinion of either , the proposed use is for scholarly purposes . Any copying or use of the material in this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my wr itten permission. � Signature Date �4/?86 SOCIOECONOMIC VARIABILITY IN FEDERAL PERIOD OVERBILL CHEROKEE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSEMBLAGES A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Brett High Riggs March 1987 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is the product of the efforts, advice, and support of numerous people, institutions, and agencies. I extend my gratitude to the members of my committee, Dr. Gerald Schroedl, Dr. Paul Parmalee, and Dr. Jefferson Chapman, who patiently awaited completion of this thesis and accomodated my efforts in every respect. William Baden, Dr. Jan Simek, Dr. Clifford Boyd, and Ann Reed assisted and advised me in both technical and theoretical aspects of the quantitative analyses. Charles Hall provided invaluable aid and advice in the physical preparation of the text. Miles Wright prepared the photographic materials pictured in this thesis. Linda Carnes, Dr. Clifford Boyd, Thomas Whyte, Nancy Bell, David McMahan, and Sandra Raredon are credited with the analysis of material assemblages from the Bell Rattle Cabin Site. Dr. Paul Parmalee graciously made facilities available for the identification of the Bell Rattle Cabin Site faunal materials and lent his advice in this identification. Dr. William Dickinson assisted in the identification of fish remains from the Bell Rattle Cabin Site. Fieldwork at the Bell Rattle Cabin Site and analysis of the recovered materials were financed and supported as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority Contract No. TV-56255A. Much of the data used for this thesis was derived from records housed in the Frank H. McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I gratefully acknowledge the role of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the National Park Service, the Department of Anthropology and the Museum for the recovery, curation and access to these data. ii I wish to extend my thanks to my friends, Thomas Whyte, Clifford Boyd, William Baden, Norman Jefferson, and Larry Kimball, who made my participation in the Department of Anthropology graduate program particularly enjoyable. My parents and family have been particularly supportive of my education and deserve my sincerest thanks. Host of all, my wife, Pandora Riggs, has patiently encouraged, supported, and assisted my anthropological endeavors. She has lent her professional expertise, her advice, her time, and interest toward completion of this thesis. Her love has continued when all else fails. Brett H. Riggs iii ABSTRACT During the early nineteenth century, Cherokee society rapidly evolved from its traditional state of social and economic homogeneity into a state of marked socioeconomic heterogeneity. This transformation is attributable to differential acculturation of Anglo-American economic strategies, material culture, and ideologies by various sectors of Cherokee society. Such socioeconomic heterogeneity is expected to be manifested in the archaeological record by a high degree of intercontextual variability in Federal Period Cherokee assemblages, contrasting with low levels of variability in Colonial Period Cherokee assemblages. This proposition is addressed in this study through comparative analysis of 13 Federal Period Cherokee assemblages, two Federal Period Anglo-American assemblages, and 43 late Colonial Period Cherokee assemblages derived from contexts in the Tellico Reservoir Archaeological Project area of eastern Tennessee. Patterns of material variability revealed in this analysis indicate a high degree of interassemblage variation among Federal Period Cherokee archaeological assemblages. This variation distinguishes Federal Period Cherokee assemblages most similar to contemporary Anglo-American farmstead assemblages from Federal Period assemblages most similar to the Colonial Period Cherokee sample. Most distinctive among the Federal Period Cherokee sample are assemblages from the Bell Rattle Cabin Site (40MR 211), a single family Cherokee farmstead dating 1800-1826. This site, the first of its type investigated in Tennessee, is reported in Appendixes B-G of this thesis. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1 I. INTRODUCTION.�----------------- - 1 Study Objectives.__ __________________________________ The Study Area�--------------------------------­ 3 6 The Study Period ---- �---------------------------- Materials and Me-t�hod s 6 Previous Historical Analyses of Cherokee Acculturation 8 -- ---- -------- --�------ --- Previous Archaeological� �� Research and� Analyses of� Overbill Cherokee Acculturation-------------------- 9 II. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BACKGROUND___________ _ 12 Pre-Revolutionary Patterns --------------- 12 ����� (1776-1794) __ 14 The Revolutionary Period ______________ (17 94-1824) 16 __ __ ___ The Federal Period _ __________ 32 Summary ____________ ____ ______ ____________________ III. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD 34 General Expectations 35 36 Material Dimensions of Socioeconomic Variability___ 67 Socioeconomic Variability in Settlement Patterning____ Summary of Archaeological Expectations 68 IV. ASSEMBLAGE ANALYSIS 72 Analysis Format 76 Diversity Analysis 81 Multivariate Analyses 85 Principal Components Analysis 86 Cluster Analysis 89 Canonical Discriminant Analysis 94 Summary and Conclusions 97 V. STUDY SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 105 LIST OF REFERENCES 113 APPENDIXES 125 APPENDIX A: ARTIFACT COMPOSITIONS OF STUDY ASSEMBLAGES 126 APPENDIX B: ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS AND ASSEMBLAGES AT THE BELL RATTLE CABIN SITE (40MR 211) 128 Introduction 128 Site Location and Environs 128 Historic Background 130 Archaeological Fieldwork 132 v Material Assemblages from the Bell Rattle Cabin Site (40MR 211) 142 Discussion of the Federal Period Cherokee Component_ 16 1 Summary 166 APPENDIX C: ABORIGINAL CERAMICS FROM THE BELL RATTLE CABIN SITE (40MR 211) 167 APPENDIX D: EURO-AMERICAN ARTIFACTS FROM THE BELL RATTLE CABIN SITE (40MR 211) 17 1 APPENDIX E: FAUNAL REMAINS FROM THE BELL RATTLE CABIN SITE (40MR 211), FEATURE 1 17 4 APPENDIX F: ARCHAEOBOTANICAL REMAINS FROM THE BELL RATTLE CABIN SITE (40MR 211) 177 APPENDIX G: LITHIC ARTIFACTS FROM THE BELL RATTLE CABIN SITE (40MR 211) 180 VITA 189 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Archaeological Assemblages Included in the Comparative Analysis 73 2. Artifact Classification Format 77 3. Varimax Rotated Factor Pattern Matrix 88 4. Canonical Variate Structure 95 5. Artifact Class Profiles of Groups Defined in the Cluster Solution 100 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Map illustrating locations of sites included in the comparative analysis 4 2. Federal Period Cherokee communities in the Hiwassee District 5 3. Plot of assemblage sizes and class richness 83