Climatic Variability at Modoc Rock Shelter (Illinois) and Watson Brake (Louisiana): Biometric and Isotopic Evidence from Archaeological Freshwater Mussel Shell
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Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2009 Climatic variability at Modoc Rock Shelter (Illinois) and Watson Brake (Louisiana): biometric and isotopic evidence from archaeological freshwater mussel shell Sarah Mistak Caughron Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td Recommended Citation Caughron, Sarah Mistak, "Climatic variability at Modoc Rock Shelter (Illinois) and Watson Brake (Louisiana): biometric and isotopic evidence from archaeological freshwater mussel shell" (2009). Theses and Dissertations. 1070. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/1070 This Graduate Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CLIMATIC VARIABILITY AT MODOC ROCK SHELTER (ILLINOIS) AND WATSON BRAKE (LOUISIANA): BIOMETRIC AND ISOTOPIC EVIDENCE FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL FRESHWATER MUSSEL SHELL By Sarah Mistak Caughron A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures Mississippi State, Mississippi December 2009 Copyright 2009 By Sarah Mistak Caughron CLIMATIC VARIABILITY AT MODOC ROCK SHELTER (ILLINOIS) AND WATSON BRAKE (LOUISIANA): BIOMETRIC AND ISOTOPIC EVIDENCE FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL FRESHWATER MUSSEL SHELL By Sarah Mistak Caughron Approved: _________________________________ _________________________________ Evan Peacock Janet Rafferty Graduate Coordinator of Anthropology Professor of Anthropology Associate Professor of Anthropology (Committee Member) (Director of Thesis) _________________________________ _________________________________ S. Homes Hogue Gary Myers Adjunct Professor of Anthropology Dean of College of Arts and Sciences (Committee Member) Name: Sarah Mistak Caughron Date of Degree: December 11, 2009 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Applied Anthropology Major Professor: Dr. Evan Peacock Title of Study: CLIMATIC VARIABILITY AT MODOC ROCK SHELTER (ILLINOIS) AND WATSON BRAKE (LOUISIANA): BIOMETRIC AND ISOTOPIC EVIDENCE FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL FRESHWATER MUSSEL SHELL Pages in Study: 202 Candidate for Degree of Master of Arts This thesis assesses climate change during the Hypsithermal Climatic Interval through the analysis of freshwater mussel remains from archaeological sites in Eastern North America. Modern climate data was used as a model to test the mosaic consequences of climate change. Freshwater mussels: can be used as indicators of precipitation by examining changes in overall size through time: larger mussels are found in larger streams, while smaller mussels are found in smaller streams. This study combines morphometric and isotopic data from archaeological freshwater mussels at Modoc Rock Shelter, Watson Brake, Plum Creek, Owens site, and Landerneau mounds to assess past climatic conditions. At Modoc Rock Shelter, oxygen isotopic data corroborate morphometric data and show that climate was fluctuating with a period of stability at the onset of the Hypsithermal. The oxygen isotopic data sets from the Louisiana sites show that the mid-Holocene was much warmer than the late-Holocene. DEDICATION Freshwater mussel shells are found in great quantities at archaeological sites all over the country. They get stored in countless bags and file boxes. They’re heavy, cumbersome, and downright dusty. No one knows that better than my dad, as he was perhaps the most actively involved (and interested) individual in this research endeavor. This thesis is dedicated to Bob Mistak: father, friend, inspiration. I dedicate this to him because the completion of this work is as much his triumph as it is mine, and because our thesis travels read like a rock band concert tour: Crawfish City, Modoc, IL, Mr. Lincoln’s Campground, Starkville, Eunice, LA, and every Waffle House and KOA along the way. We sampled fine Louisiana cuisine (“mud bugs”), and we established the true meaning of Go-Jo and giant bullfrogs as well as trips down memory lane in the “toys and collectibles” section of the Illinois State Museum curation facility (“don’t touch it!!”). I’ll certainly never forget our very wet site visit to Watson Brake and how to find one’s way out of the woods by simply bending a small twig. And, as if he weren’t exhausted enough from carrying history-laden boxes, Ms. Jones haughtily remarks, “You think you can carry that, or do we need to drive?” I can not articulate how much I appreciate the unwavering patience, the necessary tolerance (and sometimes necessary intolerance) of the complaints, the reality-checks, and just being the kick-in-the-butt when I needed it most. ii Above all, I am grateful for your willingness to allow me to transform the “Freedom Machine” into a mobile laboratory, covering the interior with shell dust and forcing you to negotiate your sleeping arrangements around countless (and seemingly endless) file-sized boxes of prehistoric mussel shells. I shall not look back on the production of this thesis without fondly thinking of our shared adventures, and I will never forget that “the prettiest coral is in the roughest seas.” iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am both appreciative and honored that I was given the opportunity to work with some of the most renowned scholars and remarkable individuals throughout the production of this thesis. Fortunate does not even begin to describe my feelings toward the professionally and personally enriching experiences gained during this process. Firstly, I am indebted to Dr. Evan Peacock, my major professor, for being an unwavering source of encouragement, humor, and both academic and personal fortification. I am truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to apprentice under such an all-together genuine, knowledgeable, and upbeat fellow as him. Thank you for always having an ear for my crazy ideas, off-key songs in the lab, and terrible jokes. Much gratitude is extended to Drs. Janet Rafferty and S. Homes Hogue, committee members, for their support and conscientious assessment of this work. I truly appreciate the individual support and encouragement offered by Dr. Rafferty regarding both academic and non- academic pursuits. Of particular example is her encouragement to apply for the Dienje Kenyon Fellowship. I would like to thank Dr. Charles Wax for his assistance regarding the modern climate data presented in this paper. For his work concerning isotope analysis, I am greatly appreciative of the work completed by Dr. C. Fred Andrus at the University of iv Alabama. I appreciate his quick responses to e-mails asking to explain, “one more time,” how the process of isotope analysis works as well as the expedient turn- around of the actual analysis. Thesis analysis took me on a regional tour of the US, and I would like to thank the individuals at the Illinois State Museum, Springfield, for their hospitality, encouragement, expertise, time, and loan of materials. I appreciate the individual attention, species identification help, facility tours, article reprints, and lab space afforded by Dr. Robert Warren. I would also like to thank Dr. Bonnie Styles and Dr. Terry Martin for their assistance with this project and providing details regarding the Modoc Rock Shelter excavations. Additionally, thank you, Ms. DeAnn Watt for helping make the loan process as painless as possible! For their hospitality, laboratory key and work space, guided site and museum tours, countless copies, assistance in matters academic and culinary, loan of specimens, and support, I would like to thank Dr. Joe Saunders and Ms. Reca Jones at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. It is my auspicious fortune to have spent time in their laboratory; as a result, I am now completely captivated by Archaic mounds! No thesis can and should be written without expressing some gratitude toward the friends, field crew, and office mates with whom one matriculates! I appreciate the help of Jennifer Long in regards to transecting my shells for isotope analysis. Jeffrey Alvey provided unending technical support, advice, perspective, cups of neighborly sugar, and rides to work when the Durango was dead. My time in the Cobb Institute basement was one that will be remembered for posterity, particularly the “Electric Slide” breaks in the v Grad Lab. Special thanks go to all of the graduate students in our office. Thank you, especially, to Jason Edmonds and Ft. Bierly, two of the most interesting and insightful individuals and best beer-drinking buddies a girl can have. Perspective, theoretical banter, and all-around good humor were always to be had. Thank you for lending an ear and lifting a beer! To Miss Lacey Culpepper (kul-peppah), the TA, thanks for the Salty Dogs, Sunday mimosas, and dance-dance parties to Joni Mitchell and Indigo Girls! I would also like to extend a thank-you to Andrew Triplett for his GIS expertise in providing the Louisiana site map presented in this thesis. Thank you for the help and encouragement when I needed it most, friend. Also, thank you for “fat Elvis.” Finally, I would like to thank my family. There is no doubt that I won the parent lottery. They make fans wherever they go. My parents’ comprehensive support has been a constant in my life, and I am truly grateful for their encouragement to take