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Iroquois Population History and Settlement Ecology, Ad 1500-1700

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Iroquois Population History and Settlement Ecology, Ad 1500-1700 The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts IROQUOIS POPULATION HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT ECOLOGY, AD 1500-1700 A Dissertation in Anthropology by Eric E. Jones Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2008 The dissertation of Eric E. Jones was reviewed and approved* by the following: Nina G. Jablonski Professor of Biological Anthropology Department Head Dean R. Snow Professor of Archaeological Anthropology Dissertation Adviser Chair of Committee George R. Milner Professor of Archaeological Anthropology Kenneth G. Hirth Professor of Archaeological Anthropology James W. Wood Professor of Biological Anthropology and Demography Timothy M. Murtha Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii ABSTRACT Anthropological research into the population and settlement of Northern Iroquoian Native American societies has the potential to further our knowledge of cultural development and population change in pre-contact North America, the impacts of European contact on Native American societies, and the development and organization of middle range and swidden agricultural societies. This dissertation is composed of two research components. The first is an examination of Haudenosaunee population trends from AD 1500 to AD 1700. In this research, I map the boundaries of all known Haudenosaunee villages occupied during this period. The combination of settlement size and ratios of site area-per-person generate population estimates for each village. With existing chronological data, I combine these estimates to create population curves for the Haudenosaunee nations. The analysis of associated archaeological and ethnohistoric data provides explanations for the observed trends. The second is an analysis of the natural and sociopolitical factors that influenced Haudenosaunee settlement locations and abandonment. In this research, I analyze the spatial correlation of Haudenosaunee village locations with various natural and sociopolitical landscape features in a geographic information system. When compared to a control group, the deviations of the village locations from the control locations reveal features that attracted settlements. Finally, I employ event history analysis to examine the factors that most strongly influenced the decision to abandon Haudenosaunee villages. iii The results of the population research reveal significant diversity in trends across the five nations. They also support the proposition that European-introduced diseases did not affect Native American populations in the Northeast and Great Lakes until the mid- seventeenth century and the idea that diseases spread irregularly through regions populated by geographically and socially buffered middle-range societies. There also appear to have been frequent migration events in this region that help to explain highly variable pre-contact population changes, shifts in settlement distribution, and sociopolitical development in the region. The identification of these events may help the development of population curves in other regions. This research also highlights effective methods for using archaeological settlement remains to study population sizes and trends in North America and elsewhere. The settlement ecology research takes a new approach to studying the factors behind Haudenosaunee settlement locations. In the past, research has focused on finding primary factors. This dissertation argues, following recent settlement ecology theory, that settlement distribution and location should be viewed as the result of a complex system of relationships between settlement, subsistence, and sociopolitical organization. The results show that the interaction of agricultural needs, ease of transportation, and sociopolitical factors like political alliances, communication, and warfare significantly influenced Haudenosaunee settlement location choices. Further, population size and agricultural resources were factors in the abandonment rate of villages. These results have interesting implications for our understanding of Haudenosaunee population and culture, the development of Native American societies in iv the eastern Great Lakes and Northeast, and the swidden agricultural adaptation in temperate climates. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures……...……………………………………………………………………viii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………...x Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………….xii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………..1 Organization of the Dissertation…………………………………………………..6 Chapter 2: HAUDENOSAUNEE POPULATION AND SETTLEMENT………………..9 Relationship Between Haudenosaunee Settlement and Population……………...14 Population Research…………...………………………………………………...18 Northern Iroquoian Population Research………………………………………..22 Data Available for Demographic Research……………………………………...25 Methodological Considerations………………….………………………………30 Chapter 3: POPULATION TRENDS OF THE HAUDENOSAUNEE, AD 1500-1700...39 Methods…………………………………………………………………………..39 Results……………………………………………………………………………42 Explanation of Individual Population Trends……………..……………………..72 Discussion………………………………………………………………………..87 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..92 Chapter 4: SETTLEMENT ECOLOGY AND THE HAUDENOSAUNEE ………..…..94 Haudenosaunee Settlement Ecology………………………………………….….97 Data Available for Settlement Ecology Research………………………………106 Previous Settlement Ecology Research………………………………………...107 Methodological Considerations…………………………………….………..…110 Chapter 5: FACTORS INFLUENCING HAUDENOSAUNEE SETTLEMENT LOCATIONS…………………………………………………………………..……….119 Methods…………………………………………………………………………119 Results…………………………………………………………………………..140 Discussion………………………………………………………………………159 Conclusion……….……………………………………………………………..169 Chapter 6: EVENT HISTORY ANALYSIS OF SETTLEMENT ABANDONMENT..172 Event History Analysis in Anthropology……………………………………….173 Covariates………………………………………………………………………175 Iroquoian Settlement Abandonment and Abandonment Rates…………………177 Methods…………………………………………………………………………180 Results…………………………………………………………………………..182 Discussion………………………………………………………………………187 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………192 vi Chapter 7: CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………………195 Future Directions……………………………………………………………….200 References………………………………………………………………………………203 Appendix A: Description of Haudenosaunee Sites……………………………………..223 Mohawk Sites…………………………………………………………………...223 Oneida Sites…………………………………………………………………….264 Onondaga Sites…………………………………………………………………295 Cayuga Sites……………………………………………………………………319 Seneca Sites…………………………………………………………………….332 Appendix B: Ecological Factor Data for Villages and Random Points………………...379 Appendix C: Viewshed Results………………………………………………………...419 Appendix D: Discriminant Function Analysis Results…………………………………438 Appendix E: Cox Proportional Hazards Analysis Results……………………………...443 vii LIST OF FIGURES 2.1 The 125 Haudenosaunee sites and their relative occupation times……………....11 2.2 Extent of Haudenosaunee occupation across modern New York State from AD 1500 to 1700…………………………………………………………………......12 3.1 The changes in population for all of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca nations. …………………...……………………………………………………...43 3.2 Changes in Mohawk site area over time…………………………………………44 3.3 Changes in Mohawk population over time………………………………………44 3.4 Changes in Oneida site area over time…………………………………………...47 3.5 Changes in Oneida population over time………………………………………...47 3.6 Changes in Onondaga site area over time………………………………………..53 3.7 Changes in Onondaga population over time……………………………………..54 3.8 Changes in Seneca site area over time…………………………………………...61 3.9 Changes in Seneca population over time………………………………………...61 3.10 Changes in Western Seneca site area over time………………………………….69 3.11 Changes in Eastern Seneca site area over time…………………………………..69 3.12 Changes in Western Seneca population over time……………………………….71 3.13 Changes in Eastern Seneca population over time………………………………..71 4.1 Map of the topographic zones referred to in this chapter and the distribution of Haudenosaunee village sites occupied between AD 1500 and 1700……………..98 5.1 The spatial distribution of Mohawk settlements………………………………..122 5.2 Spatial distribution of Haudenosaunee settlements occupied between AD 1500 and 1700……………………………………………………………………………..124 5.3 Portions of the viewsheds of the Onondaga Temperance House and Atwell village sites……………………………………………………………………………..127 viii 5.4 The Seneca Kanedesaga village site and a portion of its viewshed…………….128 5.5 The Seneca Kanedesaga village site and a portion of its viewshed…………….129 5.6 Slope classes in a portion of the Oneida region………………………………...131 5.7 Aspect in a portion of the Western Seneca region……………………………...132 5.8 Example of spatial correlation of settlement locations with soil features: soil texture and hardwood growth…………………………………………....……..133 5.9 Example of spatial correlation of settlement locations with soil features: frost action and soil drainage………………………………………………………...134 5.10 Canoe navigable waterways located closest to the Haudenosaunee village locations………………………………………………………………………...136 5.11 Straight-line distance between the Seneca Menzis village and the nearest canoe navigable waterway…………………………………………………………….137 5.12 Straight-line distance between the Seneca Menzis village and the nearest overland trail.……………………………………………………………………………..138 6.1 The intersection of catchments of the Cayuga Indian Fort Road, Parker Farm, and Carman sites and two soil properties, soil drainage and hardwood
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