University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 3-1977 Trade Networks and the Development of Local Status and Rank in Dallas Society John G. Sabol Jr. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Sabol, John G. Jr., "Trade Networks and the Development of Local Status and Rank in Dallas Society. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1977. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4165 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 John G. Sabol Jr. entitled "Trade Networks and the Development of Local Status and Rank in Dallas Society." 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 requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Charles H. Faulkner, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Gerald F. Schroedl, Major C.R. McCullough 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 John G. Sabol, Jr., entitled "Trade Networks and the Development of Local Status and Rankin Dall as Society." I recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Charles 8. Fauikner,Mafcirrofessor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Vice Chancellor Graduate Studies and Research TRADE NETWORKS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL STATUS AND RANK IN DALLAS SOCIETY A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville John G. Sabol, Jr. March 1977 DEDICATION Sin La inspiracion y La amor de mi esposa Patti y mi hijo Juanito, Yo no podia escribir este tesis. 'Este trabajo y labor es dedicado a ellos. El dice el gran amor que yo siento por ellos. Gracias Patti. Gracias Juanito. Siempre mi amor a ti. I would also like to dedicate this thesis to the memory of my grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Sabol. Her love, warmth, and kindness to me will always be treasured, her memory never to be forgotten. She is the greatest, most beautiful person that I have, or will ever, know. Thank You Baba. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I find that I am overwhelmed by the number of people who have helped me during the preparation and writing of this thesis. To all of them, both fellow students and professors, I extend my heart-filled thanks. Among these people, I extend a special thanks to my graduate connnittee. Their fiith in my ability and their continual encouragement, through various times of trouble, will always be a special remembrance for me throughout my life.· Without their help and criticisms this thesis could not have been written. Each has contributed in his own special · way. To Dr. Charles Faulkner, chairman of my conunittee, I owe a special thanks for helping me to understand and appreciate the complexity and nature of the prehistoric cultures of the Southeast. To Dr. Major McCullough, I extend my thanks and deep appreciation for his helpful comments and criticisms in the writing of this thesis, and his constant encouragement as to the usefulness of this work. To Dr. Gerald Schroedl, by his. meticulous reviewing and critiquing of this thesis, and his constant demands for precision, I owe the logical structure that the final work became. I would like to ex�end my appreciation to Dr. Alfred Guthe of the McClung Museum for the use of the archaeological files and reports. He has also been very helpful in directing me to the location of many helpful reports and studies that subsequently became an important aspect of this thesis. iii iv I would also like to extend my deep appreciation to Dr. Jefferson Chapman of the McClung Museum for directing me to some of his earlier studies, so useful to this thesis, and his important suggestions on Archaic and Woodland Trade networks. I also extend my thanks to my fellow students. Particularily, I wish to thank Richard Polhemus, who gave me access to data collected by his father, and for'1lis helpful information regarding the Toqua site and Dallas sites in general.· Ann Reed, Marian Bistline, Victor Hood, and Donald Ball have also contributed significantly to my knowledge and understanding of Dallas archaeology. To Jim Hatch, I owe much, though we have never met or discussed any aspect of this thesis. His thesis has been the primary source of inspiration for my own. Finally, -I owe my deepest gratitude and love to my parents, my wife Patti, and my aunt, Mary Sabol. Without their sacrifices, constant encouragement, love, and inspiration, this thesis and my education would merely be a dream, rather than the reality that it is. ABSTRACT Hatch's (1974) recent analysis of Dallas mortuary patterning, based principally on the distribution of exotic artifacts in Dallas mound burials, has identified and defined a Dallas status and rank system. Hatch and Willey ·(1974) suggest that this status and rank system linked Dallas sites to one another. This sociopolitical integration was based on kinship affiliations between individuals in the various rarnages at Dallas sites. Hatch and Willey (1974), however, ignore the importance of independently-operating local processes in the development of status and rank in Dallas society. An alternative approach to the study of Dallas culture ·and social organization is presented here. A Dallas trade network is identified and its implications for the development of localized rank in Dallas society is analyzed. Based on ethnographic data, a model of prehistoric Southeast trade is developed which indicates that individual traders or groups of traders, rather than chiefly elites, controlled the distribution of nonlocal materials found on Dallas sites. It is further suggested that local transactions and exchanges were conducted at specialized trading facilities which participated in the acquisition and distribution of these materials. It is suggested that these trading facilities contain distinctive behavioral and material elements which structurally differen­ tiate them from other settlements. These elements include strategic geographic location in a regional setting, concentrations of nonlocal V vi materials, little local embedded wealth, and a cultural flexibility of established norms and customs pertaining to status and rank. Three local trade centers are identified in the Dallas area. These include the Citico (40HA65), Toqua (40MR6), and DeAnnond (3RE12) sites. It is proposed that Citico was a local center for the acquisition and exchange of marine shell entering the eastern Tennessee Yalley; Toqua was a local trading �acility involved in mica exchanges; and the DeArrnond site was the location of local flint exchanges. However, the mortuary patterning at these sites indicate that Citico and Toqua were multifunctional sites, commanding both sociopolitical and economic importance. DeArmond is seen as a unifunctional site involved in the trade and exchange of nonlocal materials. Finally, the differences in the mortuary patterning at these sites indicate that no single homogeneous mechanism or symbolizing process was responsible for the development of status and rank positions in Dallas society. TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ..... 1 II. SOUTHEAST ETHNOGRAPHIC DATA 4 Trade and Process in the Southeast . 4 The Archaeological Model ..... 8 III. THE IDENTIFICATION OF A LATE MISSISSIPPIAN DALLAS TRADE NETWORK . 14 Introduction . 14 Trade Goods, Transport Routes, and Tradihg Facilities in the Dallas Area . 19 Marine shell . 20 Mica ..... 26 Chert ... 28 A Reconstruction of the Dallas Trade Network in East Tennessee .... 31 Shell-mica-flint exchanges . 32 Summary 38 IV. DALLAS MORTUARY PATTERNING AND TRADE CENTER FUNCTION . 44 Little Local Embedded Wealth 44 DeArmond (3RE12) 47 Citico (40HA65) .... 51 Toqua (40MR6) 53 Summary ..... 55 V. DALLAS MORTUARY PATTERN AND TRADE CENTER FUNCTION 57 Cultural Fluidity (Flexibility of Norms) . 57 DeArmond (3RE12) 59 Hixon (1HA3) .... 60 Citico (40MR7) .. 62 VI. SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION . 65 VI I. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CONTINUED INVESTIGATION OF DALLAS TRADE NETWORKS AND TRADE FACILITIES 70 LITERATURE CITED . 73 VITA ... 79 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. A Model of Prehistoric Sout.heast Trade During the Mississippian Period . 12 2. The Overland and River Trails in the Eastern Tennessee Valley . 23 3. The Prehistoric Trade and Exchange Network 39 4. The Dallas Trade and Exchange Network in East Tennessee 40 5. Typology of the Dallas Settlement System . � . 68 viii I. INTRODUCTION Recent analyses of the Dallas archaeological phase (Hatch 1974; Hatch and Willey 1974) indicate that a status and rank structure characterized Dallas society. This interpretation is based on the analysis of sex, age, location, artifact, and stature distributions in Dallas burials. Four trends based on these distributions indicate that the most privileged group in·Dallas society were those individuals interred in mounds (Hatch and Willey 1974): 1. Mound burials tend to have a greater and richer variety of grave goods than village burials. 2. Exotic artifacts, such as copper and mica headdresses, ceramic bottles, and large marine shell vessels, are most frequently found in mound burials. 3. Ex·otic artifacts accompany individuals of all ages and both sexes in mounds. 4. Individuals interred in mounds tend, on the average, to be taller in stature than individuals buried elsewhere. Hatch and Willey (1974:123) suggest that Dallas social structure was composed of a hiera.rchy of social positions similar to a rarnage, characteristic of many _Polynesian.