Zea Mays Ssp. Mays) and Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris) on The
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Early Evidence of Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) and Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) on the Northern Plains: An Examination of Avonlea Cultural Materials (AD 300-1100) By Andrew Lints Master of Environmental Studies (NECU) Lakehead University Thunder Bay, Ontario February 2012 PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Masters of Environmental Science in Northern Environments and Cultures from Lakehead University, I agree that copies of this thesis shall be deposited in the Institute Library and the department of Northern Environments and Cultures to be freely available for public use. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by my supervisor and graduate coordinator Dr. Matthew Boyd, or in their absence the chair of the Department of Northern Environments and Cultures or the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Environmental Studies. It is understood that any copying or publication of this thesis, or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Also it is understood that due recognition will be given to me and Lakehead University in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in this thesis. i ABSTRACT The goal of this thesis is to reconstruct the plant component of paleodiet for the Avonlea complex (AD 300 – 1100 BP), an early ceramic-producing culture on the Northern Plains. Avonlea peoples have been assumed by archaeologists to subsist exclusively off of wild plant and animal (bison) resources. However, elsewhere on the Great Plains, this time period witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of domesticated plants such as maize, beans, and squash. In addition to identifying consumption of wild plants, this thesis will examine the extent to which these cultigens were incorporated into Avonlea diet. The plant component of Avonlea palaeodiet is reconstructed through analysis of starch and phytoliths from carbonized and non-carbonized food residue. This sample set included 21 ceramic vessels, 7 stone artifacts, and 3 soil samples obtained from eight Avonlea sites located in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In addition to archaeological food residues, starch assemblages from 45 modern plant specimens were also examined to enable identification of previously unidentifiable wild and domesticated plant taxa. My results indicate domesticated plant use at all of the eight sites examined. The overwhelming evidence for cultigens at these sites indicates that Avonlea groups were actively involved in the acquisition of domesticated plants, which led to the widespread dispersal of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) by at least AD 660 and 710. In addition to domesticated plants, wild rice and other wild plants were identified, indicating that Avonlea peoples collected and consumed a wide diversity of plants. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I began my Master’s degree at Lakehead University, I had never really left Manitoba, and was uncertain how things would go. Any uncertainties quickly diminished as I met the warm, helpful, and supportive NECU classmates and professors that brought me into their fold. As a result, I am blessed with a lot of individuals to thank for helping me in reaching my goals while completing my degree. First and foremost, I would like to thank my Advisor, Dr. Matt Boyd. As newcomer to plant microfossil research Matt provided great mentorship and was always available to help in anyway, even if this meant moving furniture. Matt was always patient while reading and editing every draft this thesis and always supported me and the ideas that I developed. I also thank Matt for the use of laboratory materials that were crucial to the completion of this research. I am grateful to Matt for providing me this opportunity and starting me on my career in plant microfossil research. I would also like to thank my Committee members, Dr. Scott Hamilton and Dr. Tamara Varney, for their careful and insightful comments while editing my thesis. They were a great resource for me, always providing excellent advice and support without hesitation. Scott was especially helpful when trying to find obscure references that were difficult to acquire, yet Scott always seemed to have duplicates somewhere in his office. Without their additional support this thesis would not be what it is today. I also want to thank Dr. Deborah Pearsall for taking the time to provide an excellent and thorough examination of my thesis. I am also grateful to have received funding from Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) that aided in the completion of this thesis. iii There are many other individuals that I need to thank for providing the artifacts that I analyzed in my research. I especially want to thank Dr. Evelyn Siegfried (Royal Saskatchewan Museum) for helping me track down so many interesting artifacts that I was able to study. I also would like to thank Dave Norris (Western Heritage Services), Kevin Brownlee (Manitoba Museum), and Manitoba Heritage Resource Branch for also proving such interesting pottery for me to work with. Although I was unable to include materials from South Dakota in this thesis, I would like to thank Jim Haug and Katie Lamie (South Dakota Historical Society) for searching their records for possible sites that I could examine. I also thank Kyle Lucyk from the Living Prairie Museum for providing comparative plant samples for me to analyze. I also thank all of the field excavators, supervisors, and academics that worked on the Miniota, Broadview, Lebret, Avonlea, Garratt, Remembrance, Sjovold, and Gull Lake sites. Without their efforts, none of the results found in this thesis would have been possible. I additionally thank Allison Landals for providing soil samples from the Miniota site and photos from the Miniota site excavations. I would like to thank Clarence Surette for providing training of lab procedures and plant microfossil identifications. Clarence also aided me in the collection of many wild plants, especially the ones that turned out to be poisonous. Clarence provided excellent advice and friendship during the completion of my research. Last but not least, I am forever grateful for the unending love and support that my fiancée Megan and daughter Abigail provided while completing my research. They always seemed to find a way make me forget about whatever stress I encountered while completing my master’s. Without them, none of this would have been possible and I dedicate this research to them both. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1Cultural Historical Context ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Methods ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Samples .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ....................................................................................... 9 2.1 Climate ........................................................................................................................................................... 9 2.2. Physical Geography................................................................................................................................ 10 2.3 Modern Vegetation ................................................................................................................................. 12 2.4 Floral Species ............................................................................................................................................ 13 2.5 Faunal Species .......................................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 3 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND (11,050 BP – 300 AD) ............................. 17 3.1 Cultural Systematics and Taxonomy ................................................................................................ 17 3.2 The Paleo‐Indian Tradition (11,050 BP to 8,600 BP) ................................................................ 19 3.3 The Archaic Tradition (7,500 to 1,500 BP) .................................................................................... 21 3.4 The Woodland Tradition (2,000 BP to Precontact) .................................................................... 22 3.4.1 Laurel Complex .................................................................................................................................................. 25 CHAPTER 4 THE AVONLEA COMPLEX (AD 300‐1100) .......................................................... 29 4.1 Distribution ............................................................................................................................................... 29 4.2 Origins ......................................................................................................................................................... 31 4.2.1 Athapaskan Caribou Hunters of the Northern Boreal Forest? ....................................................... 31 4.2.2 Avonlea as an In Situ Development ..........................................................................................................