University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2018 Human Response to Late Holocene Climate Change at the Patrick Site (40MR40) in East Tennessee Daniel Hamilton Webb Jr. University of Tennessee Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Recommended Citation Webb, Daniel Hamilton Jr., "Human Response to Late Holocene Climate Change at the Patrick Site (40MR40) in East Tennessee. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2018. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/5338 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 Daniel Hamilton Webb Jr. entitled "Human Response to Late Holocene Climate Change at the Patrick Site (40MR40) in East Tennessee." 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 equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Kandace Hollenbach, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: David G. Anderson, Jefferson Chapman Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Human Response to Late Holocene Climate Change at the Patrick Site (40MR40) in East Tennessee A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Daniel Hamilton Webb Jr. December 2018 Copyright © 2018 by Daniel H. Webb. All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to offer my advisor, Dr. Kandace D. Hollenbach, my deepest gratitude for her guidance in all aspects of my research and training. Her enthusiasm and flexibility as a mentor made it possible for me to craft a project suited to my own personal interests and enjoy the process of learning along the way. This thesis also owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Dr. Gerald F. Schroedl for his meticulous documentation of the Patrick site. His foresight to collect and curate soil monoliths from the site made this project possible. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Jefferson Chapman and Dr. David G. Anderson, for their helpful insight and support throughout the course of this study. A special thanks to Howard J. Cyr deserves for generously donating his time and advice through the entire course of this project, and to Dr. Sally Horn who has supported my research and education from day- one. Finally, to my wife Lillie, who has granted me a seemingly endless amount of encouragement and patience through the many seasons of my life in graduate school, thanks. iii ABSTRACT Current archaeological research links Late Holocene climate variability to patterns of dispersal and reorganization during the Archaic-Woodland transition in the Southeast (3200-2400 cal BP). This study uses geomorphic and archaeological proxy data from curated soil monoliths collected at the Patrick site (40MR40), located in Monroe County along the Little Tennessee River in Tennessee, to the assess the impact of Late Holocene climate change on the Late Archaic and Early Woodland groups that utilized the river valley. The results of these analyses indicate that the progressive downcutting of the river, apparent in sediments dating between 5700-3600 cal BP, had an ameliorating effect on the floodplain landscape that preceded the intensified use of first river terrace during the Terminal Late Archaic Iddins phase and Early Woodland Watts Bar phase. Decreases in coarse grain sediments associated with high-energy flooding and subsequent increases in cumulic soil formation at the Patrick site demonstrate that the floodplain environment had begun to stabilized during the Late Archaic period at approximately 3600 cal BP. This pattern is followed by dense midden accumulation, increases in the occurrence of cultivated plant foods, and a precipitous increase in pottery associated with Early Woodland Watts Bar and Patrick phase occupations at the site; suggesting that local populations took advantage the increasingly inhabitable floodplain environment. This study posits that the relatively cooler and wetter climate conditions of the Late Holocene Subboreal climate period (5000-2400 cal BP) may not have had a disruptive effect on prehistoric populations in the lower Little Tennessee iv River valley, contrasting what has been observed elsewhere in the Southeast during the Archaic-Woodland transition. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1 The Research Problem .......................................................................................... 2 Landscape Evolution in the Little Tennessee River Valley .................................. 6 Addressing the Question ...................................................................................... 7 Analytical Approach ............................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 2. GEOGRAPHY ............................................................... 11 Physiographic Region ......................................................................................... 15 Climate ................................................................................................................ 16 Geology ............................................................................................................... 17 Local Biota .......................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 3. CULTURE & CHRONOLOGY ........................................ 21 Temporal Divisions and Radiocarbon Dates ..................................................... 22 The Early and Middle Archaic (10450-4950 cal BP) ......................................... 25 The Late Archaic Period (4950-2950 cal BP) .................................................... 29 The Early Woodland Period (2950-2150 cal BP) ............................................... 36 The Middle Woodland Period (2150-1350 cal BP) ............................................ 40 Horticulture in the Valley ................................................................................... 45 Land Use During the Late Archaic and Early Woodland Periods ..................... 46 CHAPTER 4. EXCAVATIONS AT THE PATRICK SITE ....................... 47 The 1972 and 1973 Excavations .......................................................................... 48 The 1975 Excavations ......................................................................................... 51 Analysis ............................................................................................................... 53 Summary ............................................................................................................. 59 CHAPTER 5. METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 61 Inventory and Stabilization of the Monoliths .................................................... 62 Sample Materials ................................................................................................ 63 Stratigraphic Description ................................................................................... 67 Organic Matter Analysis ..................................................................................... 68 Particle Size Analysis .......................................................................................... 69 Magnetic Susceptibility Analysis ........................................................................ 70 Microartifact Analysis ........................................................................................ 71 Macrobotanical Analysis .................................................................................... 73 AMS Radiocarbon Determination ...................................................................... 75 Data Management Plan ...................................................................................... 77 CHAPTER 6. RESULTS ..................................................................... 78 Particle Size ......................................................................................................... 78 Organic Matter .................................................................................................... 83 Magnetic Susceptibility ...................................................................................... 85 Microartifacts ..................................................................................................... 87 Plant Remains ..................................................................................................... 89 Stratigraphic Analysis ......................................................................................... 94 Radiocarbon Dates ........................................................................................... 103 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION ............................................................ 108 Future Research ................................................................................................. 111 vi REFERENCES ................................................................................