Cooking and Coalescence: Exploring the Construction of Community and Cuisine at Morton Village
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COOKING AND COALESCENCE: EXPLORING THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY AND CUISINE AT MORTON VILLAGE By Jeffrey Matthew Painter A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Anthropology—Doctor of Philosophy 2021 ABSTRACT COOKING AND COALESCENCE: EXPLORING THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY AND CUISINE AT MORTON VILLAGE By Jeffrey Matthew Painter Over the last few decades, archaeologists have found increasing evidence for migration and other forms of population movement among precontact Indigenous groups in North America, creating dynamic social interactions that directly impacted local communities and regional networks. In some cases, these interactions appear to have stimulated new cultural developments, such as the growth of larger communities and the development of new institutions or practices, which helped to shape the history of these regions. In response, archaeologists have begun to shift their focus toward understanding how these multi-cultural, or coalescent, communities were formed and the processes that made them successful. A number of mechanisms have been identified that promoted integration in these communities, but, so far, research has focused on large-scale organizational changes, such as the development of new social institutions, over small-scale, everyday interactions. In this dissertation, I examine foodways practices and their role in coalescence to demonstrate that small-scale interactions were also critical for community integration and coalescence. To investigate these practices, I conducted ceramic use-alteration and spatial analyses at Morton Village, a site of on-going coalescence in the central Illinois River valley, as well as at two comparative sites, Larson and the Tremaine Complex, in order to examine cooking and consumption practices in pre- and post- migration contexts. Comparisons of data from these sites revealed that some traditional foodways practices were maintained by the migrant and local residents at Morton Village, while other practices were slowly shifting, creating a unique cuisine at the site. Through both larger communal events and everyday cooking, shifts in foodways at Morton Village may have helped to link migrant and local residents together, promoting community integration from the bottom- up. This research indicates that everyday interactions can also be critical for successful coalescence, not just large-scale organizational changes, demonstrating that multi-scalar approaches are needed to better understand this process. Copyright by JEFFREY MATTHEW PAINTER 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Over the last seven years, this project has grown and progressed thanks to contributions from many, many people. I would first like to thank my lovely wife, Autumn, whose support and patience have made all of this possible. Through this whole process she has been my editor, helped me brain-storm ideas, encouraged me at every step, and tolerantly listened to my ramblings. She is the best wife and research partner I could ask for, and I could not image completing this project without her. I would also like to thank our dog, Ramey, who has been the ultimate stress-reliever and also tolerated many readings of this dissertation, despite not understanding any of it. I owe a big thank you to Dr. Jodie O’Gorman, who gave me a chance at MSU. You have been a great advisor, and I would not be the archaeologist I am today without your help. Thank you for letting me be a part of the Morton Village Archaeological Project and encouraging me to run with the idea for this dissertation, luckily it turned out to be an interesting study! I would also like to thank the rest of my dissertation committee: Dr. Lynne Goldstein, Dr. William Lovis, and Dr. Ryan Tubbs. Dr. Goldstein, thank you for always providing words of wisdom in any situation, and for helping me find my way at MSU during my first year. It was also great to work with you as part of the Campus Archaeology Program. Dr. Lovis, thank you for challenging me in many ways, you have helped to make me a better analytical thinker and made me begin to appreciate statistics (kind of…). I also had fun working with you at Sleeping Bear Dunes, it was a good learning experience and introduced me to some great people. Dr. Tubbs, thank you for all of your work on this dissertation, you brought a different perspective to these problems that was very helpful. I will also admit that I used your dissertation as an example v of what I should include and how to organize mine, so thank you for being a guiding light in the mess that is dissertation brain! Aside from my committee, none of this research would have been possible without the many people who are part of the Morton Village Archaeological Project. Dr. Michael Connor, the co-director of the Morton Village Archaeological Project, was not only instrumental in excavations at the site, but also helped provide access to the collections at Dickson Mounds Museum that are so critical for this dissertation. He was also a large part of my earlier Master’s thesis work as well, so thanks for putting up with me all these years Mike. I would also like to thank all of the other graduate students involved in the Morton Village Archaeological Project, especially Frank Raslich, Kelsey Nordine, Andy Upton, and Nicole Klarmann, who not only helped do the hard work of excavation, but conducted enlightening research and were always available to discuss ideas. Finally, a big shout out to all of the field school students, interns, and volunteers who have worked at Morton Village over the years, I wish you all success in your future careers! As this was primarily collections-based research, a number of institutions and curators also helped to make this dissertation possible. I would like to thank Alan Harn and the Illinois State Museum-Dickson Mounds for access to the Larson collection, as well as continued access to the Morton Village materials. I would also like to thank Denise Wiggins, Marlin Hawley, and the Wisconsin Historical Society for providing access to the Tremaine Complex collection. Trips to these institutions were funded through the Wisconsin Archeological Society Research Award and the MSU Department of Anthropology’s Lynne Goldstein Fellowship Fund and Alumni and Friends Expendable Fund for Archaeology. vi While not technically involved in this research, I do want to recognize Dr. James Skibo for introducing me to ceramic use-alteration analysis. This dissertation is partially your fault. Finally, these acknowledgements would not be complete without thanking my family, who have helped to keep me sane and motivated during this process. My mom, Rose, has supported me through everything I have done, and this dissertation is as much a testament to her parenting as it is a demonstration of my abilities. My father, George, while he is no longer with us, has inspired me my whole life, and I know he is looking down on me smiling right now. And as much as I hate to admit it, my sister, Amanda, has been a role model for most of my life. Just don’t let her know I said that. My in-laws, Dean and Patty, while relatively new members of the family, have also been a source of constant encouragement and support, and occasionally stats help. Nothing makes you feel more supported than their typical greeting at visits: “Shouldn’t you be working right now?” vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 Organization of Dissertation ................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2: COALESCENT SOCIETIES IN ARCHAEOLOGY...............................................7 Community and Coalescence .............................................................................................12 Hybridization .....................................................................................................................14 Foodways ...........................................................................................................................18 Foodways, Hybridization, and Coalescence ......................................................................22 Summary ............................................................................................................................24 CHAPTER 3: ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ..............................................................25 Brief Overview of the Oneota and Middle Mississippian Traditions ................................27 Archaeology in the Central Illinois River Valley ..............................................................32 Morton Village and Norris Farms #36 ...............................................................................35 Diet and Cuisine Prior to and During the Bold Counselor Phase ......................................39 Archaeological Background of Comparative Sites ............................................................43 The Tremaine Complex .........................................................................................43 The Larson Site ......................................................................................................45