Elemental Analysis of Marksville-Style Prehistoric
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ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF MARKSVILLE-STYLE PREHISTORIC CERAMICS FROM MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA By Keith Allen Baca 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 Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Mississippi State, Mississippi May 3, 2008 ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF MARKSVILLE-STYLE PREHISTORIC CERAMICS FROM MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA By Keith Allen Baca Approved: Janet Rafferty Evan Peacock Graduate Coordinator of Anthropology Associate Professor of Anthropology Professor of Anthropology (Director of Thesis) S. Homes Hogue Gary Myers Professor of Anthropology Interim Dean of College of Arts and Sciences Name: Keith Allen Baca Date of Degree: May 3, 2008 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Applied Anthropology Major Professor: Dr. Janet Rafferty Title of Study: ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF MARKSVILLE-STYLE PREHISTORIC CERAMICS FROM MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA Pages in Study: 129 Candidate for Degree of Master of Arts Distinctive Marksville-style pottery is characteristic of the Middle Woodland period (200 B.C. – A.D. 500) in the Lower Mississippi River Valley and adjacent regions. Marksville material is common in the Lower Mississippi Valley, and the scarcity of similar pottery in northeastern Mississippi and western Alabama has caused claims that Marksville pots were imported into those areas; however, they may have been locally made. To test these alternative possibilities, the elemental composition of some Marksville-style potsherds, other pottery, and clays from various archaeological sites spanning the above regions was characterized using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The results show that the analyzed Marksville-style pottery shares similar elemental profiles with locally common wares and local clays in the sample, allowing the conclusion that all of these Marksville specimens were made in the regions where they were found. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Numerous persons generously assisted me in many ways during the process of producing this thesis. Dr. Janet Rafferty, who served as my major professor and director of this thesis, and my other thesis committee members Dr. Evan Peacock and Dr. S. Homes Hogue, patiently guided me through every stage of the project. I am indebted to Dr. Yunju Xia, Mr. Dean Patterson, and Dr. Ron Palmer of the Institute for Clean Energy Technology at Mississippi State University for contributing so much of their valuable time and effort in the processing of my samples with the Institute’s Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer. In addition, my fellow graduate student Bradley Carlock assisted in the laboratory work. Dylan Karges of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University, prepared the clay samples for analysis. The following people were instrumental in providing permissions to borrow the specimens for analysis: Dr. Evan Peacock of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology; Joe Giliberti and Ernie Seckinger of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District; John O’Hear of the Cobb Institute; Eugene Futato of the Alabama Museum of Natural History; Pam Edwards-Lieb of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Jim Turner of the Mississippi Department of Transportation; and Dr. Ed Jackson of the University of Southern Mississippi. ii Joe Greenleaf, another fellow graduate student, kindly prepared the map. I single out for special thanks Jeffrey Alvey of the Cobb Institute for his efficient and timely work in formatting my thesis manuscript files into a finished document. Above all, I wish to express my eternal gratitude to my wife, Julie, who steadfastly supported me throughout the long course of my graduate work. Her constant encouragement, perseverance, and, most importantly, her sheer belief in me, saw me through to the finish. I could not have done it without her. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 II. PROBLEM STATEMENT................................................................... 5 III. IMPLICATIONS OF SOME PREVIOUS REGIONAL SOURCING STUDIES ....................................................................................... 7 IV. THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS..................................................................... 12 Pottery Sourcing and the Potential of Evolutionary Archaeology..... 12 Pottery Classification......................................................................... 18 V. MIDDLE WOODLAND PERIOD CERAMICS IN MISSISSIPPI AND WESTERN ALABAMA BY REGION ............................... 21 The Yazoo Basin, Western Mississippi ............................................. 22 North-Central Mississippi.................................................................. 25 Northeastern Mississippi and West-Central Alabama ....................... 28 Southeastern Mississippi and Southwestern Alabama....................... 30 Coastal Mississippi............................................................................ 30 VI. LITERATURE REVIEW OF PURPORTED NONLOCAL MARKSVILLE POTTERY IN EASTERN MISSISSIPPI AND WESTERN ALABAMA ............................................................... 32 VII. THE STUDY SAMPLE AND SITE INFORMATION........................ 40 1CK21 Porter Village, Clarke County, Alabama............................... 43 1GR2 Craig’s Landing, Greene County, Alabama ............................ 45 22CL527 Kellogg Village, Clay County, Mississippi ....................... 47 iv 22CO502 Dickerson, Coahoma County, Mississippi ........................ 48 22CO666 Dry Bayou 1, Coahoma County, Mississippi.................... 50 22CO682 County Line Church, Coahoma County, Misssissippi ...... 51 22GN685, Greene County, Mississippi ............................................. 51 22GN687 Mossy Ridge, Greene County, Mississippi....................... 52 22HR591 Godsey, Harrison County, Mississippi.............................. 53 22LO538 Vaughn Mound, Lowndes County, Mississippi ................ 54 “M MD 13” Holifield, Madison County, Mississippi........................ 55 22NO503/534 Monk Place, Noxubee County, Mississippi............... 56 22OK888, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi ........................................ 58 22SH500 Spanish Fort, Sharkey County, Mississippi....................... 59 22SH520 Leist, Sharkey County, Mississippi ................................... 60 22UN500 Ingomar Mounds, Union County, Mississippi .................. 61 22WI516 Stinking Water, Winston County, Mississippi................... 64 22YZ515 Milner, Yazoo County, Mississippi................................... 65 VIII. ANALYTICAL METHODS................................................................ 67 Determination of Elemental Composition of Samples by LA-ICP-MS................................................................................. 67 Elemental Data Analysis.................................................................... 70 IX. RESULTS ............................................................................................. 73 Correspondence Analysis................................................................... 73 Principal Components Analysis......................................................... 83 X. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................... 88 REFERENCES CITED........................................................................................... 93 APPENDIX A. SAMPLE ELEMENTAL CONCENTRATION DATA....................... 109 v LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page A1. Sample elemental concentration data…………………………………… 109 vi LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 1. Map of Mississippi and Western Alabama showing physiographic zones and locations of archaeological sites from which the analysis specimens originated.................................................................................. 44 2. Correspondence analysis (CA) ordination graph of all samples, axes 1 and 2................................................................................................ 74 3. Correspondence analysis (CA) ordination graph of all samples, axes 1 and 3................................................................................................ 75 4. Correspondence analysis (CA) ordination graph of all samples, axes 2 and 3................................................................................................ 76 5. Correspondence analysis (CA) ordination graph of sample elements, axes 1 and 2 ............................................................................... 80 6. Correspondence analysis (CA) ordination graph of sample elements, axes 1 and 3................................................................................................ 81 7. Correspondence analysis (CA) ordination graph of sample elements, axes 2 and 3................................................................................................ 81 8. Principal components analysis (PCA) ordination graph of all samples by sodium (Na) and potassium (K) concentration ....................................